Easy and Tempting Trifle

I recently made this trifle to take to a friend’s house for dinner.  It was such an easy and instant success that I wasted no time in trying it again for our neighborhood Halloween potluck.  Once again, people seemed to think it was pretty darn tasty so I, of course, had to share with you guys, my fellow peeps.  After all, everyone should have a few crowd pleasers in their back pocket and this pretty lil’ thing is fool proof.  I actually don’t have an official trifle dish, so I use this glass bowl and the final result is still vibrant and shows off the multiple layers.

Full directions and recipe below.

Not sure how to make your own whipped cream?  All you do is pour heavy whipping cream into the mixer and mix on high for about 5 minutes.  That’s it. Who knew homemade whipped cream was that simple?!

Another option if you are having company is to really wow the socks off your guests and serve mini-versions of this trifle in dessert glasses.  I used fun cocktail glasses I received as a Christmas gift last year.  It’s a little more time consuming to assemble but bringing these out on a tray is sure to receive some gasps of appreciation!

Easy and Tempting Trifle Recipe

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix (I use Pillsbury’s)

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup cold water

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (aka the bigger pudding box size)

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

2 tablespoons orange juice

3 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

2 cups fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; pour into a greased and floured baking pan. Bake according to directions and let cool completely.

Crumble enough cake to measure 8 cups; set aside.

Make the whipped cream and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine condensed milk and water until smooth. Add pudding mix; beat on low speed for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fold in the whipped cream.

To assemble, spread about 2-1/2 cups pudding mixture into a large glass bowl (mine’s 4 quarts). Top with half of the crumbled cake; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon orange juice. Arrange about half of the berries over cake. Repeat pudding, cake and berry layers; sprinkle with 1 tbsp. orange juice. Top with remaining pudding mixture. Spoon any remaining fruit around edge of bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving.