Black Forest Shrikhand Trifle

Diwali is just around the corner followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. There will be lots of reasons to celebrate the festivals this year as we all aim for better and brighter tomorrow. We will have reasons to be thankful this year to be able to survive the biggest pandemic of the century. And as we look ahead we will cherish the memories of yesterdays. As we celebrate the festival of Diwali or as they say festival of lights, we will pray to God to spread the light of joy and happiness in our lives. What better way to celebrate these amazing festivals than with a fusion dessert that tells you a tale of yester years with the flavors of present times.

What is Shrikhand?

Shrikhand is a Western Indian dessert that is now widely known to many as it is sold in almost all Indian stores across the globe. Traditionally Shrikhand is prepared with hung curd and flavored with either Elaichi (Cardamom) powder, kesar (Saffron) & Pistachios or Mango pulp. It is very easy to prepare Shrikhand as it requires only 2 ingredients - Hung curd and sugar, plus flavoring of your choice. 

Here I have given this traditional dessert a little twist by flavoring it with non-Indian flavors of Maraschino cherries and chocolate inspired from the Black Forest cake. The delicate cherry flavor when combined with the creamy chocolate flavor is so decadent that this dessert will be a big hit for your party or family gathering. This delicious and fancy dessert is very easy to prepare with just a few ingredients. The best part is you can prepare this dessert a day or two in advance and there will be one less thing to worry about on the day of your gathering. 

What is Trifle?

Trifle is a traditional English/British dish that has layers of savory or sweet flavors. When prepared as sweet dessert, Trifle is prepared with thin layers of various fruit flavors, custard, sponge soaked in wine and cream. Trifle is a versatile dessert as you can mix and match your choice of flavors and textures. 

Just in case if you are wondering, we are not going to talk about about health benefits today as we are talking about desserts and holiday season! You can let it loose once in a while. :)

Tips and tricks - 

• Traditionally Shrikhand is prepared with hung curd but I have used Greek yogurt here as I had it on hand and it saves a lot of time. If you are using homemade yogurt, just sieve it in a muslin cloth, tie it tight and rest the cloth on a strainer. Let it rest for couple hours so all the excess water drips down. 
• I have used store bought jar of Maraschino cherries. The cherries are stored in a sugar syrup which I like as I don't have to prepare sugar syrup separately. Also, the jar of cherries is always available in store, so I can prepare this delicious dessert any time of the year! 
• You can also use fresh cherries instead. Just be sure to use pitted cherries and prepare cherry sugar syrup by boiling cherries with water and sugar. 
• For the crust, I have used Parle-G as that's what I had available at the time. Feel free to use any other plain cookies or graham crackers. 
• Here I have used almond butter to add some nutty flavor. You can use any nut butter that is available to you. 
• With the ingredients listed below, I was able to prepare 6 cups of Trifle but I have shown only 4 cups to keep it clear in the video. 
• Always use bone char free granulated cane sugar to keep this recipe vegetarian. 
• Although I have not tried it, but you can use non-dairy yogurt to make this a vegan dessert.

Black Forest Shrikhand Trifle

Prepare time - 30 to 35 minutes

Refrigerate time - 4 to 6 hours or overnight

Yields - 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pack of Parle-G or graham crackers (160 gm)

2 Tbsp Almond butter 

8-10 Maraschino cherries for topping 

For Cherry Shrikhand 

1 Cup Greek yogurt or hung curd

1/2 Cup Sugar (adjust per taste)

1/4 Cup Maraschino cherries chopped

2-3 Tbsp Sugar syrup from the preserved maraschino cherries

Chocolate Shrikhand

1/2 Cup Greek yogurt or hung curd

1/2 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Cocoa powder

2 Tbsp Chocolate chips

1 Tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Let's begin by first transferring the cookies to a ziplock bag. Now, crush the cookies using rolling pin as shown in the video. Do not powder the cookies completely.

Now, melt the almond butter in a microwave for about a minute. Add it to the crushed cookies and combine well. 

Add 2 tbsp of crushed cookie mixture to each cup and press it down using an empty cup or a spoon. Now, place the cups in the refrigerator for 5 minutes until we prepare Cherry Shrikhand. 

To prepare Cherry Shrikhand, begin with roughly chopping the cherries except the ones that we separated for garnishing at the end. 

Now, take Greek yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add sugar and combine well. Next, add the chopped cherries (keep 1 tbsp cherries aside) and cherry syrup to the yogurt mix. Whisk well to get creamy pink Cherry Shrikhand. 

Now, take out the dessert cups from the refrigerator. Add a layer of Cherry Shrikhand by adding 2 tbsp each to a cup. Top them with some chopped cherries that we kept on a side. Place the cups in a refrigerator for another 5 minutes. 

Remove the cups from fridge and add another layer of crushed cookie mixture - 1 Tbsp per cup. Place the cups back in the refrigerator to settle as we prepare next layer. 

To prepare Chocolate Shrikhand, mix in remaining Greek yogurt, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to get delicious creamy Chocolate Shrikhand. 

Remove the dessert cups from refrigerator and add a layer of Chocolate Shrikhand - 1.25 Tbsp per cup. Top with some chocolate chip cookies. 

Place the cups back in the fridge for 5 minutes. Remove cups from fridge and add 1 tbsp Cherry Shrikhand layer in each cup. At the end garnish the yummylicious dessert cups with couple cherries that we kept aside. 

Finally, cover each dessert cup with cling wrap and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight to settle completely. It also helps mingle the flavors. You can prepare these delicious Black Forest Trifle cups as many as 2 days in advance and they will taste just as amazing on the day of your party or gathering!