No-Bake Berry Cheesecake Trifle
Angel food cake layered with an easy no-bake cheesecake filling and fresh strawberries and blueberries. This No-Bake Berry Trifle is such a perfect dessert for the 4th of July!
When I was growing up, my mom loved to make fruit trifles as a dessert for parties. Now that I’m older, I find that I love making trifles or mini desserts to bring with me when we get together with friends or family.
Not only are trifles incredibly easy to throw together, but you can also make them ahead of time and the layers always look so gorgeous. So today I’m bringing you this easy and delicious No-Bake Berry Trifle.
You’ll be layering the pieces of angel food cake with an easy no-bake cheesecake filling. For the cheesecake layers, you’ll just need a little cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla. You’ll mix it all together until it’s thickened, then you’re ready to start layering!
Ingredients in This Recipe
This angel food cake trifle is layered with a cheesecake filling and plenty of fresh berries. Easy and delicious! Here’s an overview of the ingredients list:
- Cream cheese: You’ll need to use brick-style cream cheese to make the cheesecake filling. Let it soften to room temperature before whipping it together with the sugar and cream.
- Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. It sweetens the cheesecake filling without changing the texture.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract will deliver the best flavor.
- Heavy whipping cream: Needs to be fridge cold before whipping it. Make sure to buy a heavy whipping cream that’s at least 36% fat.
- Angel food cake: I prefer to use a store-bought angel food cake when making this recipe, so there’s no baking required! You can feel free to use something else like a pound cake, but I love the light and airy pieces of cubed angel food cake when it comes to this trifle.
- Fresh berries: I used a blend of fresh strawberries and blueberries. I don’t recommend using frozen berries.
How to Make a Berry Trifle
To make this angel food cake trifle, you’ll first need to whip up the cheesecake filling. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined, then add the heavy whipping cream and continue mixing until soft peaks form.
Then, it’s just a matter of layering the ingredients. Place half of the angel food cake pieces in the bottom of a large trifle dish, then spoon half the cheesecake mixture over top. Sprinkle with berries, then repeat this process once more.
Can I Use Different Berries?
For the berries in this trifle, I love to use a mix of strawberries and blueberries. With 4th of July just around the corner, the strawberries and blueberries make a festive dessert. Any kind of berry would work well in this recipe too, so feel free to change it up!
Can I Prep the Trifle in Advance?
I’ve made this berry cheesecake trifle a day in advance and never had any problems with the angel food cake becoming soggy. If you’re worried about it, you can prep the individual trifle layers in advance and assemble it the same day you plan on serving it.
Baking Tips
- You can serve this fruit trifle as mini trifles in some mini trifle dishes, mason jars, or even some cute plastic cups. They’re so easy to make ahead of time and have prepared for when your guests arrive.
- If desired, you can use homemade angel food cake to make this easy trifle recipe. Obviously, that will take more time but I know some people prefer from-scratch desserts.
- Fresh berries are a must for this recipe. Frozen berries have a slimy texture once thawed — not what you want in a trifle!
More Berry Desserts to Try!
- Lemon Berry Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Cups
- Mixed Berry Crisp
- Blueberry Crumb Bars
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Mini Blueberry Lemon Cheesecakes
No-Bake Berry Trifle
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream , cold
- 1 angel food cake , cubed into 1" pieces (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1 pint fresh strawberries , sliced
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, mix the cream cheese until smooth.
- Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream and continue mixing on medium speed until the mixture has thickened and soft peaks form. Set aside.
- Start by layering half of the angel food cake in a large trifle dish, then layer half of the cheesecake filling on top, then top with the blueberries (you can reserve some for the top if you prefer).
- Layer the other half of the angel food cake on top of the blueberries followed by the other half of the cheesecake filling, then top with the sliced strawberries and reserved blueberries.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.
This is just a question. I made a similar recipe this weekend and have been reflecting on it . I think it would be interesting to try with some gelation in the cream cheese, to give it a bit more body, more like an unbaked cheesecake. Have you ever tried that? Any thoughts?
I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I think it would be fine to use gelatin. I would recommend sprinkling the gelatin on some water, letting it sit for a few minutes, then warming it up to dissolve the gelatin. Once it’s cooled slightly you can mix it into the cream cheese (similar to what I did with this recipe).
A layer of pie filling on top goes good too. Used strawberry with fresh berries on top. A hit with family this weekend.
Hi, wondering if I could use cool whip instead of the heavy whipping cream? Also could you recommend how much cool whip would be good to use?
Thank you!!
Yes, that would be fine. 2 cups of heavy cream is equal to about 4 cups of whipped cream, so I would probably use 4 cups of Cool Whip. You may want to reduce the powdered sugar by 1/4 to 1/2 cup as well.
Hi do i need fruit or can i substitute : use any other like banana or can i not use fruit at all
You can use another fruit if you prefer.
Hi I know trifle usually has custard so is this a trifle
Yes, this is just a different variation. A lot of trifles do use custard, but this one uses a whipped cream cheese mixture instead.
How many does this serve?
It should serve about 8.
Made this trifle for July 4th and it was delicious- my family loved it. I made it with homemade angel food cake and the combination of that with the no-bake cheesecake was so YUM. I found that my cake (by itself) was on the sweet side so for the cheesecake I used only 1 cup sugar and the consistency was still good for me. Would definitely make it again and recommend this recipe. Thank you!
I always find trifles too soft. But the ones I’ve had are pudding and whipped topping. Does the cheesecake set up firmer? I’m not a huge whipped cream fan, usually just a tablespoon or two on pumpkin pie. But I absolutely LOVE cheesecake. Do you think the filling would be good with less cream?
Hi, Lana! The cream cheese does help it set up a bit firmer, it’s still soft, but not as soft as pudding and whipped topping. You could certainly use less cream in the filling if you prefer too, but I would still add some so it’s a little soft and easy to serve.
How long should I put in the fridge? Like one day or 2 hours or ??? Thank you for nice dessert
You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This was amazing. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the trifle, Laura!
How many servings of mini trifles would this make? I would be making 20 of them. Should I double it?
Hi Michele! It depends on how big you’re wanting to make them. If you’re wanting the mini trifles to be a little bigger than the picture, you may want to double the recipe. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Oh. I just saw this before I posted my comment. Do you think 2 days is pushing it?
Hey! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂 I was able to alter it just a little because my husband is lactose intolerant by buying dairy free “cream cheese” and So Delicious brand frozen whipped topping (near cool whip). I blended the powdered sugar, vanilla, and ,”cream cheese” then folded in the whipped topping! My husband tasted the filling and he was like “this tastes too good to be lactose free”! So thank you!!
My question is, today is 7/2 & I am prepping the ingredients to assemble for the 4th of July. The store bought angel food cake I feel like will be dried out by the 4th. I am thinking about assembling this all tomorrow morning (other than the top layer) to rehydrate the angel food cake. Do you think that would be okay or do you think the angel food cake will be too mushy by the time dinner comes around?
Hi Taylor! So glad to hear that you were able to make some adjustments and make it dairy free. Thanks for sharing, I’m sure other readers will find it helpful too! Also, I’ve prepped this trifle the morning before and served it for lunch the next day and it was fine. I think you should be okay to assemble it today and serve it tomorrow. Hope that helps!
I am making this for the 4th, will the angel food cake become soggy if I make it the day before?
Hi Brenda! I’ve made this a day in advance and never had any problems with the cake becoming soggy. If you’re worried about it, you can prep everything in advance and assemble it the same day. But I think you should be fine to make it the day before 🙂
Thank you!
What a great dessert for this weekend! So festive!
This looks gorgeous, so delicious and very creative!
What a great idea for a July 4th picnic! It is so pretty and festive!
Love triffles and this one is beautiful! Love the pictures! Pinning to try it!
Trifles are the best, especially with angel food cake and no-bake cheesecake! This is so pretty and I would absolutely love this for the 4th! 🙂
Thank you, Marcie!
What a beautiful, beautiful dessert! This is just perfect for July 4! Pinned!
Oh my goodness, this trifle is GORGEOUS! That cheesecake filling looks amazing and all those layers come together perfectly!
You are so kind, Aimee! Thank you! 🙂
Trifles are the perfect summer dessert if you ask me and I am LOVING this cheesecake trifle! So festive and fun! And I LOVE that they are no bake! Perfect for the upcoming holiday! Cheers, friend!
You can never go wrong with no-bake, right? Thanks, Cheyanne!
You had me at cheesecake trifle. Plus, they are no-bake too. I am absolutely loving them. They sounds fresh and lovely with the berries — so beautifully bright and divine!
Yay for trifle twinning today! 🙂 I love making trifles too, especially mini ones, because they’re so easy and so cute! And you just can’t beat a simple dessert like this for the summer. I love the cheesecake filling in here, so perfect for that angel food cake!
I think the mini ones are so much cuter too! Thanks, Gayle!