Stylish Guest Blogger: Erika of Shoes, Shirts, & Other Sh!t

I can't believe today is my last guest post of the week! I want to thank all my amazing blogger friends who have contributed posts this week, they have been above and beyond anything I could have wished for. Today's post is a perfect way to end the week. Thanks to social media and a blogging addiction I came across Erika's blog through another blog and have been twitter and Facebook friends with Erika ever since!  A NYC gal who is a stylish as ever and also an aspiring Broadway star (she is a star in my eyes!), I am obsessed with Erika's blog and am honored she accepted the offer to post on my blog! 

Stylelista Entertaining: Indulgent Oreo Trifle

TGIF, Stylelistas!

You may or not know me—I’m Erika, from the fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog Shoes, Shirts & Other Sh!t, and the food photojournal, Erika’s Eats! I’m so flattered that Alex asked me to write a post while she’s catching some rays and enjoying the surf, turf, and shopping in Oahu (is anyone else totally jeal of that? Because I am!). Today’s post (and the last of us guest bloggers while she’s on vacay) is a quick, easy and delicious dessert that you can throw together in just about 2 hours for all of your entertaining this weekend. I think you’ll love making (and eating) it, especially as this weather gets warmer and we all start entertaining outdoors around the country; I know I personally can’t wait to serve these this summer in NYC!

(P.S. I used reduced fat/sugar free/fat free…etc. everything to make my recipe and it still tastes AH-mazing and is less terrible for you!)

What you’ll need:

(adapted from this recipe)

1 box Chocolate Jello Instant Pudding

1 box Vanilla Jello Instant Pudding

1 8oz package of cream cheese (softened)

1 stick of butter (softened)

1 16oz package of Cool Whip (thawed)

1 box of Oreo cookies

1 box of Devil’s Food or Chocolate Cake Mix (and ingredients as directed on the box)

4 cups cold milk

1 cup Confectioner’s Sugar

Getting started:

The first thing you’ll want to do is prepare and bake the cake mix according to the instructions of the box. I mixed in about 6-8 crushed Oreos and baked mine in 13x9” pan, which yielded lots of leftovers. (I would actually recommend you bake two small loaves and then you’ll have a separate cake to frost as another dessert!)

While the cake is baking and while it’s cooling, you can prepare the other ingredients. The baking and waiting for it to cool is what takes the longest!

Next you can prepare the layers:

-Open the boxes of instant pudding and in separate bowls, prepare the recipe for the chocolate pudding and the vanilla pudding according to package instructions (one packet to 2 cups of cold milk). When the pudding sets (about 5 minutes) fold 2/3 cup of Cool Whip into each bowl and set aside.

-Take 1-1 ½ sleeves of the leftover Oreos and put them into a Ziplock bag. Crush Oreos with hands or a meat tenderizer.

-Add ½ - 1/3 of a cup of Oreos (depending on your preference) to the Vanilla pudding/Cool Whip mixture and mix them in.

-With an electric mixer in a new bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth.

Putting it together:

The way you want to serve your trifle is up to you! You can use a trifle bowl, or individual glasses (or even clear plastic cups). I personally love individual glasses because it preserves the prettiness of the dessert until your guest eats it, unlike in a trifle bowl, where it gets ruined with the first serving!

If you use glasses, depending on size (6-8 oz glasses) you can expect get about 8-10 servings, but a trifle bowl will yield more.

Lay it on! Start with the cake—cut cake (when cool) into bite-sized pieces. Start by layering two bite-size pieces in the bottom of the glass (or use enough to cover the bottom of a trifle bowl). Top with chocolate pudding/cool whip mixture, spread a layer of crushed Oreos, top with the cream cheese mixture, top with another thin layer of the cake (half one of the bite-sized pieces), and lastly, top with the vanilla pudding/cool whip/oreo mixture. Garnish with an Oreo and crushed Oreo pieces, if desired. (If making in a trifle bowl, repeat layers until you reach the top).

Voile! Your mini trifles are complete! Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and I hope you enjoy making these delectable treats! Have an amazing and stylish weekend!

xoxo, Erika

I want to thank Erika and all the other fabulous bloggers for being so generous and guest posting for me this week while I was on vacation! I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome and I am honored to call these 5 girls my friends! I will be back Monday with a recap of my trip. Have a fab weekend!