A fantastic recipe for making any occasion special...beautiful to look at and even better to eat. You will get raves. Use any flavor of pudding you like.
Very Good. However, definitely make the pudding according to the package and then fold into cool whip & sour cream. Otherwise, it is entirely too dry.
Read MoreI made this recipe for company. I followed the directions to the "T" and I have to say I was very disappointed. The pudding mixture was very dry and difficult to spread over the cake pieces. Next time I will definitely do one of two things. 1.)I may prepare the pudding according to package directions before combing it with the cool whip and sour cream. Or, 2.) I may drain the pineapple juice in with the dry pudding, cool whip, and sour cream. Another thing I would try is slicing your strawberried up beforehand, then sprinkle with sugar or Splenda, and allow them to juice up. The layers didn't meld together and was quite disappointing. This recipe has a great base....just needs to be tweeked a bit.
Read MoreVery Good. However, definitely make the pudding according to the package and then fold into cool whip & sour cream. Otherwise, it is entirely too dry.
This turned out to be absolutely delicious. I made a few mods. 1) I used chocolate angel food cake that I made from a recipe off this site. I highly recommend this as an alternative to plain angel food. 2) As recommended by other reviewers I soaked my banana slices in pineappIe juice and prepared cheesecake pudding (excellent with the choco cake) before mixing it with the whipped cream (I basically just moistened it with heavy whipping cream and almond breeze milk b/c it's all that I had on hand.) 3.) I cubed the cake instead of slicing. This made layering a little bit easier for me. It was enormously well-received and furthermore, is a great base for experimentation.
I made this recipe for the first time for a dessert buffet for my child's junior high teachers. I made it the night before and it turned out beautiful and delicious. I used strawberries and blueberries for one fruit layer and the bananas and pineapple for the other. I mixed the (vanilla) pudding with 1 cup of milk before blending with sour cream and whipped topping. The texture was very creamy but not runny -- perfect. I also soaked the bananas in the pineapple juice as recommended and squirted a little lemon juice into the juice for extra protection against browning. Used "store-bought" angel cake. It was simple and delicious. I'm making it again soon for a picnic.
YUMMY! Like some other's suggested, we used the Cheesecake Pudding instead of vanilla. When preparing the pudding, I used 3/4 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of raspberry liqueur then added the sour cream and cool whip as instructed. WOW! Will be serving this at our annual holiday progressive dinner. After eating all day, you need a light dessert and this is perfect!
I took this trifle to my daughter's preschool for a Mother's Day party and everyone loved it! Here's a tip for the bananas - don't throw out the pineapple juice. Soak the sliced bananas in the juice (I left mine for an hour while I ran to school) and they won't turn brown.
I made this for Valentine's day and it was delicious! My boyfriend was totally impressed. However, there is one caveat; be careful when you fold the pudding and sour cream into the whipped topping. Do not mix it excessively because it will get too liquidy and will drip on the sides . This happened to me the first time I made it and it ruined the beautifully layered look. So I immediately ran back to the store and made it again. I put the whipped topping/pudding mix into the frfeezer to chill for a few minutes so it wouldn' drip this time. It was well worth it though. For those of you who made it for a party: how did you manage for the whipped topping to not melt in the sides?
This is a hit wherever I take it. I recommended mixing some milk with the pudding before adding the other ingredients to it. Also, saving the juice from the pineapple and soaking the bananas in it helps them from turning brown as quickly. I cubed the cake instead of slicing it into 3 pieces. Excellent summer recipe!
Question: by "pudding mix" do you mean to fold the powder into the creams or to make the pudding and then fold into the other creams? personally, i don't like angel cake much, so i used yellow-cake mix. i actually added milk to the pudding mix before folding it in, but still turned out yummy (if it is in fact the wrong way). also added lots of other fruits - mandarine orange slices (canned), blueberries, raspberries, peach slices (canned). Drizzled the cake layer with syrup from the mandarin oranges. No banana or pineapple. everyone loved it - as long as you decorate the top beautifully, it looks impressive and difficult :}
What a great cool summer dessert! I was looking for something for just me and my husband, so I didn't make the whole trifle--I halfed the recipe and refrigerated what we didn't eat right away. The whipped topping mixture is a delicious fruit dip for quick snacks throughout the day, and it's super-healthy if you make it like I did. I used fat-free sour cream and fat-free Cool Whip, and it was heavenly! Thanks, Joy!
This was amazing!! Thanks for the wonderful idea. I changed it a bit, for the pudding layer, I mixed 2 4oz jello cheesecake boxes, and I followed the box directions. After I completed that, I also added about 1/2 an 8oz container of cool whip, and a little more than half of a 12oz container room temperature whipped Philadelphia cream cheese. I just tasted it, if it needs more, just add it, ,then refrigerate for about 10 minutes or so till it thickens a bit. I layered it as follows, the bottom layer was sliced strawberries and whole blueberries, then I made yellow boxed cake (everyone loves yellow box cake) and I let it cool and cut it up into small cubes and put it together almost like a puzzle in the trifle over the berries,on top of that I put banana slices that were soaked in pineapple juice along with fresh pineapple cut into small pieces, on top of the banana-pineapple layer I put the pudding mixture. I repeat all layers one more time each, and on the final layer of pudding I put shredded coconut. I usually make it the night before and store in refrigerator so the flavors mix well. This got rave reviews every time I made it. Thanks Joy for the wonderful idea!! UPDATED- I have just just found an even easier way and still absolutely delicious, instead of jello use the Philadelphia ready made cheese cake filling. It's easy and if possible even better than the pudding. Who doesn't like cheesecake with fruits coconut and yellow cake. The only thing i changed, was on
This was funny. I bought boxed angel food cake. A first for me (angel food cake, not boxed cake). Duncan Hines. The directions literally shout out at you from the box. Use a tube pan and DO NOT GREASE IT!!. okay. I think that's a bad idea but whatever. Then it says to beat it at medium speed for one minute. DO NOT OVERBEAT! alright already. Then it says, bake for 38-48 minutes. Hmm. That's a big window. Followed by "DO NOT UNDERBAKE!" Say what? And stop shouting at me!! I'm not even going to go into the "hang pan upside down on heat-proof glass bottle until completely cool (like I have one of those hanging around!). What is that anyway? Anywho, after talking back to the box, I made the cake. It basically exploded out of my bundt pan but whatever. It was difficult to get out of the pan (shocker!) and let's just say thank goodness you can put this thing in pieces in the trifle bowl. And let me say, this was FANTASTIC! Funny how you never know. Did the red, white and blue thing for the fourth. BTW, bought an 8 oz tub of cool whip and it calls for 12 oz. Hubs ran to store got another tub. Frozen. So I put it in my microwave. And as I',m looking at it spinning in there, I think to myself, "um, this isn't a good idea. But I salvaged it. Thanks Joy!
I made this recipe for company. I followed the directions to the "T" and I have to say I was very disappointed. The pudding mixture was very dry and difficult to spread over the cake pieces. Next time I will definitely do one of two things. 1.)I may prepare the pudding according to package directions before combing it with the cool whip and sour cream. Or, 2.) I may drain the pineapple juice in with the dry pudding, cool whip, and sour cream. Another thing I would try is slicing your strawberried up beforehand, then sprinkle with sugar or Splenda, and allow them to juice up. The layers didn't meld together and was quite disappointing. This recipe has a great base....just needs to be tweeked a bit.
So freakin' YUMMY, people were literally licking their plates when I made this for Easter, one person even requested this for his birthday instead of cake! No lumps in the cream if you mix the pudding with 1/3 cup milk first, then fold in the sour cream until smooth, then fold in the whip cream last. I made my own whip cream with heavy cream, vanilla extract and powder sugar, and used instant vanilla pudding mix. Use any fruit you like, frozen or fresh, the greatness is really in the cream layer. And it will be much easier to layer if you cube whatever cake you use (I used pound cake for richness). Thank you so much for sharing!!
I have made this twice, once with pound cake and once with angel food cake. I definetly suggest angel food cake. The pound cake was too mushy. I made the pudding first as directed on the box as others suggested. And I also used cheesecake pudding. Before putting the top layer of cream on, I let it sit over night because the desert sinks.
This is a very pretty and impressive dessert. I added fresh blueberries for more color and I used the cheesecake pudding mix. The only thing I would do differently next time is to add a little milk to the whipped topping mixture to make it a little creamier. I also used chunk pineapple instead of the crushed to keep all the fruit the same bite sizes. Great summer dessert!
Great recipe for a basic trifle - any combination of fruits will work. I served this at a summer cookout and it disappeared! Everyone gave 5star reviews; but my own children were more honest: they loved it, but all of them suggested that next time, I leave out the bananas. The flavor is too overpowering and almost ruined the freshness of the summer berries. I would suggest saving your bananas to use in making a banana trifle.
I made this on the weekend and everyone thought it was fabulous. Followed suggestions and used two 30 gr. boxes of instant f.f. white choc. pudding, whipped that with 3 cups cold milk then stirred in the sour cream. I whipped 2 cups whipping cream with 3 TB sugar and 1 tsp vanilla and gently folded that into pudding mix. I cut homemade angel food cake into cubes, placed in bowl for bottom layer and drizzled homemade raspberry liquor (recipe from this site) over each cake layer, (3), then covered with pudding mix and berries. I used raspberries, blueberries and sliced strawberries. Absolutely divine and it was my first trifle. The sour cream made it mouth watering, took the edge off the sweetness and was devoured. It's a keeper!
This was really really good. I did make a few modifications as others suggested. I doubled the pudding, sour cream and whipped cream mixture. I added 1 and a half cups of milk to the two boxes of pudding mix prior to adding to sour cream and whipped cream - it came out perfect. I also cubed the angel food cake - it was just easier to layer but drizzled a little Jack Daniel's honey liqueur onto each layer - yum. I'm not a expert cook by any means, but this made me look like I was. I will definitely make this again.
I made this Saturday night and let it sit in the fridge till sunday at lunch. it was pretty good. i had some left overs and i forgot about them until now (tuesday night). YUMMMMOOOO the flavors set in very well and the cake was very moist, which i loveeeee.. anyway, this is what i did to the recipe. I misread it and accidentally combined undrained pineapple and the banana slices. I let those soak for an hour to prevent browning. I also used vanilla pudding and subbed cream cheese for sour cream. (and i added a little more cream cheese because it tasted too sweet for us) next time i think i will use cheesecake pudding and use sour cream. i also added a bit of raspberry extract. i don't know if that did much to it though. :D In the end, I was a little disappointed because there wasn't enough pudding mix for three layers. Next time, I'll double the pudding mix to ensure that I have enough for 3 layers and to fill up my trifle bowl. but overall, i loved it! will definitely make this again. oh and presentation is real nice. my husband took pictures of it and emailed them to his mom who lives across the country to show it off. made me feel like a pro! ;) thanks!
Highly successful dessert! I prefer more pudding in triffle, so I used 2 packages of pudding mixed with 3 cups milk, 1 cup of source cream and about 2/3 of the whipped topping. This allowed the top layer to be only whipped toppings. Was afraid that some of guests might not enjoy all the types of fruit - since there were no leftovers, I guess it was not a problem!
Wonderful dessert. I had great raves. After reading the other reviews I used the Cream cheese pudding mix added that to the sour cream and made fresh whip cream. I went easy on the sugar in the whip cream and added some vanilla. I added the bananas to the pineapple which was great and used pound cake. I had fresh blueberries and added that also. I would definately do this again and try a different pudding mix. A nice light dessert for summer.
Wow. This was so easy and so delicious. I was concerned that the dish might be too "summery" for a winter dinner party, but everyone loved it, and I was shocked that there were no leftovers. It was a nice, light finish to the meal- I highly recommend.
Yummy recipe! The pineapple was the hint of greatness for this desert. Will make again and again!! Thanks for shareing
Excellent. I served this at a church function and it was devoured. I did make some lighter modifications. I used fat free/cholesterol free angel food, sugar free Jello pudding (blue box), light sour cream, and the light whipped topping. I also added 1/2 c. 1% milk to the pudding mixture to make it a little thinner. It was wonderful. I'll definitely make it again.
Followed recipe exactly. (Okay...not exactly: I added 1 cup of milk to the pudding like others suggested, and I soaked the bananas in the pineapple juice.) But this dessert was great! Sweet, light, decadent. I usually don't consider it dessert until chocolate is involved, but I'll be whipping up this one again! :)
I am a beginner and this was very easy to make. It was a big hit when I made it. No one could believe I made it. I had to give the recipe to about 5 people. I would recommend this recipe to everybody, beginners or experienced cooks.
This was awesome! I made a few changes in the topping-I doubled the pudding and added 16 oz of cool whip,but left the sour cream at 8 oz. I also made a yellow cake mix and left out the bananas. I brought this for thanksgiving and it was gone! My family could eat this everyday!
easy and beautiful can use any fruit --canned or fresh. experiment with different flavors of pudding mix.
FANTASTIC!!! This recipe is wonderful. I used white chocolate pudding mix (advised by another-thank you) and loved it. My family are total fruitaholics so I added blueberries and mandarin oranges. It was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to make this for the 4th of July. The strawberries and blueberries will make a great presentation of red, white and blue. I urge everyone to make this. Trust me, you won't regret it. It was easy and absolutely delicious.
I'd give this 4.5 stars and 5 stars to all the reviews that mention putting the bananas in the pineapple juice and the cheesecake pudding mix idea was perfect! Next time, I'll try it with pineapple chunks since we tried the crushed and it was barely tasted. Next time we'll omit the kiwi and use more strawberries as my husband doesn't particularly like kiwi.
I made this today for a 4th of July bbq and the entire thing was gone in minutes. I used a frozen pound cake, pineapple slices to line the glass bowl, soaked the bananas in pineapple juice (thanks for the tip!!), and added pressurized whipped cream to the finished product. I added 1 cup of milk to the pudding mixture and I agree that the pudding part should be doubled. tasted sooooooo good!!!!
This was a great recipe. I used bisquick instead of angel food cake to make it a little more heavy and it tasted great. i'm sure it tastes great with angel food cake also. I'll definitely make this again.
This was my first time making a trifle. And MAN was it good!!! I took it to a backyard BBQ and received lots of oohs and ahhs on apperance then HOLY COW IS THAT GOOD on taste. I followed some of the suggestions like using cheesecake pudding which i added 1 c of milk to before folding into cool whip. I also presoaked my bananas in the pinapple juice a splash of OJ and some lime juice. Just because i didnt have enough pinapple juice for all the bananas and its what i had on hand. I received rave reviews and people asking for my secret recipe. Thanks Joy!
I followed the recipe, the only thing I changed was the flavor of the pudding. I really don't get why people thought it was neccasary to prepare the pudding before adding it to the cool whip. I thought just adding the mix flavored the cool whip perfectly. I guess if you like more of a saucier trifle then prepare your pudding, if you like more of a cakier then don't.
We normally only like trifle made with homemade custard (the British one) but have to admit this is very good and will be used as an alternative. I agree that, if you can find it, white chocolate instant pudding is better.
I used strawberries and blueberries instead of all the other fruit and it was beyond yummy!! I have made it twice and will make it for the rest of my life. LOVE ITTT!!!
This was pretty good, but I think I will stick to my original trifle recipe. I prefer a sponge cake with raspberry jam spread on it and sprinkled with sherry to the Angel food cake. Plus I found this recipe to be 'richer' tasting than I was looking for with the addition of whipped topping and sour cream. Overall, it tasted great and the fruit combinations were delicious.
This was absolutely delicious! However, I made several changes. I only used blueberries and strawberries for the fruit, since that's all I had on hand. I also substituted the cool whip for real whipped cream ( I just whipped up 12oz of whipping cream and added a 1/4 cup of sugar to it). I also added the zest of two lemons to the cream, and it was amazing! Thanks for a yummy and impressive recipe!
I used blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. Also used cheesecake pudding. Yum!
This is a fantastic recipe to which I made a few changes. There is really little room for messing this up, its sooo easy and the results are simply delicious if you are a fruit lover. I started with cake at the bottom, drizzled the cake with the pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple chunks). I didnt add any sour cream but I did prepare the cheesecake pudding according to instructions and mixed it with the ripe banana and pineapple to form a custard layer. I then added the rest of the fruits (mandarin oranges,kiwi and strawberry), covered it with a lightly sweetened whipped topping layer and made another layer exactly the same way and completed it with whipped topping and garnished the top with strawberries, kiwi and mandarin oranges. A tip: Prepare this trifle at least 5/6 hours before you serve for all the flavors to blend together. Yummmmm!!!
I made this as written, and I felt that it tasted like coolwhip and fruit. Maybe I'm just not a trifle fan, but no one at my dinner party raved like I thought they would based on the reviews here.
This recipe is absolutely divine! The whipped topping mixture is so delicious! I will say that the one thing I will do when I make it again is completely drain the canned pineapple. I didn't do that and it made the trifle mushy... Another reason it was probably mushy was because I made it the night before I served it, so it sat in the fridge for too long. Also, the next time I make it, I will use other berries to make it an even more beautiful trifle. Joy...thank you so much for this phenomenal recipe. I wish I could upload the picture of my trifle so you could see!
This was so good! I added layers of cheesecake flavored pudding as well. The different fruits gave it a great flavor, and the angel food cake was nice and lite to compliment the sour cream/whipped topping mixture. I will definitely make this again!
This make look like a fuss to make, it is NOT! It is such a beautiful dessert (especially at the holidays). It is so delicious and I think very easy to make. This is a hit! I prefer the angel food cake, but I think you could use pound cake if you don't like angel food. I make the pudding according to the directions on the box (I do NOT use it dry). You will be able to tell when something is too wet or too dry. Trust me, it is easy to make. I had not made this in awhile and decided to take it to a party. I read the directions and thought I don't remember making it that way, but I did what the directions said to do. DO NOT ADD THE PUDDING DRY AS DIRECTED IN THE RECIPE!!!! It was like rubber! I had my husband run to the store and get more pudding and I made it with just pudding, YUMMY!
This is a perfect summer dessert! I used raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, along with the bananas soaked in the pineapple juice. I used chunk pineapples and cut some of them up in the fruit layer. Used lite sour cream, lite cool whip and cheesecake pudding prepared with skim milk. I mistakenly forgot the sour cream so the first 2 layers just had pudding and cool whip. I added the sour cream to the remaining cool whip and used that for the top layer. The sour cream cuts the usual cool whip taste and the combination tasted like real whipped cream. I'll make sure not to forget the sour cream the next time! In the future for recipes that call for cool whip, I'll be adding sour cream.
This trifle is delicious. Since my family prefers lemony desserts, I used lemon pudding with 2t lemon juice added rather than the vanilla. I also cut the whipped topping to six ounces. Yummy! Thanks, Joy!
WOW! This was good! It was light & felt guilt free. One of my favorits. I used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. A perfact dessert for a baby shower or any party. I made it the night before. It was beautiful.
I didn't use the cake part of this. I just wanted the fruit and pudding part. I STRONGLY suggest using 2 boxes of pudding. I first did one box and it tasted too much like cool whip. Also, i first mixed each box of pudding with one cup of milk before adding it to the sour cream/cool whip. I used pineapple, mandirane oranges, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries layered in individual wine glasses.
Very light and easy to make. I replaced the bananas and pineapple with blueberries and raspberries, and it was a hit! People asked me for the recipe before they even tasted it.
Delicious! I don't really care for angel food cake so I substituted it for a boxed French Vanilla cake. For each layer, I put the cake on the bottom, followed by the fruit, then the pudding on top. I used the bananas and pineapples for the bottom layer of fruit, raspberries and blueberries for the middle layer of fruit, and strawberries and kiwis for the top layer of fruit. The bowl I used was larger than a regular trifle bowl, so I ran out of pudding after the first two layers. I didn't have any more sour cream, so for the top layer I mixed some cream cheese with cool whip and vanilla pudding. I sprinkled some more strawberries and kiwis on top along with some toasted almonds. I did the almonds over the stove top in butter, about five minutes until golden brown. Then put them on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. My family devoured this dish. Thanks for sharing!
Great. I used omitted the strawberries because they were out of season, and just added more kiwi. The bananas are clutch - don't omit them. Very good..I used sliced canned pineapple, low fat vanilla pudding mix, and low fat frozen whipped topping. Couldn't even tell - would make again. June 3, 2009: Second time around, just as good. Easy and delicious.
A Keeper! Everyone enjoyed this. *Two Tips: DO NOT prepare pudding; dry mix should be gradually sprinkled over the sour cream and topping and quickly mixed in before it clumps. THEN, the juice of an orange or two squeezed over the cake pieces is so, so wonderful.* I needed to increase this recipe for my giant (30 oz) angel cake from Sam's. So I used a punchbowl and cut the cake into 1/4's. It is fine to rip up the cake layers to fit the bowl. I increased the topping with 1/2 pint of whipping cream, whipped with one tsp. vanilla and 4 Tbsp. sugar. I then whipped in 1 1/2 cups of sour cream and the pudding powder, then folded in the whipped topping. (The kids were fighting to clean the beaters!) A 20-oz can of pineapple was perfect, drained lightly. Chopped kiwi is easier to eat, and I recommend soaking the bananas in pineapple juice. I also varied the layers (pineapple/banana, then kiwi/strawberry), but no doubt you could just toss all the ingredients in at random, slap on the cream, and it would taste just perfect! =)
Made this for big family Easter dinner and it was a HUGE hit! My mom. who is a great cook, said it was the best thing she had ever put in her mouth! I left out bananas, used the cheesecake flavored instant pudding per another reviewer, cut the angel food cake into large cubes, and added milk so the pudding would not be so stiff. Please note, this is such a simple recipe that you can not mess it up! If you want more fruit or any other ingredient, just add/increase to your personal taste. INCREDIBLE! Thanks, Joy!
Great trifle. By far my fave. I use jelly rolls instead of angel food cake. Easier to fit in a trifle dish. Other suggestions I found were valuable - making the pudding according to the box before adding to sour cream and I also soaked all the cut fruits in pineapple juice prior to adding to the bowl but did not use the pineapple.
I made this for Easter dinner dessert - and EVERYONE loved it! Just a few changes as others suggested. I used FF Sour Cream & SF instant pudding -- to cut back a bit on fat & calories -- and it was still amazing! Also added blueberries for additional color. Good tip is to dip banana slices in the pineapple juice to preserve freshness. LOVED IT!
Wonderful dessert! I was unsure of the sourcream but I'm glad I added it. It wasn't too sweet like a lot of trifles are, but just right. The cream mixture was a little too stiff and barely enough, so I added another half a container to the mix. Turned out perfect. I used all the fruit in the recipe and added raspberries and blackberries. This is my go to trifle recipe from now on!
Best dessert ever! All of my friends just call it "Joy". They say are you bringing Joy over? Only changes I have made are using the fat free pudding mix and have also changed it for the french vanilla a few times. I also use light sour cream just to make myself feel better for eating so much of it :)
This dish has become a tradition at our family's Christmas gatherings. No one will let me bring anything else! I make it exactly as directed, and it is a HUGE hit!
this is fantabulous! i made it with a vanilla cake mix and it was to die for! tonight i'll be using the angel food as a more weight concious choice!
Everyone LOVED this dessert!! The only things I did differently were that I used cream cheese instead of sour cream, french vanilla instead of vanilla pudding, and I added blueberries. My family can't wait until I make it again!!
Wow! This is a keeper...very attractive, colorful and easy to put together. A nice light fruity dessert and very filling I might add. I had tons of strawberries and blueberries and this happens to be in season so it was perfect. The only thing that took time which was not too long for me is that layering of the fruits, whipped topping and angel food cake. I also put it in the refrigerator to set for a few hours before eating. Next time I might try baking my own angel food cake from scratch and/or layering other kinds of other fruits. Yummy and pretty!
What a beautiful and flavorful light dessert! I did take the advice of others and made the vanilla pudding mix into pudding with about 1 c of half and half mixed with 1 c non-fat milk. (This was with the larger box of pudding mix, so I just used about 2/3 of the pudding.) I think once you get the consistency of the pudding the way you like it, the recipe is pretty foolproof, although I did follow the rest of her directions. I cut 3 horizontal pieces of the cake horizontally, but did score them into smaller pieces as I thought they might be easier to eat that way. Anyway, it was yummy and got rave reviews!
I made this to take to our neighbor's BBQ party and it was a hit! I didn't have any kiwis so I omitted them. I also did not use the pineapple. Instead I soaked the banana slices in pineapple juice and used the juice to moisten the cake. In addition I added some blackberries and blueberries to mine. Some other time I'll have to try this recipe again using the kiwis and pineapple to compare, but nonetheless it was well received and I did come home with an empty dish! Thank you Joy! Update: I have since made this recipe many times and it is always requested for potlucks or special events at work or otherwise. I have made it using pineapple and kiwi and also tried angel food cake and pound cake versions. My favorite is to use a package of frozen mixed berries in addition to the fruit called in the recipe. I also like to change the pudding occasionally and use a can of condensed milk and add 1/2 cup of milk to the pudding mix for a more creamy/sweet version.
This is great for many reasons: it's easy, is a light dish, isn't too sweet, can be moderated easily, and it looks great! Make the pudding first. Thank you for sharing :)
I tried this with my 14 yr old granddaughter. It was definitely a winner. The presentation was amazing and it tasted every bit as good as it looked. I prepared a little too much fruit but threw it all in anyway. It would make an awesome impression in a "I'll bring the desert" situation. It's a keeper.
I made this for a church group dinner and it went fast. Everyone raved over it and asked for the recipe. There were no leftovers! Thanks for sharing! Update: Different bowls are different sizes. I have one from pampered chef which is a 1/3 smaller than my other bowl. To deal with this, I broke up the angel food and followed with layers. It's excellent.
This was delicious! I made it like recommended where you mixed the pudding with 1 cup of milk and soaked the bananas in leftover pineapple juice. I also used lemon pudding with about 1 TBSP of key lime juice to give it a slight bit more zing. Wonderful!!!
Excellent. I did by the cook and serve vanilla pudding and made it and let it cool before folding in the sour cream and whipped cream. I also soaked the sliced bananas in the pineapple juice. I did not use the pineapple or kiwi, I used one container of fresh strawberries, one container of blueberries and one container of raspberries and then I used 3 bananas, soaked in pineapple juice. It was excellent. Actually very light, everyone enjoyed it.
I cannot even recall how often I have made this recipe over the past few years. I usually use cheesecake pudding, follow the banana slices in the pineapple juice idea, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi. This is a hit everywhere, family parties, work parties, barbecues, graduations, soccer pool parties, etc. I use chunks of the angel food cake, rather than sliced layers.
I soaked the bananas in the pineapple juice - worked perfectly. I also used only 8oz of cool whip and substituted in 4oz of vanilla yogurt to avoid the overpowering cool whip taste. Also added 20oz of pineapple instead of 15oz. And only used 1 kiwi and added 1 cup of blueberries. And used cream cheese pudding mix instead of vanilla - and prepared the pudding as per the package instructions prior to using. Too dry otherwise! Terrific recipe - everyone LOVED it!
This is the PERFECT dessert at the end of a big meal. Very light and refreshing...and delicious, too!! I left out the pineapple chunks and replaced them with blueberries to make the cake a little more colorful and decorative. It turned out beautiful and tasted scrumptious! My guests couldn't stop talking about it!
Made this for a church function and it was a hit. Don't usually like bananas or pineapple but weren't noticable. Added oranges and blueberries. Made the pudding up according to package directions and then added the sour cream and whipping cream. This is easy and so impressive. LYB
I made this recipe for a party tonight. It was a success. I made it for a cookout this past weekend and it was not eaten. The first time I made it with yellow cake mix. I don't think I put enough berries in it. Also the guys wouldn't touch berries. The trifle I made tonight had angel food cake and I used more berries and bananas and pineapple chunks. I also used Cheesecake pudding with 1 cup of milk like others suggested and without it, I would not have had enough filling. I also did not use kiwi. I used blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, bananas and canned pineapple. Do soak your bananas with the pineapple juice. This is kind of of expensive to make this time of year with the berries, but very good. Thanks for the recipe.
Beautiful, easy, gorgeous! No changes needed so don't mess with a good thing!
I admit, I didn't actually eat any of this since I am on a strict diet -- however, I made it for thanksgiving yesterday and the entire bowl was gone with people taking 2nd and 3rd helpings. I was asked many times for the recipe. I think the next time I make it though, I will chop up the angel food cake rather than slice it horizontally. As a hint, the longer it was in the refrigerator, the better it tasted. I guess it gave the ingredients times to meld together. Made before noon and served around 5pm. Definitely a keeper! Since the first review in 2012, I have made this again, numerous times (and eaten my fair share). It is a wonderful and easy recipe - always a hit at the buffet table.
Delicious!!! This dish doesn't leave leftovers--too good! I followed the tips on soaking the bananas in the pineapple juice, and preparing the pudding mix. Absolutely love it!
This was beautiful and dissapeared instantly! I used cheesecake flavor pudding mix. Raves all around. My 1- and 2-year-olds both loved it as well as the church dinner attendees. Mmmmm.....
This was just O.K. for me. I don't think I liked the sour cream mixture. It left an aftertaste that my guests and I didn't like.
Hey guess what?!!! I made this recipe EXACTLY AS WRITTEN and can therefore justify the five star rating. Anyways....I mixed the dry pudding mix with the cool whip and sour cream and it was the most perfect thing ever, delicious. I had no issue with it being too thick at all. I think you need to let the cool whip thaw completely and use the right amount of sour cream and the correct sized box of pudding, I think that's the mistake people are making...let the cool whip THAW.
It was a HIT at my Christmas Party. The bakery was out of angel food cake, so I made a pound cake and cubed it...it worked wonderfully and everyone was pleased. TIP: Not so hot the next day...indulge and eat it that night if you can!
This recipe is wonderful as written. Just add the pudding mix dry if you want this dessert to fit in a trifle bowl.
This is such a simple, yet delicious recipe. Like most reviewers, I make the instant vanilla pudding according to the directions on the box, then fold it into the sour cream and whipped topping. I find almost any fruits work with this recipe. Today I used bananas, blueberries, strawberries, and canned peach slices. I also soak my banana slices in pineapple juice, but do not use pineapple. Lastly, I pour quality Sherry onto the cake as I layer it. The recipe is best made the day BEFORE serving as that gives it time for the flavours to come together and for the cake to soak up the sherry, fruit flavours, and the whipped topping.
I tore the cake into chunks, instead of cutting it into pieces. I did one thin layer of pineapple, sliced just one banana, and did two thick layers of strawberries. I used light sour cream. I also put sliced almonds on the sides and in the top to add a little crunch to the mushy texture. My version came out quite great!
I have made this recipe about 50 times and use it for just about every BBQ I go to in the summer. I think the best thing about this recipe is the ability to change it. Do not fear playing around with the ingredients and "making it your own" with such a solid start you can not go wrong.
I have made this dish sooooooo many times for get togethers and each time it is a great hit! The last time, I had 6 or 7 people ask for the recipe!! This recipe is a wander, today I'm trying something a little different with it, hope its as good as the original!
My family just loved this recipe, the only change that I made was I made the pudding according to directions and used cream cheese instead of sour cream and blended it in. My wife said its the best desert she ever had. Thanks Joy
I made this wonderful summertime dessert for a work cookout and it was literally the hit of the entire event. Half the women there asked for the recipe and everyone commented first on how pretty it was, and then how great it tasted. I followed the recipe word for word and put it in a glass bowl so the layers were visible. The only suggestion I have is to use a LARGE bowl. My glass bowl is the size of a large salad serving bowl and I had to cut back on some of the whipped cream mixture in order to make it all fit (it as still heaping over the top).
It was a fabulous recipe, I added canned orange segments and took out the strawberries. I was hit at my parent 25th anniversary party - more popular than the cake
Really nice to sit down to after a suuuper long day of cooking! I really enjoy how it wasn't overly sweet, and it had a nice, airy, fruity taste :) allll of the kids loved it. It was gone in under 2 minutes, and everybody said: "That was one of the best desserts I've ever had!!" My boyfriend chose French Vanilla pudding and we also prepared it before folding it in, which I would highly recommend. Thank youuu, Ms. Joy :)
