Berry Cheesecake Trifle
This beautiful Berry Cheesecake Trifle is perfect for summer entertaining. Made with sweet fresh berries, store-bought angel food cake, and a tasty sweet cream cheese mixture makes it both stunning and delicious!
This delicious No-Bake Dessert Recipe is easy to make and always gets rave reviews!!! I made this for our summer book club dinner and it was devoured.
Why You Must Make
- This Trifle Recipe doesn’t require any cooking or baking, making it perfect for summer entertaining!
- It’s sweet, light, and the vibrant berries, along with the white angel food cake and sweetened cream cheese/sour cream layers create a stunning appearance when alternated in a glass bowl.
- If your friends are like mine, you’ll come home with an empty dish!! This Quadruple Berry Trifle is irresistible. Even my friend who’s not a huge fan of berries ate every bite!
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Powdered Sugar (sifting first creates the smoothest mixture), Sugar, Real Vanilla Extract (not artificially flavored)
- Cream Cheese – Full Fat; Have at room temperature for smoother blending.
- Sour Cream – Full Fat.
- Almond and Vanilla Extract –Use pure vanilla extract, never artificially flavored. I use the Nielsen- Massey brand. Penzey’s also makes excellent extracts if you have one near you.
- Heavy Cream – 36% butterfat.
- Angel Food Cake – Store-bought is fine; cut into cubes with a serrated knife so you don’t crush the cake while slicing.
- Fresh Berries – I used Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, and Raspberries. Hull and cut the strawberries into bite-sized pieces. Just two or three varieties would work well, just make sure to use about 2 pounds of berries in all.
- Amaretto – An almond liqueur. Alcohol is a flavor enhancer, but it is an optional ingredient if you prefer to avoid alcohol.
How to Make
Recipe Tips
- Tweak the kind of berries to the variety you enjoy. Select what looks freshest without signs of mold or deterioration. If you have a summer farmers’ market, their berries may look better than what’s in the grocery store.
- PRO-Tip: Adding alcohol, like Amaretto, enhances the flavor of the berries. However, it can be easily omitted if that’s your preference, without compromising the deliciousness of this dessert.
- I love the color and lightness of an angel food cake in this trifle. You can always use a box mix and bake it at home if your store doesn’t have one in its bakery. Pound cake (like a Sara Lee frozen pound cake) would be a delicious alternative if you’re in a pinch.
- I own a couple of trifle bowls (typically a glass bowl on a pedestal), but any glass serving bowl would work well. Unless you’re really careful with layering, you may get some smearing on the inside of the bowl. My family doesn’t care. But if it’s for a special occasion, you may want to wipe off any obvious marks. Avoid any harsh cleaners, just use a clean, damp paper towel or dishcloth to clean up any smears.
Frequently Asked Questions
A trifle is an English dessert traditionally made with sponge cake or ladyfingers soaked in sherry, then covered with jam and custard before being garnished with fruit, chocolate, or nuts.
A typical trifle bowl is a glass bowl with straight sides that has a pedestal. This ensures that all the beautiful layers of the trifle are visible.
Sweet, light angel food cake makes this a nice, light summer dessert, but cubes of pound cake or even pieces of ladyfingers could be used as an alternative.
Yes, fresh slices of summer peaches would be delicious, or even pitted fresh sweet cherries.
You May Also Like
- Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle
- Classic English Trifle
- Cranberry Cheesecake Trifle
- Fresh Strawberry Meringue Cake
- Plus, all my Best Dessert Recipes
Mixed Berry Trifle
A twist on the Classic English Trifle made with Angel Food Cake, Luscious Whipped Cream/Cream Cheese Filling, and Sweet Fresh Berries.
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature (two 8-oz boxes)
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted for the smoothest filling
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (to add to cream)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (to add to cream)
- Angel food cake, cut into cubes (depending on the size of your cake, you may not need it all.)
Berry Layer:
- 2 pounds of fresh berries like strawberries (cut into pieces if large), blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons Amaretto, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and powdered sugar; add the sour cream, vanilla, and almond extracts. Set aside.
- In a small, deep metal chilled bowl, whip the cream, vanilla, and sugar.
- Fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.
- Combine the berries, sugar, and Amaretto if using.
- Layer in a large glass trifle pedestal bowl, starting with half the strawberries, then a layer of cake, followed by a layer of the cheesecake filling. Repeat, ending with the filling.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill well before serving.
Notes
The addition of alcohol is optional, although it will enhance the flavor of the berries.
Using a chilled metal bowl will help stabilize the whipped cream, but the recipe will still work if you whip the cream in a glass bowl, etc.
You can use just one or two varieties of berries.
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One Comment on “Berry Cheesecake Trifle”
You make the best desserts, Liz. This is not only easy, also tasty and fun to make.