Who-Ville Trifle

Hey ghouls and creeps! It took everything in me to stifle my inner murderino and not name this “Triflers need not apply,” after the quote Karen gave in episode 67 of My Favorite Murder when talking about the serial killer Belle Gunness. Do I have any fellow murderinos in the house?!? Anyways, I’m such a ham for a miniature Christmas village and decided to use this muse for this week’s project. I referenced images from the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas when making my Who-Ville trifle topper. I thought it would be cool too, to have the topper have depth by dividing up my subjects and staggering their distance from the front of the trifle bowl. Almost like a diorama, one that would make any eighth-grade English teacher proud.

The purpose of the post is to not present a cake from scratch or an original frosting recipe, but rather demonstrate a Grinchy spin on a recipe found on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (Mint Brownie and Oreo Hot Fudge Trifle). As well as, provide the templates and files to create your own Who-Ville dessert topper set. Let’s get started!

The Who-Ville Trifle project is quite easy! This trifle is super festive and fun to eat and make!

Step 1: Cut Trifle Topper: Using the JPG or SVG files below cut the pieces for your trifle topper with your die-cutting machine of choice.

SVG file: https://bjdiycutfiles.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Whoville+template.svg

Step 2: Make Trifle Topper: Take your glue stick and glue the yellow window cutouts onto your Who-Ville houses, using the piece placement key.

Also using the piece placement key, glue houses to the high range of Pontoos(or one of the mountain pieces).

Cut two toothpicks in half and hot glue all four pieces along the bottom back edge of the topper evenly spaced apart. Apply some hot glue over top of the toothpicks as well, to secure the bond.

Take your second mountain piece and apply glue stick to the front, making sure all edges match with the first mountain piece. Press the mountain pieces together, sandwiching the toothpicks inside your mountain layers. Set the topper aside, and allow the glue to dry.

Take one of your Christmas tree pieces and using the glue stick glue a star cutout to the top. To decorate the rest of my tree, I used a hole punch with 1/4″ diameter and made 8 red, 8 yellow, and 8 blue lights/ornaments to then glue at random to my tree.

Cut one toothpick in half and hot glue them to the bottom back of the tree. Apply some hot glue over top of the toothpicks as well, to secure the bond. Take your second tree piece and apply glue stick to the front. Stick the tree to the back of your topper front. Glue your second star piece to the back of the first star. Set the topper aside, and allow the glue to dry.

Take one of your Who-Ville arch pieces and write “Welcome to Who-Ville” along the top front with an ink pen.

Cut one toothpick in half and hot glue one half on each arch base. Apply some hot glue over top of the toothpicks as well, to secure the bond. Take your second arch piece and apply glue stick to the front. Stick the arch to the back of the topper front, sandwiching toothpicks in between.

Retrieve your green chenille stem and wrap one end once around a pencil. Cut the stem leaving a little overlap. Pro-tip: use wire-cutters when cutting chenille stems so you don’t dull your scissors!

Repeat these steps two more times to make three total wreaths. Cut 3″ off the rest of the chenille stem, and fold each end over a 1/4″. This keeps less chenille fibers from coming off the wire and makes the garland ends appear finished. Hot glue the 3″ chenille piece along the Who-Ville arch. Take your mini wreaths and glue one in the center, and the other two at each end of the garland.

Using your 1/8″ red ribbon, make three tiny bows measuring roughly 3/8″ across. Hot glue these bows at the top of each wreath. Set the topper aside, and allow the glue to dry.

Step 3: Bake and Prep Trifle Layers: Following the instructions on the back of your cake mix, prepare and bake in a 9″X13″ pan.

Once finished, place your cake in the fridge for a couple hours to chill completely. Remove the cake from the fridge and cut cake into 1″X 1″ squares. I found that my cake edges were significantly shorter than the rest of the cake so I trimmed off the edges so the height of my cake cubes would be more uniform.

Set cake aside and begin whipped oreo frosting prep. For the frosting, begin by mixing together your cream cheese and a 1/2 cup of whipping cream until smooth and fluffy.

Add the mint extract, powdered sugar, and the remainder of the whipping cream gradually. Mix ingredients together on high until thick and creamy.

Fill a 12″ piping bag with frosting and place it in the fridge for later.

Add green food coloring to the remaining frosting still in the mixing bowl to your preference.

Crush mint Oreos either in a plastic bag or a food processor. Then add crushed Oreos gradually to green frosting while mixing.

Step 4: Make your Trifle: Begin by lining the trifle bowl bottom with cake cubes.

Warm half your fudge in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds, or before it begins to bubble. Pour the warm fudge over top of the cake cubes. Allow fudge to cool for a minute and then add sprinkles.

Begin dolloping your green mint frosting in the center of the bowl. Use a spatula to smooth and level the frosting. Keep adding frosting until the layer measures about an 1 1/4″ thick.

Repeat these steps for the next two layers of your trifle. Once you’ve added your second layer of green frosting, and you’re near the top of the bowl, add the remainder of your fudge.

Retrieve your white frosting from the fridge. Cut the tip off the piping bag so that the opening is about 5/8″ in diameter. Spiraling from the center, squeeze frosting on to the top of the trifle from the piping bag. Smooth out the frosting with a spatula, and sprinkle some sprinkles on top!

Check to make sure your toppers are dry. Stick your toppers into the trifle top, situating the arch in the foreground, the tree in the middle, and the Who’s homes in the background.

You’re finished! Enjoy the trifles (ha!) and tribulations of your labor and enjoy a scoop of your trifle! Repurpose the Who-Ville topper for cakes or other festive treats!

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Ready for your next project? Here are some tutorials on the blog I think you’ll like! Frame Flip tutorial: https://britnijade.com/frame-flip/, Macrame Wall Hanging: https://britnijade.com/macrame-wall-hanging-w-bones/, or the Spider Web Macrame: https://britnijade.com/spider-web-macrame/. Enjoy!