Summer Berry Trifle
This summer berry trifle is a fun and easy no-bake seasonal dessert! It’s filled with layers of fresh berries, whipped cream and store-bought vanilla cake.
If you’re looking for a summer dessert that everyone will love, this is it! A trifle is easy enough for anyone to put together, looks incredibly beautiful, and feeds a crowd. You can find almost endless trifle variations out there, but this one is very simple and straightforward. It doesn’t include a cooked custard or vanilla pudding mix, and there’s no required chill time before serving.
Interested in more berry recipes? See my full list of the best berry recipes.
Recipe summary: Summer Berry Trifle
- It’s an easy, no-bake recipe that uses store-bought vanilla cake for convenience.
- It features three layers: juicy fresh berries, vanilla whipped cream, and cake cubes.
- Assemble in a trifle dish or glass bowl for the prettiest presentation.
- It’s best made and served within 24 hours.
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Ingredients you’ll need
- Fresh berries: Use any combination you like— raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or chopped strawberries.
- Store-bought vanilla cake. Pound cake or angel food cake from your supermarket bakery are both great options, but any kind will do. You can also use a yellow cake mix prepared and baked in a 9×13-inch pan.
- Heavy whipping cream: Making freshly whipped cream provides so much more flavor than using something like Cool Whip.
- Cream cheese: Added a stabilizer to keep it from getting soggy or deflating. It also adds a delicious “cheesecake” flavor.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness to the whipped cream, and helps bring out the natural sweetness of the berries.
- Vanilla extract: To flavor the whipped cream.
- Orange liqueur: Like triple sec, contreau or gran gala. Adds a certain something to the juicy berries, but can be substituted with more vanilla if you prefer.
baking tip:How to quickly bring cream cheese to room temperature
Cold cream cheese can result in a lumpy batter or frosting. Letting the cream cheese rest at room temperature for about 60 minutes is ideal, but in case you forget to pull it out of the fridge on time, here are a few ways to speed things up.
- Cut cream cheese into small cubes and spread out on the packaging or a plate. Let sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.
- Remove cream cheese from any paper packaging but keep it in the foil packaging. Place in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
- Remove cream cheese completely from all packaging. Microwave in 10 second bursts, flipping it after each burst, for about 30-40 seconds total.
How to make berry trifle
Now that you’ve got everything prepped and ready to go, it’s time to assemble the trifle! Tip: slow down and take care with each step so as to keep the presentation as pretty as possible.
Berry trifle FAQs
If you don’t have a classic trifle dish, you can use a large glass mixing bowl or straight-sided glass vase.
If you prefer not to use liqueur in this recipe, simply leave it out and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the macerated berries.
This recipe really is best with fresh berries. Frozen berries will have too much liquid once thawed and the trifle will be quite soggy. If you want to use frozen berries, I recommend searching for another recipe online that uses them.
If you are serving this recipe within about 1 hour of assembly, you can leave it at room temperature. Otherwise, it should be store in the refrigerator. When it doubt, put it in the fridge!
I prefer to serve this trifle the day it’s made, but it will keep for about 24 hours. After than, it starts look a little soggy and isn’t as pretty, but will still taste great for about 2 more days.
More berry dessert recipes
- Berry Crumb Bars
- Angel Food Cupcakes with Whipped Buttercream and Berries
- Black and Blueberry Pie
- Vanilla Cupcakes with Berry Swirl Frosting
- Lemon Berry Shortcakes
- Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Roasted Berries
Summer Berry Trifle
Ingredients
Macerated Berries Layers:
- 1 lb (455 grams) fresh strawberries , chopped
- 1 cup (140 grams) fresh raspberries
- 1 cup (160 grams) fresh blueberries
- 1 cup (140 grams) fresh blackberries
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp orange liqueur , such as Gran Gala or Cointreau (optional, see Notes)
Whipped Cream Layers:
- 8 oz (226 grams) cream cheese , softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (455 grams) heavy whipping cream , cold
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cake Layers:
- 8-10 cups (455 grams) cubed store-bought vanilla cake , such as pound cake or angel food cake
Instructions
To prepare macerated berries:
- Add half of berries to a bowl with sugar and mash gently with a fork until lightly smashed and sugar is dissolved. Add remaining berries, lemon juice and liqueur (or vanilla) and stir until combined. Let berries sit for 20 minutes while you get everything else ready.1 lb (455 grams) fresh strawberries, 1 cup (140 grams) fresh raspberries, 1 cup (160 grams) fresh blueberries, 1 cup (140 grams) fresh blackberries, ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, Juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbsp orange liqueur
To make whipped cream:
- Using an electric mixer beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to another bowl and set aside. No need to clean the mixer bowl.8 oz (226 grams) cream cheese, ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Beat heavy whipping cream to soft peaks on medium high speed. Reduce speed to low and add cream cheese mixture a spoonful at a time while the mixer is running. Mixture will be a little lumpy at first, continue to beat until smooth and fluffy.2 cups (455 grams) heavy whipping cream
To assemble berry trifle:
- Add a third of cake cubes (about 2-3 cups) to the bottom of a trifle dish. Top with a third of the berries, making sure to get some of the juices and drizzle them over the cake. Spread a third of the whipped cream over the berries.8-10 cups (455 grams) cubed store-bought vanilla cake
- Repeat 2 more times so you have 3 layers each of cake, berries and cream, ending with the whipped cream. Go slowly to keep layers looking clean and even in the dish.
- If desired, add some berries on top as a garnish before serving. Serve right away or within 24 hours for best results (store in the refrigerator if serve time is more than 1 hour after assembly).
Notes
- Use any combination of berries: Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and/or blackberries, or even other fruit like peaches or cherries. You’ll need about 4-5 cups total.
- Using orange liqueur is completely optional. Substitute with 1 tsp vanilla extract if you prefer.
- Exact amount of cake can be varied, based on your trifle dish and size of store-bought cake. The trifle dished used to develop this recipe was 8 inches and held about 3 quarts.
- A prepared yellow boxed cake mix works well for the cake cubes in this recipe. Prepare and bake in a 9×13-inch pan, cool, and cut into cubes. You will need about 2/3 of the cake for this recipe.
