I initially shared the Individual Gingerbread Trifle Dessert idea on my Christmas Dinner menu blog post. But with all the holiday chaos I didn’t have a chance to put up the full recipe until just now. However, gingerbread season is not yet officially over, so there is no reason to wait until next Christmas to make this decadent, splashy treat…

Ring in the New Year with a Gingerbread Trifle Dessert!

Whether you are entertaining for New Years Eve or not, I would say a sweet trifle treat always pairs perfectly with a Champagne toast (wink.)

The typical trifle dessert is served in a large glass bowl, but making individual mini trifles add an extra special, festive touch. It’s a lot less messy to serve too! You don’t need to buy special serving bowls either, my suggestion is to just borrow some pretty glassware from your barware collection (Old Fashioneds would be perfect.)

Although there is no reason to tell anyone, the entire recipe is dairy free, has no refined flour, no refined sugar and no refined oil.

Stress-Less

As long as you prepare three things in advance, the Gingerbread Trifle Dessert can be assembled at the last minute in less than 15-minutes (you can also make it up to 24-hours ahead too.) Here’s what you will want to make in advance:

Gingerbread Spice Cake: Made with butternut squash puree and 100% whole grain flour, my Gingerbread Spice Cake Recipe is also dairy free, has no refined oil and no refined sugar. This recipe can be made up to 5 days in advance.
“Clean” Candied Pecans: This is such an easy recipe to make and since you won’t need to use the full recipe for the trifle dessert you can always sprinkle leftovers on your salad or eat them as a snack. Unlike conventional candied nuts, my “clean” candied pecan version has no refined sugar. This recipe can be made up to a week in advance.
Coconut Whipped Cream: Although I add extra cinnamon and date sugar at the end, you can definitely prepare the basic coconut whipped cream recipe up to 24-hours in advance.

Splash in Something Special…

It’s an optional ingredient, but I would highly recommend splashing in a bit of Amaretto.

A sweet, almond-flavoured, Italian liqueur, Amaretto works magic on just about any dessert. Disaronno is my personal favorite brand.

Note: The fashionable Disaronno bottle to the left is a limited edition Disaronno Wears Cavalli collection. Perfect for the stylish sprits lover!

Individual Gingerbread Trifle Dessert Recipe

Print Recipe

Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 Gingerbread Spice Cake (note: you will not need to use the entire cake for the trifle recipe)
Amaretto (to taste (I like Disaronno), optional)
2 14- ounce cans of Coconut Whipped Cream
4 teaspoons cinnamon (divided)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar or date sugar
1 tablespoon organic (extra virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean’s))
2 Granny Smith Apples (chopped)
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups “Clean” Candied Pecans
1 star fruit (sliced)

Instructions

Layer the bottom of six 8-ounces glasses (such as Old Fashioneds) with crumbled Gingerbread Spice Cake. Drizzle with Amaretto (if using.)
In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut whipped cream, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, vanilla extract and coconut palm sugar (or date sugar.) Add a big dollop of the cinnamon-whipped cream on top of the crumbled gingerbread spice cake.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; add the chopped apples and remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Saute apples for about 6 minutes, or until soft. Pour in the maple syrup and cook for an additional minute. Divide half of the apple-cinnamon mixture over the cinnamon-whipped cream.
Add another layer of crumbled Gingerbread Spice Cake. Drizzle again with Amaretto (if using.)
Add a big dollop of the cinnamon-whipped cream on top of the crumbled gingerbread spice cake.
Divide the remaining apple-cinnamon mixture over the cinnamon-whipped cream.
Add another dollop of cinnamon-whipped cream.
Sprinkle the “Clean” Candied Pecans on top of the cinnamon-whipped cream.
Top the trifle dessert with a piece of star fruit. Refrigerate until serving time.