Have you ever woke up in the morning and your brain instantly jumps to a brilliant idea you just HAVE to do? That’s how this Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle happened. Actually, it all started with 2 lbs of beautiful strawberries I found at Costco the night before and when I woke up, I remember my strawberry cheese cake trifle I usually make with graham crackers and I decided to make it portable for a picnic.
Normally this cake would have to be eaten all in one day, but when I substituted the graham crackers with my no-bake cheese cake crust, it was fantastic still 3 days later. It also meant I could put the trifle in my most favorite little mason jars to make individual servings AND I could put lids on them to bring them along on a picnic or send them along to school with the kids. Yup. These little treats when to school with my kids. I can only imagine what the other kids thought.
Anna Olsen’s Strawberry Cheese cake Trifle originally inspired this recipe but it’s evolved quite a bit from the original recipe. Originally, Anna served this beautiful trifle up in a square flower vase. She even admitted it was a flower vase but the square shape worked beautifully when layering the graham crackers so that’s who she liked to serve it. Let’s just say I’ve been on a mission for over 12 years trying to find a square flower vase that would be big enough to work with this trifle. 12 years!! (Speaking of Anna Olsen, where is she? I haven’t seen her on the Food Network channel in some time. She’s the one that inspired me to start baking.)
Ironically enough, after not making this recipe after quite some time, and deciding to swap out the graham crackers for a graham crumb layer instead, I found a square flower vase. Ha!!
I still love the idea of serving this beautiful Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle in individual mason jars – they serve up so beautifully! At least I know have my square serving dish that will get plenty of love with other recipes as well.
UPDATE: Would you like to send a loved one a greeting card featuring this dessert? Check out www.onasweetnote.ca for delicious dessert greeting cards!
Strawberry Cheese Cake Trifle
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham crumbs
- ½ cup butter , melted
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 lb strawberries , sliced
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 12 oz cream cheese , softened
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
-
Mix the graham crumbs, ½ cup of melted butter and white sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside.
-
In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour in whipping cream and whip until filling thickens. Chill until ready to assemble.
-
Wash and slice the strawberries and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of sugar and set aside 15 minutes before you are ready to assemble your trifle. Reserve a few to garnish with.
-
Layer your ingredients in your serving dish(es) starting with the graham crumbs, then the strawberries and ending with the cream cheese filling. Repeat as desired. Top with fresh strawberries to decorate.
I am drooling now. I should’ve eaten a better breakfast as clearly I’m still hungry… ! ^__^
These look amazing! Serving them in tiny mason jars is a cute idea. I love Anna Olsen, too! She’s one of my fave Canadian chefs.
These look amazing! Using graham crumbs is a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Usually in the morning my brain instantly says GO BACK TO SLEEP! Lol. These are lovely trifles. I made a similar one recently but with condensed milk and whipped cream – I should swap that out with cream cheese – I can just imagine the deliciousness! Love strawberry season. And aren’t mason jars great? Secret: We don’t buy them anymore. We just recycle those Classico pasta jars – we have quite the collection 🙂
Ohh. Smart idea about the Classico pasta jars. My girlfriend upcycles hers as well but uses them as drinking glasses. I’m going to have to start keeping mine.
Yes!! That happens to me once in a while and usually something really good comes of it. Like these great strawberry trifles! Well done Diana!
YESSSSSS to Costco strawberries! (Or Costco anything, really.) These little strawberry cheesecake trifles look adorable. All I need are those cute little jars and I’ll be making these!