Go Back Email Link
+ servings
An above view of a red velvet cheesecake trifle.
Print

Red Velvet Cheesecake Trifle

Red velvet cheesecake trifle is made with layers of rich red velvet cake alternating with light whipped cream cheese frosting. It hits all the flavour points of a red velvet cake with every bite. Make one big trifle to share, or individual trifles!
Course Dessert
Cuisine North American
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 16 servings
Calories 423kcal
Author Nina

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake

  • 1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 1 ¼ tablespoons red liquid food colouring

Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese

  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 6 medium strawberries + extra for decoration
  • 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Whipping Cream

  • 2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line and grease an 8 inch cake pan; set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, or in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar until smooth and well combined.
  • Add egg and beat to combine thoroughly. Add oil, vinegar, vanilla buttermilk and food colouring. Beat until combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. You will see small lumps and that is okay.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cook completely.
  • To make the whipped strawberry cream cheese, rinse and hull the strawberries. Place them into a small saucepan and over medium heat. Stir occasionally until strawberries become very soft. This will take about 15 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat and mash strawberries with a potato masher.
  • In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, strawberry puree, and strawberry extract. Mix until well combined and smooth. Add the heavy cream and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • To make the whipped cream, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks. I did not sweeten my whip cream as the other layers have enough sugar in them.
  • To assemble, cut the cake into 1 inch square pieces. Add a little less then half the cake pieces into the bottom of an 8 inch trifle dish. Top with half the amount of whipped strawberry cream cheese, and then half the amount of whipped cream. Repeat the layers and decorate the top with cake crumbs and extra strawberries.

Notes

  1. Don't have an 8-inch cake pan? You can use a 9-inch pan. Bake the cake for 15-20 minutes as it will be thinner and take less time to bake.
  2. Cake flour makes the cake have a very soft crumble. You can substitute with all purpose flour, although it won't be as tender.
  3. There are a lot of recipes for substituting buttermilk. I find they never quite work the same as buttermilk though. I recommend using buttermilk for this recipe.
  4. You can use red food gel instead of the liquid food colouring.
  5. Use full fat cream cheese for best taste.
  6. You can use frozen strawberries to make the puree instead of fresh. I wanted to use some fresh strawberries for decoration, so that's why I used fresh for the puree.
  7. You can leave out the strawberry extract if you don't have it, however the strawberry flavour won't be as intense. It will still be really good though. ?
  8. If you want your whipping cream layer to be sweet, add in ¼ cup of powdered sugar while whisking the heavy cream. I preferred it not sweetened as there was enough sugar to the dish as a whole.

Nutrition

Serving: 16g | Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 146mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 974IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg