Strawberry Trifle with Cream Cheese

5 from 10 votes

This easy strawberry trifle recipe features dreamy cake layers, juicy strawberries, and creamy pudding.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Strawberry Trifle Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 813kcal

1 strawberry cake, use a cake mix and bake in a 9x13 baking dish for ease, cooled completely
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3.4 ounces cheesecake pudding mix (unprepared)
3½ cups heavy whipping cream, divided into 1½ cups and 2 cups
¾ cup powdered sugar, divided into ½ cup and ¼ cup
2 pounds fresh strawberries, stems removed and sliced

Remove cooled cake from baking dish and slice into ¾ to 1-inch 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 1½ 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 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 stand 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 the 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 the stem still attached (or decorate as desired).

I do not recommend using frozen fruit for this recipe. It will soak into the cake as it thaws, turning it into mush. Fresh fruit is best for this simple strawberry trifle.
Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature when you add it.
If you do not drizzle the cream in while mixing, it will be really difficult to get all of the lumps out of the creamy mixture.
You can also layer the cream and strawberries separately, but it’s easy just to mix them all together.