Made like a trifle, but in a 9×13 dish, this no bake dessert has angel food cake, creamy vanilla pudding, and sweet-tart cherry pie filling, under a layer of whipped topping and almonds. You can put this together in just a few minutes, and it’s easy to make ahead of time too. Are you ready to add a new no-bake dessert to your recipe box? Just like my easy tiramisu, and banana icebox cake, this dessert never touches the oven. It’s so simple to layer angel food cake cubes with Cool Whip, cherry pie filling, and a creamy vanilla pudding (doctored up a bit so it’s extra rich) in a baking dish. The hardest part is waiting for it to set and chill in the fridge before devouring it!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients In Heaven On Earth Cake
Here’s what you need to make this heavenly dessert: Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Angel Food Cake: Pick up a full-sized angel food cake from the store, or make one using a box mix or your favorite recipe. Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix: Jello pudding mix is a key ingredient in so many amazing dessert recipes. Be sure to buy instant pudding, rather than the cook and serve type. Don’t follow the box instructions, you just need the powdered mix. Sour Cream: Mix this with the pudding mix to make it extra thick. Milk: You need milk to dissolve the pudding mix. I recommend whole milk for the creamiest heavenly cake.Cherry Pie Filling: One can of pie filling is plenty to add bright, tart and sweet flavor to the cake. Most of it goes inside, while the rest acts as a beautiful garnish on top. Slivered Almonds: For best flavor, toast the almonds yourself. Instructions are included at the end of the post if you need them!
How To Make Heaven on Earth Cake
Recipe Tips
Don’t skip the chilling step. While you can certainly eat heaven on earth cake right after putting it together, it won’t have had time to set up, so it will be messy to serve. If you are baking an angel food cake, be sure that it is completely cool before you use it in this recipe. Use a serrated knife. Angel food cake can be tricky to cut since it’s so fluffy! A serrated blade will be super helpful for cutting the cake into cubes for heaven on earth cake.
Substitutions
In place of whole milk, you can use 2% or half and half. Non-dairy milk can also be used, but I suggest using one that is extra rich with a high fat content, like barista-style oat milk or canned coconut milk. Sour cream makes the pudding layer extra rich, but you can use plain greek yogurt or a dairy-free option instead. Replace the cherry pie filling with any other canned pie filling you enjoy. I can’t wait to try making a strawberry heaven on earth cake next!Try another type of cake. Cubes of chocolate or yellow cake will be less airy than angel food, but still completely delicious. For a gluten-free option, look for a gluten-free angel food boxed mix, or a prepared cake at the grocery store.If you’d rather not use whipped topping, whip up 1 cup of cold heavy cream with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar instead. Toasted slivered almonds add a lovely crunch, but they can be left out. Replace them with a different type of nut, or try crushed cookies or shaved chocolate.
Storing Tips
Store this heavenly no bake cake in the fridge, covered. It will be good that way for 1-2 days. Any longer than that, and the angel food cake will absorb too much moisture from the other ingredients and become soggy. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe for the same reason. Extended storage will give you a mushy cake.
What To Serve With Heaven on Earth Cake
I’d be more than happy to eat this decadent angel food cake dessert for dinner, but I suppose it’s probably more responsible to enjoy it after dinner instead! Try one of my favorite easy dinner recipes tonight. Marry Me Chicken is a creamy skillet dinner that never has any leftovers. Your family will love my kid-friendly Pizza Casserole too! An easy no-bake cake like this Heaven on Earth cake recipe is going to be perfect for whatever festive occasion you have coming up! Save the recipe by pinning it! © Little Sunny Kitchen
