Followers of An American Housewife might remember about 2 weeks ago, when I posted that I made both a chocolate cake and white vanilla cake in the same day. We obviously can't eat that many baked goods around here so the white cake was cooled and put in the deep freeze.
This weekend it was released from the confines of the freezer and put to good use. While I thought perhaps I'd do strawberry shortcakes out of it, I then changed my mind to do a trifle (layers of cake and whipped cream) but then completely changed gears and decided to combine a cherry dessert idea with the trifle idea and in the end, it was a huge hit with the family.
Just because I used a from-scratch white cake doesn't mean you have to. Simple use a white cake of your choice. You can also play with the filling. Blueberry, cherry, strawberry... whatever you wish. I particularly like cherry pie filling with this and although I do sometimes make my own, I had a can of cherry pie filling in our camping supplies and it was the perfect 'quick' filling I needed.
Cherry Dessert Trifle
1 white cake of your choice
1 can cherry pie filling
1/2 cup (approximate) graham cracker crumbs
2 T melted butter
2 cups whipped cream (you could use spray whipped cream in a can)
1 c heavy whipping cream (or use 2 cups Cool Whip)
2 T sugar
1 package cream cheese
Cut the cake into cubes. This is sometimes easier if it's frozen first. But they don't have to be 'pretty' as no one will see them. Place 1 cup of the whipped cream in the bottom of a glass dish. Place the cake cubes. Top with the can of cherry pie filling and push down a bit into the crevices of the bowl between the cake squares. Smooth evenly on top. Mash the graham crumbs with the melted butter and place over the cherry layer. Mix the whipping cream with the sugar and cream cheese. Beat smooth. Spread this over the graham layer. Top with the last cup of whipped cream. Add a cherry or strawberry or blueberry for garnish to compliment your filling. Chill at least 2 hours if you can before serving but up to 6-8 hours.
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| I think this tastes best with cherry filling |
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| I left off the melted butter this time but it was too powdery. Add the butter to the graham crumbs. |
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| Mixing the cream, sugar and the cream cheese. I love this layer. |
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| My Grandma's Cherry Dessert Meets A Trifle. And they got along just fine! |
