Cranberry Coconut Trifle (Rich Tropical Girls)

 

A quick and easy cranberry coconut trifle served as individual servings and using leftover cranberry sauce, whipped sweetened coconut cream and ginger nut cookie crumbs. An elegant dessert that takes little effort.

 

This trifle has been part of my 7 Thanksgiving Leftovers for years now, and hasn't gotten its own post until now. It was about time, don't you think!

 

Resembling a Norwegian Classic

 

I realized there is a classic Norwegian dessert that kind of resembles this cranberry coconut trifle. It is whipped cream, chopped and cooked caramel apples and breadcrumbs. They've got the creamy element, the sweet, the tart and the crunchy. Perfect end to any meal!

 

This classic Norwegian dessert is called Tilslørte bondepiker in Norwegian, and it can be translated to Veiled country girls. There is another version of this dish that is called Bortskjemte byjenter (fra Ålesund) which translates to Spoiled city girls from Ålesund (which happens to be where I'm from lol). This has candied nuts instead of the bread crumbs and sweetened whipped sour cream as the cream.

 

My point is, they all have something creamy, something tartly sweet and something crunchy. Just like this coconut cranberry trifle. I'm thinking this dessert should also have its own fun name, but it wasn't easy to come up with something! My closest is Rich tropical girls (rike tropejenter) since coconut cream is both rich and tropical.

 

 

How to whip coconut milk

 

Coconut milk is notorious for being a little hard to whip - but there are some little tricks! Trick #1: leave a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours. If you don't do this, the coconut milk will be too soft to whip, but it hardens in the fridge, and the water and the fat separates from each other. You need a can of coconut milk with at least 21% fat. I've tried it with 18% fat and it doesn't firm up enough. You can also just buy the coconut cream so you don't have to separate the water and fat (but it still needs to be cold for 24 hrs to firm it up!)

 

Cold being the key here, you should also leave the bowl you will be whipping the coconut cream in, in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to whipping.

 

 

To sweeten the coconut cream, we use powdered sugar because liquid sweeteners may weigh the cream down. You don't have to sweeten it if you don't want to. You only need the fatty part of the coconut milk (the coconut cream) to whip. The coconut water left behind can be used in smoothies or sangrias.

 

In the cold bowl, whip the coconut cream for 30 seconds and then add in powdered sugar and vanilla extract and whip for another minute. Easy peasy!

 

 

Leftover Cranberry Sauce

 

For the tartly sweet (or sweetly tart?) element of this cranberry coconut trifle, we're using leftover cranberry sauce! You can use whatever you have on hand really, but this orange cranberry sauce is sooo good I highly recommend making it.

 

Yes, it is totally acceptable to make the cranberry sauce just for this trifle alone (although you should also use it in these cranberry sauce oat muffins). I've done it, and I'll do it again!

 

 

Ginger Nut Cookie Crumbs

 

For the crunchy element, we are using ginger nut cookie crumbs. I just love a good, spiced cookie for Christmas. In this dessert I used a gingernut biscuit (cookie), but you can use gingerbread cookies or any other spiced cookie.

 

Assemble the cranberry coconut trifle

 

In individual glasses, add two tablespoon whipped coconut cream, then one tablespoon cranberry sauce and one tablespoon crushed cookie. Repeat the same to make two complete layers. But honestly, use as much or as little as you want of these three elements.

 

Scroll down to find a printable recipe card of these Rich Tropical Girls - enjoy!

 

 

Did you like this cranberry coconut trifle? Here's more easy desserts I think you'll love:

 

• White Chocolate Mousse with Rose and Pistachio
• Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
• Classic Fudgy Brownies
• Fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Salted Caramel Apple Pavlova (perfect for make ahead)
• Silky Smooth Crème Anglaise (served with berries)

 

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