This Pina Colada Cake Trifle is perfect to make and serve at summer picnics and barbecues. Layers of cake, fruit, and no bake cheesecake makes a dessert that will wow everyone.
*I am excited to be partnering with the American Dairy Association, Mideast this year to bring you some dairy recipes.
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I have officially gone a trifle crazy.
My brain is in overload right now because this past week I tried to learn a new photo editing program. I feel like my head wants to explode. Part of me thinks I should just stick with the old one because I was comfortable with it.
If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it, right? But the other part of me knows that once I get it, my pictures should look better. Fingers crossed that’s true because I’m trying.
With the kids home for summer vacation, I know that I will not have as much time to put into work stuff. That’s ok though. After one day of working on photos, I’m fried. I think it’s time to go to the pool to chill with a big mug of this Frozen Salted Caramel Mocha Hot Chocolate.
Some days I wonder how I can blog so much because computers and I just don’t get along. Just last night I thought I had it figured out only to find out that I had saved the photos in the wrong color setting.
Thank goodness my hubby was home to help me google the issue. It’s a good thing he is so sane when I start to have a melt down. Chocolate also helps…
Want to know what else I have been going crazy about?
I have officially gone crazy for trifles and parfaits. I bought a trifle bowl a few weeks ago and made this Oatmeal Creme Pie Berry Trifle, and now you wouldn’t believe the ideas floating around in my head.
Ok, you probably would believe it because you know me, and you know how I get crazy dessert ideas all the time.
June is National Dairy Month, so I got my big bowl out and made a fun layered cake trifle. This dessert is full of cake, fruit, and a no bake cheesecake that is full of dairy goodness.
Did you know that Ohio dairy farmers produce over 630 million gallons of milk each year? That’s a lot of milk coming from the midwest.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit two farms in Ohio and to see just how well these cows are taken care of.
I was very impressed with the care and quality of the farms and cows. These dairy farmers truly care about the care and comfort of the cows on their farms.
One serving of milk, cheese, or yogurt provides 8 grams of protein and 9 essential vitamins. Most people only consume 1-2 serving of dairy each day, but to meet dairy recommendations they should be eating 3 full servings.
Milk is one of the most requested but least donated item to food banks across the nation. If you feel the need to help out with food banks, keep that in mind.
The cheesecake layer in this easy cake trifle is packed with cream cheese and milk. I wanted to be sure my family was getting a full serving of dairy with their dessert.
The more dairy you consume now helps you later in life. Strong bones and healthy teeth are just a benefit from getting those dairy servings in when you are younger.
How to make a Pina Colada Cake Trifle:
- Cake: Use the juice from the canned pineapple when you mix together the cake mix and ingredients. Using the juice instead of water will help give your cake a pineapple flavor. Let it cool completely and then cut it into 1 inch cubes.
- Fruit: For this cake trifle, you are going to use a can of crushed pineapple and 2 jars of maraschino cherries. Make sure you save the pineapple juice when you drain the pineapple. Drain and rinse the cherries in a colander.
- No Bake Cheesecake: The no-bake cheesecake layer is made from cream cheese, milk, pudding, coconut, extracts, and Cool Whip. Whisk together the pudding, milk, and extracts and let it set up. Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the pudding, Cool Whip, and shredded coconut, and beat it all together.
- Toasted Coconut: Spread some of the shredded coconut on a dark sheet pan and bake it for 4-5 minutes. Stir it after 2 minutes, so the outside pieces do not burn. Remove the pan from the oven and let the coconut cool.
- Assemble: Place half the cake cubes in the bottom of a large trifle bowl. Spoon half the drained pineapple on top and spread it out. Sprinkle one jar of drained cherries on top. Spoon half the no bake coconut cheesecake on top and spread it out gently. Repeat the layers. Add the toasted coconut to the top and chill for a few hours.
- Decorate: Pipe swirls of Cool Whip around the edge of the bowl and in the center using a piping bag and icing tip 1M. Cherries with stems adds the perfect finishing touch the top.
Now go ahead and dig in with a big spoon because after one bite you will be transported to a tropical island.
Well, as long as you keep your eyes closed, so you do not see the pile of dirty dishes in your kitchen from making this fun summer cake trifle.
Other easy pudding parfaits that you may enjoy:
- No Bake Peanut Butter Fudge Cheesecake Parfaits
- Peach Pie Cheesecake Parfaits
- Mocha Fudge Pudding Parfaits
- No Bake Caramel Mud Pie Cups
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Pina Colada Cake Trifle
This Pina Colada Cake Trifle is perfect to make and serve at summer picnics and barbecues. Layers of cake, fruit, and no bake cheesecake makes a dessert that will wow everyone.
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla cake mix
- 1 - 20 ounce can crushed pineapple
- 2 - 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries, with stems
- 1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1 - 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cups shredded coconut, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 - 8 ounce Cool Whip, thawed and divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Take 1/4 cup of the shredded coconut and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, stirring often. Watch the coconut in the oven and remove it when it starts to brown. Let cool.
- Drain the pineapple and save the juice. Use the juice in place of the liquid when you make the cake batter. Bake in a greased 9x13 pan, according to the package directions.
- Remove and let the cake cool completely. Cut into 1 inch cubes.
- Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Set aside.
- Whisk the pudding into the milk until it thickens. Slowly add the pudding and extracts to the cream cheese, beating until creamy. Stir in 1 cup of coconut and 1 cup of Cool Whip.
- Drain the cherries and set aside 10 cherries. Cut the rest of the cherries in half and pat dry.
- Place half the cake cubes in a large bowl. Top with half of the drained pineapple and half the cherries. Spread half of the cheesecake layer over the fruit gently. Repeat the layers.
- Sprinkle the top with the toasted coconut. Swirl on the remaining Cool Whip and garnish with the reserved cherries. Keep refrigerated until you serve it.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 343Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 324mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 2gSugar: 40gProtein: 3g
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*The photos for this Pina Colada Cake Trifle were updated on June 29, 2019.
**Inside BruCrew Life was compensated by ADA Mideast for my time in creating this recipe and post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Too much cake and not enough filling. Found it dry. Lacking flavour as well. I would have increased the filling by one and a half and incorporated the pineapple into the cream cheese mixture and layered it with cool whip/frozen pina colada mix alternately.
I have been making this trifle for over 40 years!!! My daughter requests this for her birthday cake every year. I don’t use the rum flavoring and I add pecans on top. It is so good!!
Can’t wait to make this for Easter! What did you make the swirly things with on the top garnish? Fabulous! Just fabulous!!!
I used a piping bag and icing tip 1M to create the swirls with Cool Whip. I hope you enjoy the trifle!!!
Can I substitute the cream cheese for something else? Thank you for the great picture of that fab trifle.
You could leave out the cream cheese and double the pudding, milk, and Cool Whip, so that you have enough to spread between the layers of cake. I hope you enjoy the trifle!
I am planning on make this recipe this weekend for a Hawaiian themed party. However, I do not have coconut or rum extracts and I’m not sure where to purchase these. Is there anything I can use to substitute?
You can use vanilla extract if you have that, although it will change the taste slightly. You can buy coconut and rum extract at any grocery store or Walmart in the baking aisle.
Jocelyn, this is beautiful! It looks like it belongs in a magazine. Good luck with the new software. I know that’s frustrating. At least you have a delicious trifle to help you through the learning curve. Hehe. Happy Summer to you!
Thank you Sarah! I’m going to need a few more trifles as I learn I think. My brain hates new things like this!!!
This looks ssssoooo good Jocelyn! I love me a good trifle and I’m just wanting to do a face plant in this! LOL! Pinned.
Summer break definitely means there isn’t as much time to create anything complicated, whether it’s dinner or dessert! This is such a great way to feed my sweet tooth during pool season!
I have been seeing so many amazing looking trifles Jocelyn and this is one I just HAVE to try! So gorgeous and perfect for a crowd!
Thank you so much Trish! I hope you do try this one…it was sooooo good!
I love a good trifle, and this one looks so fun! I love the toasted coconut on the top, it all looks so tropical and delicious! Saving this recipe for the next party I host/attend. : )
Thank you so much Joan! I do love me some toasted coconut too! It is so perfect for any party!
Gorgeous trifle Jocelyn, great flavor mix. I’ll be snacking on those yummy cake cubes too. Loved all the dairy farm pictures. I actually went to a boarding school for high school. It was on the grounds of a former dairy farm in NH, quite an experience, and a heritage too.
I love trifle!! All those yummy layers. This one looks amazing! Can’t wait to see what else you come with to fill that new trifle dish with.
Anytime I try to learn a new program I spend like 5+ hours googling questions and watching videos! But once you learn it, it feels great! This trifle is perfect for our pineapple week right now! 🙂
This trifle looks delicious. Love the tropical flavours. Fantastic photos as well. I recently started using photoshop to edit my pictures and in the beginning it was frustrating, now not so much. Just keep practising and you will be fine.
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I know it will just take some practice to get familiar with the new buttons and sliders…it’s just frustrating at the beginning!
This looks incredible! I love the Pina Colada theme!!
I’m 110% behind your Trifle madness!! Heck to the yes!!
Good to know the trifle madness is going to get rave reviews 🙂
Can’t wait to see all the trifle recipes you come up with. I love doing trifles because it lets creativity rule. Never ate a bad trifle, and your pina colada is a true winner!!!
This cake trifle is calling my name! Love the pina colada twist!
This is the trifle to beat! Wow. I had no idea this could even be reality.
Good luck with your new editing! The pics look fantastic to me!
Thank you Mir! At least trifles are good for drowning your editing sorrows in! I’m sure I’ll get it…but I’m going to complain about it until I do 😉
This trifle is calling my name! I want to swim in that bowl!
Haha! Sounds like a great idea 🙂
Yum…..this is so pretty, I bet your kids loved it eh ? Makes a beautiful dessert……your kids sure do eat well 🙂 and hubby too……
Um, yum! This looks awesome and so easy to prepare, but a total crowd pleaser. Love the unique and summery flavors and anything cheesecake is an automatic win with me 🙂
I think the pictures look good!! LR is so hard but you’ll get a workflow and then it’ll be easier. This trifle looks fantastic!
Fingers crossed that I figure it out…I gave up and went back to the other one for the rest of the week. Why don’t you live closer so you can show me what I’m not getting?!?!?!
I am so inefficient with my photo editing sometimes. I could use a serving of trifle to help me through it!
It was stressing me out so much that I went back to the one that I know how to use for the rest of the week 😉 One of these days I’ll go back to Lightroom…I think!
Ooohh, this would be a great addition to a summer picnic. Coconut and pineapple is one of my favorite flavor combinations. 😀
Cake Trifles are THE BEST because they are so easy, feed LOTS of people and are always a show stopper! The Pina Colada goodness is perfection for what my summer-food loving face wants! Pinned!
I would have to agree with you 100%! Pina colada and summer just go together so well!
This trifle is so pretty, Jocelyn! It’s definitely getting me in the mood for summer! I love the pina colada flavors!
Thank you! I am very ready for all summer things all the time!