This Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle layers the soft textures of cake and creamy cheesecake pudding interspersed with sweet juicy red strawberries! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!
This is the absolute perfect dessert to showcase summer ripened strawberries. It’s light and refreshing and most of this trifle can be prepared in advance.
This strawberry trifle recipe was a HUGE hit with my family. We do love trifles – my Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle and Easter Trifle are other layered favorites, but I’ve never seen my kids demolish a trifle as quickly as they did with this one!
Like us, I think you will be making this trifle dessert not only during summertime but throughout the year!
Table of contents
What is Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle?
Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle takes a classic trifle recipe with traditional dessert layers and adds a cheesecake twist by including cream cheese and instant cheesecake pudding mix. We use a strawberry sheet cake and cut it into fluffy luscious pieces, then layer the cake with a creamy sweet cheesecake filling and fresh strawberries. The whole trifle is topped with pillows of fresh whipped cream, ensuring every bite is absolutely scrumptious.
Variations and Substitutions
- You can use canned strawberries (drained) or frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries if needed. Be sure to completely thaw and drain any excess liquid if you use these options, as the liquid will make the cake soggy. Canned strawberry pie filling might be the best option if you do not have fresh strawberries available.
- Make this trifle gluten-free by using a gluten-free cake mix.
- Whip up a cheesecake trifle using a different fruit such as blueberries or blackberries and opt for a vanilla cake mix.
- Instead of vanilla extract, feel free to use a teaspoon almond extract.
FAQs
Yes, this trifle can be made several hours in advance but I’d suggest leaving off the last dollops of whipped cream with piled berries until just before serving. Fresh whipped cream doesn’t typically hold its shape for a long time and this will also allow you to cover the trifle with plastic wrap without it sticking to any whipped cream.
Once partly assembled and covered, this strawberry cheesecake trifle can be refrigerated for no more than 3 days otherwise you will have a stale and soggy dessert.
I wouldn’t suggest freezing this strawberry cheesecake trifle as the cream cheese mixture won’t hold up in the freezing and thawing process and will ruin this dessert.
If you want to save some time, consider slicing the strawberries (a day in advance), baking the sheet cake (cakes can be wrapped and frozen up to 2 weeks in advance), or mixing up the cream cheese mixture (a day in advance.). Store these components separately for quick assembly just before serving.
Tips for Making Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle
- Heavy cream can be halved and the rest of the required portion made up with milk. This will result in the cream being a little lighter and thinner.
- Cheesecake pudding mix can be successfully substituted with vanilla or white chocolate instant pudding mix.
- It is imperative when mixing the cream and pudding mix together, to drizzle the cream into the pudding mix to prevent lumps from forming. It’s always difficult to make a perfectly creamy consistency from a lumpy mixture.
- When it comes to layering the cream and the strawberries, you can either spread a layer of cream followed by a layer of strawberries or mix the cream and the strawberries together and place it in one go as a complete layer.
- If you are watching your calorie intake you can substitute the whipped cream for light Cool Whip and you can also use a sugar-free pudding mix.
- In place of using a cake mix, you can make your own cake from scratch (strawberry or vanilla flavored) or even pound cake.
- Cake well wrapped and sealed in the freezer for future trifle making is such a convenience when you don’t seem to have enough time. Take it out to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before assembling all the ingredients.
- Strawberry jelly is a great addition to this trifle. Simply prepare the jelly, and pour it into your trifle bowl, letting it sit in the refrigerator for several hours or until set. Once the jelly is set, continue with assembling the remainder of the layers.
- Choose your bowl carefully. A glass bowl gives the best and most spectacular visual appeal and the depth of the bowl is crucial as to how many layers you can build.
More Delicious Cheesecake Recipes To Try
Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle
Ingredients
- 1 strawberry cake use a cake mix and bake in a 9×13 baking dish for ease, cooled completely
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 – 3.4 oz. package of instant cheesecake pudding mix unprepared
- 3 ½ cups heavy whipping cream divided
- ¾ cup powdered sugar divided
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries stems removed and sliced
Instructions
- Remove cooled cake from baking dish and slice into ¾”-1” cubes. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Beat in the pudding mix until fully combined – the mixture will be thick and lumpy.
- Slowly drizzle in 1 ½ cups of the heavy cream, beating on low constantly and fully incorporating each drizzle of cream (about ⅛ cup at a time) before adding the next drizzle.
- When the cream cheese/pudding mixture is smooth and creamy, add in ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- Add fresh strawberries to the mixture, reserving about 1 cup of the strawberries for the top of the trifle.
- Build the trifle by layering ⅓ of the cake cubes, then about ½ of the strawberries and cream mixture, another layer of cake pieces, the remaining strawberry mixture, and then the final cake pieces.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer (or you can use a hand mixer), use the whisk attachment to beat the remaining two cups of heavy cream until soft peaks begin to form. Add remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar and continue beating until the whipped cream forms stiff peaks.
- Mound or pipe big dollops of the whipped cream around the top of the trifle. Pile the reserved strawberry slices in the center. Pipe one more dollop of whipped cream in the center and top with a halved strawberry with stem still attached (or decorate as desired).
