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Heavenly Raspberry Cream Angel Food Cake Dessert

Whether you're entertaining or relaxing, this recipe hits the spot.

Prep Time
2 hrs 45 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 55 mins
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Raspberry Filling:
  • 16 16 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries don't thaw if frozen
  • ¼ ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ ¼ cup cold water
  • ¼ ¼ cup fresh lemon juice zest lemons before using juice - the zest is used in the cream layer
Cake and Cream:
  • 12 12 cups cubed angel food cake (see note)
  • 12 12 ounces light or regular cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • ¾ to 1 ¾ to 1 cup half-and-half or evaporated milk (see note)
  • ⅔ ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
  • 1 1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional - use for more lemon flavor)
Whipped Cream:
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ cups heavy cream
  • ¼ ¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. For the raspberry filling, in a medium saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened, 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until needed (can be made several days in advance).
  2. For the cake and cream layer, with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer), whip together the cream cheese, half-and-half or evaporated milk, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract (if using) until smooth and creamy, 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. Place the angel food cake cubes in a large bowl and pour over the cream mixture (see note). Gently mix until the cake pieces are evenly coated.
  4. For the whipped cream, beat together the heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form (or use a blender to whip the cream and sugar together).
  5. To assemble, in a trifle dish, a large glass bowl or a 9X13-inch (or slightly smaller) dish, spread half of the angel food cake mixture. It's ok if it doesn't form a completely even layer.
  6. Dollop half of the raspberry mixture across the top (I don't spread this layer). Then dollop half of the sweetened whipped cream on top and spread into a mostly even layer. Repeat the layers (angel food cake, raspberries, whipped cream). The layers don't have to be perfect. It's one of those beautiful messy desserts.
  7. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve chilled.

Notes

  • Raspberry Filling: the raspberry filling is intentionally tart to balance the sweetness of the cake and cream.
  • Angel Food Cake: you can use homemade, boxed mix, or storebought angel food cake for this recipe. The 12 cups called for in the recipe ends up being about 3/4 of a prepared box mix. Storebought and homemade cakes may vary in size.
  • You might want to start by adding only 9-10 cups of the cake cubes - and add more if there is a lot of extra cream mixture. The important thing is not adding TOO much cake or the dessert will be dry.
  • Half-and-Half: start with 3/4 cup half-and-half or evaporated milk and add more (up to 1/4 cup) if needed. Using light cream cheese will make the mixture thinner, so you may only need 3/4 cup of half-and-half or evap. milk; when I use full fat cream cheese, I use the full 1 cup.
  • Lemon Flavor: for extra lemon flavor, you could add dollops of lemon curd with the raspberry filling. I've also made a variation of this dessert using cubed lemon bread in place of angel food cake.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1 serving Calories 1061kcal (53%) Carbohydrates 201g (67%) Protein 23g (46%) Fat 21g (32%) Saturated Fat 12g (60%) Cholesterol 73mg (24%) Sodium 1646mg (69%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 114g (228%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories

% Daily Value*

Serving 1 serving
Calories 1061kcal 53%
Carbohydrates 201g 67%
Protein 23g 46%
Fat 21g 32%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Cholesterol 73mg 24%
Sodium 1646mg 69%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 114g 228%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.