Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake

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My easy, no-bake, homemade Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake recipe combines a purchased light, fluffy angel food cake, layers of sweet, juicy strawberries, and heavenly whipped cream for a refreshing and indulgent dessert.

Like my Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie and Southern Strawberry Shortcakes, this is a delightful, easy-to-make dessert that will leave your taste buds wanting more.

A clear glass trifle dish with layers of strawberries, whipped cream and angel food cake.

Whether you’re hosting a summer barbecue, a fancy dinner party, or need a dessert to take to a potluck, this delightful layered strawberry angel food cake dessert is a crowd-pleaser and perfect for any occasion.

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Why you will love this recipe:
Ingredient notes:
How to make Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake:
What is a trifle:
Recipe variations:
Serve it with:
Recipe FAQs:
Top tips and shortcuts:
More simple dessert recipes with fruit or berries:
📋 Recipe:

Why you will love this recipe:

It is visually appealing, with its colorful layers of cake, fruit, and whipped cream, and it has the perfect balance of flavors and textures.
Strawberry trifle is versatile and can be customized to suit your family’s preferences. The possibilities are endless.
It is easy to make, requiring only a few simple ingredients and no baking. This makes it an ideal dessert if you don’t have much time or don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.

Ingredient notes:

An angel food cake, fresh strawberries, heavy whipping cream and other ingredients to make a trifle.

Strawberries – luscious fresh strawberries are the star of this show with their lovely red color and sweet fresh taste. You can substitute other berries or combine them with blueberries and raspberries to make a triple-berry trifle. You can also substitute frozen strawberries; they do need to be defrosted first.
Angel food cake – this light-as-a-cloud cake forms the base of the trifle. This recipe calls for a purchased already baked angel food cake to save time. Of course, if you prefer, you can make your own cake from scratch or a cake mix.
Heavy whipping cream – is used to make whipped cream, the glue that holds the layers together and gives it great flavor. Cool Whip or frozen whipped topping can be substituted for whipped cream.
Sugar – granulated sugar is added to the strawberries to macerate them, drawing the liquid out and forming a sweet, flavorful syrup. It is also used to sweeten the whipped cream.
Lemon juice and zest – add a wonderful citrusy note to the trifle and balance out the sweetness.
Kosher salt – enhances all of the flavors.
Grand Marnier – is an optional ingredient. It is a blend of cognac and orange-flavored liqueur that adds an additional layer of rich flavor.

(Specific measurements can be found in the recipe below.)

How to make Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake:

Place a mixing bowl and electric beaters or whisk in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
Wash the strawberries, and remove the leaves, stem, and tough bits below the stem from the fruit. You can use a strawberry huller to remove the stems, but if you don’t have one, you can just cut off the tops of the berries with a knife, then slice.

Water spraying whole fresh strawberries in a colander.

Add the sliced strawberries to a medium-sized bowl with one cup of sugar, lemon juice, zest, and a pinch of salt. Optional, add a splash of Grand Marnier or another orange-flavored liqueur. Gently toss the berries to combine.

Sliced strawberries topped with sugar and lemon zest.

Set the berry mixture aside for about 30 minutes and stir occasionally. This allows the strawberries to macerate or soften slightly and start releasing their juices.

Sliced strawberries that have been macerated covered in juice.

To make the whipped cream, pour chilled heavy whipping cream into a large chilled bowl and add a quarter cup of sugar.
Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a chilled whisk attachment and beat the cream mixture at medium speed until stiff peaks form. You can check for stiff peaks by lifting the whisk out of the cream; if the peaks hold their shape, the cream is ready. Usually, it takes about seven to eight minutes to get to the stiff peak stage.

Tear the angel food cake into bite-size pieces. Place a third of the cake pieces in the bottom of a large trifle dish. Spread out evenly.

Angel food cake torn into bite size pieces in the bottom of a trifle dish.

Spoon about a third of the strawberry mixture over the angel food cake and spread it evenly.

A layer of pieces of angel food cake and sliced strawberries in a glass trifle dish.

Add about a third of the whipped cream and spread it out evenly, ensuring that it covers the strawberry layer completely.

A layer of whipped cream, sliced strawberries and angel food cake in a glass trifle dish.

Repeat the layers twice, ending with a layer of whipped cream. You can use a spoon or a spatula to spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the trifle.

Topping trifle layers with strawberries.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill the strawberry trifle in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. This will help the flavors meld together and make it even more delicious!
Optional, before serving garnish with a few strawberries.

Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake in a clear glass trifle dish.

What is a trifle:

Trifles originated in England and generally featured three or more layers of fruit, sponge cake often soaked in whiskey, and custard. They were also usually served in a clear round bowl so you could see the layers.

Modern-day trifles are similar and usually consist of several layers of crumbled or cubed cake, pudding, cream cheese, whipped cream, and fruit or berries.

Whipped cream is commonly used as a topping, and clear glass bowls or trifle dishes are used to showcase the beautiful layers.

Trifles are so versatile I like to use them to make special occasions and holiday desserts, such as my Christmas Red Velvet Cake Trifle and Halloween Black Forest Trifle. I’m also planning to make a red, white, and blueberry trifle for the 4th of July.

Recipe variations:

Trifles come in all sizes and flavors, and angel food, chocolate, vanilla, and pound cake are often used. Some trifles still feature one or more pudding layers and all feature fruit or berries of some sort.
To change this recipe, you could replace the angel food cake with lady fingers, pound cake, white, devil’s food, yellow cake, or even brownies.
Custard, vanilla, lemon, or chocolate pudding could be added between the layers.
Different fruits, combinations of fruit, or even pie filling can be used instead of the strawberries, such as blueberries, bananas, raspberries, or pineapple. Cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, or lemon curd would also be nice.
Instead of making one large trifle, you can layer the ingredients in parfait glasses or even mason jars.

Serve it with:

I like to serve this tasty strawberry trifle with simple entrees such as my Blackened Grouper, Fried Oysters, Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs, Fried Chicken Burgers, Smoked Ribeye Steak, or Pan-Fried Shrimp.

Recipe FAQs:

When are strawberries in season?

Three-fourths of the nation’s strawberries come from Plant City, Florida, and the majority are harvested from December through April. If you are ever in the area, there is even a Strawberry Festival in early March to celebrate its most famous crop.

Lucky for us, fresh strawberries are also available all year long in most grocery stores, and frozen berries are always available.

Can you substitute other fresh or frozen berries or fruits?

Fresh or frozen peaches, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, and nectarines would all be delicious in this berry trifle recipe! I’ve also used cherry pie filling.

Can you make it ahead?

Strawberry trifle is best if made between four and eight hours ahead of when you want to serve it. However you can make it up to 24 hours ahead, but if you do, wait to garnish the top with berries until you are ready to serve it.

Leftovers and storage?

This dessert is best when eaten within 24 hours. After that, the cake will start to get soggy, and the berries will begin to soften. It will last up to four days, tightly covered in your refrigerator. It can not be frozen.

Top tips and shortcuts:

Don’t over-whip the cream; over-whipping the cream can cause it to turn into butter or become grainy. To avoid this, stop whipping as soon as stiff peaks form.
You can also substitute the boxed frozen sliced strawberries in syrup for fresh. If using the strawberries in syrup, you do not need to add sugar to macerate them.
The trifle dish I used in this recipe has straight sides, measures seven and one-half inches across the top, and is five inches deep. I prefer trifle dishes without a pedestal; they are easier to transport and store in the fridge.