Get ready for Valentine’s Day with chocolate

Valentine’s Day is coming up, so we better start thinking of ways we can indulge ourselves in chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. One of my favorite chocolate recipes is this chocolate trifle from allrecipes.com. If you like chocolate, you’ll love this!

And according to the statistics, Americans really do love chocolate. An article by delish.com said in 2009, over 58 million pounds of chocolate were purchased around Valentine’s Day—totaling around $345 million.

Surprisingly enough, Valentine’s Day isn’t the biggest holiday for chocolate sales. It’s topped by Easter, with 71 million pounds of chocolate candy purchased, according to studies from the Nielsen Company. And at 90 million pounds, Halloween is the chocolatiest holiday of them all!

Sixteen of the top 20 chocolate consuming countries in the world are European, with Switzerland leading the way at over 22 pounds of chocolate consumed per person each year, followed by Austria, Ireland, Germany and Norway.

Chocolate Trifle

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup water
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1-inch squares. In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain. In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12-ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Holyoke Enterprise January 24, 2013