Summertime is a great time to enjoy all kinds of delicious berries. This easy dessert lets you enjoy that fresh flavor in a decadent summer berry trifle.
This recipe features layers of no bake cheesecake filling, fresh berries, and cubed pound cake (from the store or homemade). It's the perfect dessert for a warm summer day! For
Why you will love this recipe
Summertime means farmers markets are overflowing with delicious berries of all kinds. This recipe for a berry trifle is perfect for this summertime abundance. It's easy to make and requires very few ingredients. Best of all, it's bright, cheerful, and refreshing, making it the perfect dessert for hot summer days.
So gather up your favorite berries and give this recipe a try! You won't be disappointed.
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Ingredients
Clean and remove the tops off the strawberries, and rinse the blackberries and blueberries. Let them drain in a colander, or dry off spread out on a cookie sheet.
An easy way to dry them is to lay paper towels or hand towels on a cookie sheet for the berries to be spread out on. They will drain and dry off quickly this way.
With raspberries, since they are so very fragile, hold off rinsing them until you are ready to use them. Use the colander to give them gentle toss to let the water drip off.
Try to source your berries from a local farm produce stand if possible. Vine ripened berries are sweeter and fresher. You can use our Lemon Pound Cake recipe, frozen Sara Lee pound cake, or a ready made fresh pound cake from your grocery bakery section. Do what works for you.
- strawberries
- blueberries
- blackberries
- raspberries
- Philadelphia cream cheese (or any brand of cream cheese)
- sour cream
- powdered or confectioners sugar
- mini marshmallows
- lemon juice
- vanilla
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make a trifle
Once you make a trifle you can vary the ingredients in hundreds of ways. A trifle is more a general word for a layered dessert using cake, fruit, and a thick pudding, Jello, or cream. Alcohol like sherry or liqueur is sometime involved also!
The key things you want to focus on is ingredients that will hold up to this layering technique for a period of time.
For instance, in hot weather a whip cream and gelatin layers will deflate faster than a pudding layer. Some fruit will juice up faster than others when they are cut. Some cake will get soggy faster than others.
Stay mindful of the temperatures and the location your trifle will be sitting out at. We are using a cubed pound cake in this recipe, as well as a cheesecake filling, as both will hold up and not get soggy or runny on a hot summer day.
Prep the berries and the filling
- Ingredients needed for making this recipe are cake, cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and some marshmallows.
- Soften the cream cheese ahead of time, or cream it alone with your mixer until it has softened. Then add the sour cream and the sugar.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Layer the ingredients & chill
- Start with a layer of cake on the bottom, then berries, then cheesecake filling. Repeat.
- On the last berry layer, make sure to heap them up higher in the middle so you have an artful presentation.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Chill & Serve
- Place your trifle in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before serving. Be sure to cover the top lightly with plastic wrap to keep the berries fresh.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Serving Suggestions
Another stunning presentation of this berry trifle is to serve them in individual mini trifle bowls or parfait cups. The recipe will fill 8 easily, depending on the volume of the dish and how thick you make the cubed cake and berry layers.
Looking for more berry recipes? We have an amazing German Puff Pancake, a patriotic looking Fruit & Cheese Platter using fresh summer berries, and a 4th of July Rice Krispy Treats recipe for the kids!
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Substitutions
Fruit substitutions: Strawberries and blueberries are available longer in the year than blackberries and raspberries. You can easily use only one or two berries and still have an amazing berry trifle.
You're not limited to berries though! Use fruit that is in season when possible, but frozen and canned fruits can also be used. See our variation suggestions below for other trifle variations.
Filling substitutions - Instead of cheesecake filling, try stabilized whip cream (blend a tablespoon of sour cream into a pint of heavy cream before whipping the heavy cream). Chocolate pudding, Creme Anglaise, Diplomat Cream, or any other pastry style cream or your favorite pudding.
You can also use Vanilla Greek Yogurt in place of the sour cream.
Cake layer substitutions: Angel food cake, Devils food cake, Red Velvet cake, cubed donuts, broken Oreo or other cookies.
Another fun thing to do with the cake layer is to sprinkle them with some liqueur that coordinates with your fruit and filling. A Kirsch liqueur (cherry liqueur) would be perfect with this recipe!
Jam preserves thinned out with some warm water is another delicious addition drizzled on the cake layers.
Variations
Here are some more fun trifle recipe variations:
- Stone Fruit Trifle - use slices of fresh dark damson plums, white nectarines, and yellow peaches.
- Black Forest Trifle- layers of chocolate cake, stabilized whip cream or your favorite pastry cream, and cherry pie filling.
- Banana Pie Trifle - layer sliced bananas, pudding, and vanilla wafers for this version.
- Tiramisu Trifle - layer coffee liqueur dipped vanilla cake or lady fingers with espresso flavored stabilized whip cream, and drizzles of chocolate syrup. Top with cocoa powder.
- European style Trifle - you will have only three layers with this style. Start with a layer of cake cubes, about ½" size. Then a thick layer of fruit, like strawberries & blueberries. Mix up a large package of Strawberry Jello and carefully pour it over the fruit and cake layer. Set in the refrigerator to chill until firm. Top the final layer with a vanilla pudding and decorate the top with some fruit.
Equipment
The most important piece of equipment needed is either a large trifle bowl, or individual parfait dishes.
Storage
Cover with plastic wrap and store for up to 24 hours in advance. You can store leftovers in the refrigerator also, up to 3 days.
Tips for Success
- Buy the cake ready made and all you have left to prepare washing the fruit, mixing up the the filling, & layering
- If you can find the 24.3 oz tub of Philadelphia No Bake Cheesecake filling, you literally can pull this stunning dessert together in less than 20 minutes!
Frequently asked questions
Generally no, as the fresh fruit will be softened and runny when back at room temperature. But, you can refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days generally.
A trifle is a common British dessert traditionally consisting of sponge cake soaked in sherry or other spirits, layered with fruits and a gelatin layer, finally topped with custard or pudding.
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📖 Recipe
Summer Berry Trifle
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs strawberries, fresh
- 1 lb blueberries, fresh
- 6 oz blackberries, fresh
- 6 oz red raspberries, fresh
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- ½ cup confectioners sugar, (powdered sugar)
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14.5 oz pound cake, from store bakery or frozen (see recipe card notes)
Instructions
- Wash and stem the strawberries and spread out on a paper towel or cloth covered baking sheet to drain and dry off. Rinse the blackberries, being careful as the are more fragile. Save the red raspberries for very last, rinsing lightly only and setting to drain off any water. Take care with the raspberries, as they can retain water.2 lbs strawberries, fresh, 1 lb blueberries, fresh, 6 oz blackberries, fresh, 6 oz red raspberries, fresh
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and the vanilla extract. Cream with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Remove the mixer beater and blend in by hand the marshmallows.8 oz cream cheese, softened, 8 oz sour cream, ½ cup confectioners sugar, (powdered sugar), 3 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup mini marshmallows
- Cube the pound cake up in about ¾" to 1" cubes. Divide into two piles. Add one pile of cubes to the bottom of the trifle bowl. Add berries to create a 1" layer. Add half the cheesecake filling if doing two layers of each (cake, berry, filling) or ⅓ of the filling if doing three layers of each.14.5 oz pound cake, from store bakery or frozen
- Repeat the layering a second time, stopping with the top being artfully arranged berries. Heap them up higher in the middle for a lovely presentation. Chill for at least 1 hour, then serve!
Notes
- You can make your own pound cake, or purchase a frozen Sara Lee pound cake. Or, your grocery bakery probably has them for sale freshly made. They usually range in size from 14 to 16 oz.
- The depth of your bowl will determine if you do two layers of each or three layers of each. Parfait glasses will have one layer each only.
Nutrition
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