Angel food cake with cream cheese and berries

Special thanks to Lucky Leaf® for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

This Blueberries and Cream Cake Trifle is a layered dessert with creamy angel food cake cubes, blueberry fruit filling, and whipped cream. It’s easy to assemble, creamy and sweet– and is the perfect make ahead dessert (great for the holidays!).

Growing up, one of the most frequent desserts my grandparents made was a sort of angel food cake trifle:angel food cake, sugared strawberries, and lots of whipped cream. Today I have a spin on that recipe using angel food cake and whipped cream with the best blueberry fruit filling!

This trifle is perfect to make for the holidays — it’s a fun change from the typical apple pie or pecan pie. It’s also ideal since it’s best made ahead of time and doesn’t require any precious oven space. Although perhaps a nontraditional holiday dessert, it’s a fun way to get creative this holiday season and explore new twists on old favorites or introduce new dishes to your guests!

Blueberries & Cream Cake Trifle Layers

There are three layers to this trifle which we’ll break down below:

1. Sweet and creamy angel food cake cubes. The first layer contains four ingredients: angel food cake cubes, sugar, cream cheese, and evaporated milk.

• • To keep things easy (while still tasty!), grab a pre-made angel food cake from the bakery section of your grocery store. (If you aren’t able to find one, you can grab a boxed mix and prepare the angel food cake before proceeding with this recipe.) Another alternative is to make your own. Whatever way you proceed, we’re looking for a fresh cake and about 6-1/2 to 7 cups of cake cubes — any more than that and the trifle will seem dry.
  • Be sure to use brick-style, full-fat cream cheese for best results in flavor and consistency.
  • To balance the tang and savoriness of the cream cheese, we add in some white granulated sugar.
  • And finally, we mix in some evaporated milk. In case you aren’t familiar, in some countries it is called unsweetened condensed milk and essentially it is a canned cow’s milk product that is shelf-stable. 60% of the water has been removed from the fresh milk, making it a more flavorful and creamy product to use in our Blueberries and Cream Cake Trifle. (By the way, sweetened condensed milk contains added sugar and wouldn’t work in this recipe — it would make it too sweet!)

1. Blueberry fruit filling. In this recipe, we use blueberry fruit filling made by Lucky Leaf®. Here are some of the reasons we love this brand and product:

• • Quality: Lucky Leaf is a high-quality premium line of prepared fruit fillings/toppings so you can feel confident baking for your loved ones! They are non-GMO, gluten-free, contain no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives!
  • Convenient: The fruit filling is ready to use so it saves you time without a sacrifice of quality or taste.
  • Variety: Lucky Leaf comes in a wide variety of delicious and inspiring flavors — one for everyone! If you don’t love blueberries, try one of their other flavors in this trifle!

1. Whipped cream. Last, but certainly not least, we have some sweetened whipped topping which only requires two ingredients, plus an optional flavor enhancer if you’d like.

• • Heavy whipping cream is the base of the whipped cream. The best-tasting heavy cream doesn’t have additives; if possible, find a brand that lists only one ingredient: cream.
  • The cream is lightly sweetened with powdered sugar. Feel free to play around with the amount you add — more for a sweeter cream and add less for less sweetness.
  • Vanilla extract and a tiny pinch of salt enhance the flavor of the cream — optional, but nice if you have ’em!

Blueberry Angel Food Cake Tips

• Embrace the messy! This trifle is anything but perfect and don’t worry, because it’s ridiculously tasty! The layers are intended to be a bit haphazard, but as it chills everything melds together nicely and you’ll get plenty of each element come serving time.
• Smooth layers on gently and slowly to avoid picking up the other layers as you spread on the new ones.
• Use a trifle dish or 9×13-inch pan. We tested this recipe in both a glass trifle dish and 9×13-inch pan. They both worked, but we did find serving to be easier out of a 9×13-inch pan.
• Plan ahead. This Blueberries and Cream Cake Trifle needs at least 2 hours to chill and firm up.

More Dessert Recipes

• Cherry Danish using cherry fruit filling
• Peaches and Cream Cake with cream cheese frosting
• Apple Streusel Pie with a graham cracker crust
• Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie with a cinnamon roll pie crust
• Caramel Apple Hand Pies with apple pie fruit filling

• ▢ 1 store-bought (10 oz.) angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes (See Note 1)
• ▢ 2 packages (8 oz. each) full-fat, brick-style cream cheese
• ▢ 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• ▢ 3/4 cup white, granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 can (21 oz.) Lucky Leaf Premium Blueberry Fruit Filling
• ▢ 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

• CREAM CHEESE LAYER: Using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, whip together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the evaporated milk and mix until smooth.

• ANGEL FOOD CAKE: Remove cake from packaging. Slice into 1-inch thick slices. Cut each slice into small 1-inch cubes and then add cubes into the cream cheese mixture. Gently fold the cake cubes into the cream mixture until well coated.

• WHIPPED CREAM: Combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (if using) in the base of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and then increase the speed to medium high and beat, watching closely, until soft peaks form.

• ASSEMBLY: In a trifle dish or 9x13-inch dish, spread 1/2 of the cake mixture along the bottom. Top with 1/2 of the can of blueberry fruit filling. Smooth 1/2 of the whipped cream on top. (Don't worry about it looking perfect or pretty, it will be a bit messy!)

• ASSEMBLY CONT.: Repeat the layers: remaining cake mixture, remaining blueberry fruit filling, and remaining whipped cream. Cover tightly and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

• SERVE: Cut into squares and serve or refrigerate (covered) until ready to serve. To get clean slices, run a knife under hot water for a few seconds, wipe to dry, make 1 slice, and repeat. Use a metal spatula to remove bars and serve.

Note 1: Angel Food Cake: To keep things easy (while still tasty!), get a packaged angel food cake from the bakery section of your grocery store. If you aren't able to find one, you can grab a boxed mix and prepare the angel food cake before proceeding with this recipe. Another alternative is to make your own. Whichever way you proceed,, we're looking for a fresh cake and about 6-1/2 to 7 cups of cake cubes -- any more than that and the trifle will seem dry.

Nutrition information will vary, depending on the type of angel food cake used.

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 419IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.