Best Ever Strawberry Trifle
This Strawberry Trifle is one of those easy, pretty desserts that looks like you spent all day on it, but really, we’re letting cake mix and whipped topping do a whole lot of the work. It’s layered with strawberry cake, sweet cream cheese filling, fresh strawberries, and fluffy whipped topping.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
I love this recipe for spring and summer gatherings because it feels light and fruity, but still tastes rich and special. Plus, it’s budget-friendly, feeds a crowd, and can be made ahead, which is always a win in my kitchen.
For more easy strawberry desserts, you may also love my strawberry crumble, strawberry casserole, or this strawberry pretzel dip.
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Trifle Dessert
- Easy To Make: A boxed cake mix keeps this dessert simple and stress-free.
- Great For A Crowd: This big trifle is perfect for potlucks, holidays, cookouts, and church suppers.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: It actually tastes better after chilling for a few hours.
- Fresh And Creamy: The layers of strawberries, cake, cream cheese, and whipped topping are so good together.
Ingredients
Best Ever Strawberry Trifle
Equipment
- Trifle Bowl or deep bowl
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces Strawberry cake mix with ingredients to make cake OR your favorite homemade strawberry cake
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 pounds strawberries divided
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 16 ounces whipped topping, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a large (18×13) rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spritz the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix together ingredients for cake and pour evenly onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle. When the toothpick returns clean, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, hull and coarsely chop about 1 cup of strawberries.
- Mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Stir in the chopped strawberries. Fold in one container of whipped topping.
- Hull and slice the remaining strawberries, saving a few for garnish if desired.
- Cut cake into squares.
- In the bottom of a trifle bowl, create a layer of cake squares. Over the cake squares, dollop about half of the cream cheese strawberry mixture. Smooth to create an even layer.
- Top the cream cheese layer with a layer of sliced strawberries.
- Repeat the layers once, pressing down the layers if needed.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours prior to serving. May be refrigerate up to two days prior to serving.
- When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and top the trifle with the second container of whipped topping, decorating as desired.
Notes
Disclaimer:
Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.
Nutrition
Wendy’s Tips
- Let the cake cool completely before layering so the cream cheese filling doesn’t melt.
- Use ripe, sweet strawberries for the best flavor.
- Cut the cake into even squares so the layers sit nicely in the trifle bowl.
- Press the layers down gently if needed so everything fits.
- For a shortcut, bake the cake the day before and assemble the trifle the next day.
- For extra strawberry flavor, add a thin layer of strawberry glaze between the fruit and cream layers.
FAQs For This Strawberry Trifle Recipe
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
A traditional trifle bowl is the best choice because the clear glass shows off all the beautiful layers. If you don’t have a trifle bowl, you can use a large glass serving bowl, deep glass dish, or even make individual trifles in mason jars or dessert cups.
This Strawberry Trifle has six layers total. You’ll create a layer of cake, cream cheese strawberry filling, and sliced strawberries, then repeat those three layers one more time. The finished dessert is topped with whipped topping before serving.
While strawberry cake adds extra berry flavor, this recipe is also delicious with white cake, vanilla cake, yellow cake, angel food cake, pound cake, or even a homemade strawberry cake recipe. Any soft cake that can be cut into cubes or squares works well.
Fresh strawberries are recommended for the best texture and appearance. If using frozen strawberries, thaw them completely and drain off any excess liquid before adding them to the trifle. Keep in mind that frozen strawberries tend to be softer than fresh strawberries once thawed.
