Deck the table with a gorgeously festive Christmas Trifle, with bright layers of red velvet cake, vanilla pudding, and colorful sprinkles!
Everyone will enjoy the holidays more with a fa-la-la-la lovely Christmas Trifle, that’s also so simple to make! Easily create this show-stopping dessert with a red velvet cake mix, vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and sprinkles, and knock everyone’s stockings off with this beautiful treat!
Trifle Wonderland
Each bite of this amazing Christmas Trifle is as good as the first, and it is beyond challenging to stop with one bowlful! Layers of tender cake and creamy pudding are a joyful combination, but the best part is how low-stress this dessert is. Using a red velvet cake mix simplifies my life during this busy time, and whisking the pudding layer together takes only minutes, so I can create this eye-catching and festive trifle while balancing other dishes, activities, and people. It turns out deliciously amazing every time!
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle is loaded with sweet, bright flavors and perfect for a crowd. At the same time, decadent Mini Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Trifles are perfect individual servings with the best warm and comforting flavors!
Other Recipes to Serve with Christmas Trifle
- Homemade Eggnog is simple to make and the perfect way to fill your home with the warm, sweet scents of the season!
- Mix up a super quick snack of Red Velvet Fudge for everyone to enjoy and devour quickly!
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cake Mix: To make this trifle, you will need a box of your favorite red velvet cake mix plus any ingredients listed on the back of the package.
Dry Ingredients: Purchase a large box of instant vanilla pudding and powdered sugar, if you don’t have enough on hand.
Wet Ingredients: You will also need whole milk, softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, and whipped cream.
Garnish: If you like, you can garnish the trifle with red and green sprinkles.
How to Make Christmas Trifle
STEP ONE: Prepare the red velvet cake according to the package directions. Then bake it at 350 degrees F in a greased jelly-roll pan for the time on the box, about 12-18 minutes.
STEP TWO: Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing it into small cubes. I got a 10 x 11 grid from my pan.
STEP THREE: Using a hand mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the vanilla pudding, whole milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix well. Fold in half of the whipped cream using a rubber spatula until no streaks remain.
STEP FOUR: Using half of the cubed red velvet cake, create a layer in the bottom of a trifle dish or large bowl, and then spread half of the pudding mixture over the cake. Repeat the layers to fill the dish, ending with a layer of pudding.
STEP FIVE: Top the trifle with dollops of the remaining whipped cream and Christmas sprinkles before serving.
Tips for Success
- Feel free to make individual portions of Christmas Trifle instead. Follow the recipe as written and layer the dessert in smaller glass dishes rather than one large one.
- If you’d like, you can substitute other flavors of pudding for the vanilla pudding. Cheesecake or white chocolate pudding are a few delicious options.
- Store the trifle, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freezing is not recommended because of the creamy layers.
Is it better to make a trifle the night before?
There are generally two popular forms of trifle: ones with jelly layers and ones without. For trifles with jelly layers, they really almost have to be made the night before to ensure that the jelly layer sets. For pudding and cake trifles, making it the night before is optional. Giving the trifle time for the flavors to develop is a great idea, and making it the night before can be a real time saver, but if you want to make this Christmas Trifle the morning of, you can. The trick here is not to make this trifle too far in advance, so the night before or the morning of works perfectly.
Do I have to use red velvet cake in this trifle?
If you’d like to make this trifle with other cakes, it’s a snap, thanks to food coloring! Choose white, yellow, or even angel food cake instead of red velvet, and once you’ve mixed it up, add a few drops of red food coloring (or green!) to bring in the seasonal color. Bake the cake according to the directions and follow the rest of the recipe to make the trifle. Gel food coloring is typically the easiest to use because it doesn’t require many drops to achieve an excellent, bright color.
More Festive Treats to Enjoy!
- Christmas Poke Cake
- No-Bake Peppermint Pie
- Sugar Cookie Bars
- Candy Cane Cherry Danish
- Christmas Tree Brownies
Equipment
- Jelly Roll Pan (see note)
Ingredients
- 13.25 ounces red velvet cake mix plus ingredients to prepare (1 box)
- 5.1 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (1 large box)
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 16 ounces Cool Whip thawed, divided (see note)
- Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions. Pour into the prepared pan and bake according to the listed directions (usually 12-18 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Cut the cake into small cubes. (I did a 10 x 11 grid.) Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the pudding mix, milk, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer on medium-low speed until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Fold in Half of the Cool Whip with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.
Assembly
- Arrange half of the cake squares in a layer at the bottom of your trifle bowl so it's covered. Spread half of the pudding mixture over the cake. Repeat these layers once more so the bowl is filled.
- Top the trifle with dollops of the remaining Cool Whip and add Christmas sprinkles for garnish. Chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve.
Notes
- If you don’t have a Jelly Roll pan available (10 x 15 x 1 baking sheet), you can prepare the cake according to the package directions for a 9×13 pan. The cake will need to cool for about 2 hours since it will come out thicker.
- I would also recommend cutting the cake cubes in half (vertically) to create smaller cubes, so you have enough for each layer.
- If you prefer, you can use 3 cups of prepared whipped cream instead of Cool Whip.
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