Last weekend was the Kentucky Derby, which secretly I like for the hats and cocktails. Tell no one. If you had yourself a viewing party, too, I hope it was rad! Over at my place, we celebrated the Derby with a fancy-pants, lightened up dessert and low-cal cocktails. This is a twofer recipe post, so get ready for chocolate mint grasshopper juleps and berry brownie trifle. Nom.
First up is a quick and low sugar grasshopper julep cocktail. Mint juleps are the quintessential Kentucky Derby cocktail, so this little twist is pretty fun. It’s the basics of a mint julep, but grasshopper-ified. Yum.
Grasshopper julep cocktail
2 parts good Kentucky bourbon
2 parts half and half
1 part Torani sugar-free chocolate syrup
1 bunch fresh mint
Optional: shaved chocolate for garnish
Infuse the bourbon by placing a handful of mint into the bourbon and steep overnight.
Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker full of ice and shake to mix.
Strain into a glass. Garnish with a mint sprig and some shaved chocolate. Enjoy cold!
Now let’s talk about this berry brownie trifle, shall we? I attempted to lighten this dish up a bit so feel free to sub in your richer ingredients if you prefer. Heavy whipping cream instead of whipped topping, that kind of thing. Your call!
Trifles (or parfaits) as just layered desserts, often served in glass bowls so you can see all the yummy layers. Anyone remember the episode of Friends where Rachel accidentally combined a recipe for English dessert trifle with shepherd’s pie when the cookbook pages got stuck together? Here it is in case you haven’t. Thankfully, this trifle has no beef… promise. 
The layers I chose were lightened-up brownies bites, light whipped topping, berries, shaved chocolate, and a super easy, sugar-free raspberry drizzle. Feel free to replace any of the layers with your own choices: pudding, custard, mousse, other fruits, lady fingers, pound cake… the trifle is your oyster. I don’t recommend using oyster, though. We don’t want a Friends situation on our hands.
Did you make anything delish for the Kentucky Derby? Dish dish!
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Ingredients
- 1 (8-oz) container light whipped topping
- Handful of berries of your choice (I used strawberries and blueberries -- use raspberries if they are in season)
- Shaved chocolate for garnish
- 1 Tbsp Torani sugar free raspberry syrup
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp Torani sugar free raspberry syrup
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour of your choice
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute (I used stevia)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine syrup and corn starch in a small bowl until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8×8 pan. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together applesauce, nut butter, vanilla extract, and SF raspberry syrup until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients, and stir. The batter may be thick.
- Pour into pan and spread with a spatula.
- Bake 20-22 minutes, then chill for at least 15 minutes until completely cool before cutting.
- Cut brownies into small squares and add one layer to a clear bowl or parfait/trifle dish (I used small ones like these!).
- Slice larger fruit into 1/4-inch slices and layer fruit on top of the brownie layer.
- Add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat another layer of brownies and fruit.
- Push down gently on the last fruit layer to compess the layers and make the cream ooze down a bit.
- Add one last layer of whipped topping to the trifle and garnish with shaved chocolate and raspberry drizzle.
If you make this recipe, share a photo and hashtag it #BIJOUXANDBITS. I’d love to see what you’re cooking!
Disclaimer time! I was provided with sugar-free Torani syrup in raspberry and chocolate flavor for this recipe. The opinions and recipes are all my own.
Brownie recipe adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie.
Catherine Clark is a Chicago native sharing noteworthy things she sees and attempts to make in the world. She's a geek, cat lady, designer and editor by day, and noob chef by night.
