Death by Chocolate Trifle with Kahlua is an indulgent and decadent dessert that boasts layers of chocolate cake soaked in Kahlua, homemade chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and Skor bars! It's an easy-to-make dessert that's a chocolate lover’s dream come true!
This Death by Chocolate Trifle recipe is popular all year 'round but especially in the summer. It's a no bake dessert that's ideal for treating Mom on Mother's Day, bringing along to a summer BBQ or potluck, or for the chocolate lover in your life. I recently brought this to a potluck and it was very well-loved! This was inspired by my Skor Bar Dessert (which has no alcohol) on this site, and pairs well with Slow Cooker Beef on a Bun.
🍒Reader Review
"This is absolutely amazing!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Years ago, the Fairmont Palliser Hotel offered a "Death by Chocolate" buffet that was AMAZING! It was an entire buffet of chocolate that was to die for (no pun intended). And it was one of the best and "funnest" (yes, I know that's not actually a word) things I ever did with friends!
Sadly, the hotel doesn't do that buffet anymore, but fortunately, this dessert is like eating that chocolate buffet, but in the form of a trifle!
This Death by Chocolate is a real showstopper for a crowd! For occasions, such as Mother's Day, where you might prefer elegant, individual portions but still want that rich chocolate hit (this time with a coffee twist!), these Cake Mix Tiramisu Cupcakes are a fantastic choice.
🥘Ingredient Notes
You will need the following ingredients for this Death by Chocolate recipe:
- Chocolate cake. You'll need a 9x13 cake cut into 1-inch squares.
- Chocolate chips * I use semi-sweet chocolate chips to balance the sweetness.
- Egg whites (which equals 1 cup of pasteurized egg whites from a carton) *It's critical that you use pasteurized egg whites in this recipe. You can buy them in a carton at the grocery store. Or you can pasteurize your own: *Read how you can pasteurize egg whites at home HERE!
- Large Skor chocolate bars. I use the large bars (also known as Heath bars or toffee bars).
- Whipped cream * I use 33%-36% heavy cream whipped with 2-3 tablespoon of sugar. *Do NOT use spray whipped cream - it will melt
*See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
If you love this Death by Chocolate dessert, you'll want to try my Chocoholic Chocolate Squares! Just like this dessert, they are loaded with chocolate!
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Chocolate cake - you can use a store-bought chocolate cake (just make sure if it's a smaller cake like a loaf cake, you use two so it's the equivalent of a 9x13), or a homemade chocolate cake (either my Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake or my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake or Chocolate Sponge cake or your own cake recipe), or a Devil's food chocolate cake mix. You could also substitute broken-up brownies.
- Whipped cream - you can use Cool Whip instead of whipped cream, but do NOT use spray whipped cream (it will melt)!
- Chocolate Mousse- you could use instant chocolate pudding mix instead of the boiling water chocolate chips mixture, or simply use instant mousse (affiliate link)
🔪How to Make Death by Chocolate Trifle
Mix cake pieces in ½ cup Kahlua and stir to combine
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff (with an electric mixer)
In another bowl, add boiling water, chocolate chips, and the remaining 4 tablespoon of Kahlua
With an electric mixer, beat until smooth
Fold egg whites into the chocolate chip mixture
Crush Skor bars by placing them in a ziploc bag and hitting them with a hammer or running a rolling pin over them to crush them.
Add a layer of ½ of the Kahlua-soaked chocolate cake pieces to the bottom of the trifle bowl.
Then add ½ chocolate mousse, half of the whipped cream, and half the crushed Skor bars.
Repeat with the remaining half of the ingredients.
Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Use High-Quality Chocolate. For the best flavor, use high-quality chocolate for both the cake and pudding. Brands like Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Callebaut offer deeper cocoa notes. If using boxed cake mix and instant pudding, enhance them with a little espresso powder (½–1 tsp) to deepen the chocolate flavor.
- Cool Cake Completely. Let the cake cool completely before layering to prevent melting the whipped topping or pudding. For clean layers and texture contrast, consider refrigerating or even lightly freezing the cake cubes before assembling.
- Day-Ahead Assembly: Assemble the trifle 12–24 hours in advance. It allows flavors to meld beautifully, but add whipped topping and garnishes right before serving.
- Seasonal Toppers. Crushed peppermint at Christmas, mini eggs at Easter, or themed sprinkles for birthdays or holidays.
- Clean Layers. Use a piping bag for pudding and whipped topping to get clean, distinct layers—especially important if you're showing it off in a clear bowl.
- Portion for Serving Ease. For parties, assemble in individual mason jars or dessert cups for neat servings and easy transport.
- Temperature Trick. Serve slightly chilled, but not straight from the fridge — let sit for 10–15 minutes before serving to allow the chocolate flavors to bloom.
🥗 What to serve with Death By Chocolate with Kahlua
This heavenly dessert pairs well with these meaty dishes: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork on a Bun, or Pork & Beef Stovetop Chili. If you're looking for something a little different, try it with my Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe (shown).
🌡️Storage
Store leftover trifle in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
You can also make this easy recipe a day or two in advance.
These ingredients don't stand up to freezing.
👪 Serving Size
This Death by Chocolate with Skor bars makes 20 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
It's best to serve this chocolate trifle in bowls.
Top tip
If you can't find a baked chocolate cake in the bakery section of your grocery store, then simply buy a McCain's deep and delicious chocolate cake in the freezer section and scrape off the icing! Depending on their size, you may need two of them.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Traditionally, Death by Chocolate is a trifle of layered chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and chopped chocolate bars (usually Skor bars), then topped with more chocolate bars!
It's best to make a trife the day before, as trifles generally need to sit overnight so the flavors can meld and the cake can soften up.
Contrary to previous Death by Chocolate references and claims, "Mort au Chocolat" was the collaboration between a restaurant Creator/Proprietor, Jeff Fields, and its Pastry Chef, Claude Koeberle. Composed of multiple chocolate layers - genoise, meringue, ganache, buttercream, and mousse - it was sauced with chocolate crème anglaise. It was created in 1981 at Les Anges restaurant in Santa Monica, California. Then in 1982, the original "Death by Chocolate" cake was created at the Trellis restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1982 by the chef and owner of the Trellis, Marcel Desaulniers in collaboration with pastry chef Donald Mack. Desaulniers said that he got the name from an article in Gourmet (magazine) where a cake was named "mourir de chocolat," French for dying of chocolate. The recipe for baking Desaulnier's version was estimated to take three days of cooking due to the complexity of the cake and the need to create each layered ingredient.[7]Desaulniers said that he got the name from an article in Gourmet (magazine) where a cake was named "mourir de chocolat," French for dying of chocolate.
I'm not sure if this is the original Death by Chocolate, but it came from a very old cookbook my Grandma gave me years ago (where there was no mention of pasteurizing egg whites).
Either way, it's an amazing death by chocolate dessert and a chocolate lover's dream come true! So if you are looking for a dessert for special occasions, give this Death by Chocolate Trifle a try!
If you love trifle, be sure to try my easy Mini Eggnog Trifle and my NO BAKE Black Forest Trifle too!
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📋 Death by Chocolate Trifle (with Kahlua) recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 9x13 chocolate cake, cut in 1 inch squares
- ½ cup + 4 tbsps Kahlua
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- ⅔ cup boiling water
- 1 cup liquid egg whites (must be pasteurized!) (from carton)
- 8 large Skor bars (Health bars/Toffee bars)
- 4 cups whipping cream/heavy cream. whipped *Do NOT use spray whipped cream - it will melt
Instructions
*Heads up - this recipe requires 8 hours in the fridge (overnight) before serving
- Put cake in ½ a cup kahlua and mix together.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff
- In another bowl, add boiling water, chocolate chips and the remaining 4 tablespoon of Kahlua
- With an electric mixer, beat chocolate chips, boiling water and the remaining 4 tablespoon of kahlua together
- Fold egg whites into chocolate chip mixture
- crush Skor bars by placing them in a ziploc bag and hitting them with a hammer or running a rolling pin over them to crush.
- In a large trifle bowl, layer ½ of the kahlua soaked chocolate cake.
- Then add ½ the chocolate mousse, a layer of whipped cream and half the crushed Skor bars.
- Repeat.
- Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight
Notes
- Use High-Quality Chocolate. For the best flavor, use high-quality chocolate for both the cake and pudding. Brands like Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Callebaut offer deeper cocoa notes. If using boxed cake mix and instant pudding, enhance them with a little espresso powder (½–1 tsp) to deepen the chocolate flavor.
- Cool Cake Completely. Let the cake cool completely before layering to prevent melting the whipped topping or pudding. For clean layers and texture contrast, consider refrigerating or even lightly freezing the cake cubes before assembling.
- Day-Ahead Assembly: Assemble the trifle 12–24 hours in advance. It allows flavors to meld beautifully, but add whipped topping and garnishes right before serving.
- Seasonal Toppers. Crushed peppermint at Christmas, mini eggs at Easter, or themed sprinkles for birthdays or holidays.
- Clean Layers. Use a piping bag for pudding and whipped topping to get clean, distinct layers—especially important if you're showing it off in a clear bowl.
- Portion for Serving Ease. For parties, assemble in individual mason jars or dessert cups for neat servings and easy transport.
- Temperature Trick. Serve slightly chilled, but not straight from the fridge — let sit for 10–15 minutes before serving to allow the chocolate flavors to bloom.
Ali
This is absolutely amazing!
Terri Gilson
I’m so glad you loved it, Ali! 😊