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These Carrot Cake Trifles take a classic spring dessert and turn it into a whimsical treat. Layers of your favorite carrot cake and a sweet cream cheese filling come together in these light and lovely parfaits that will be a beautiful and tasty addition to any springtime holiday or celebration. You can even make them gluten free!
Why You’ll Love These Carrot Cake Trifles
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: No-Bake
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
I’m all about using up leftovers. Whether it’s using my crockpot salsa chicken for everything from burrito bowls to enchiladas or tucking extra ham into scrambled eggs or even stuffed shells, I am all about repurposing one dish to make another. And the same goes for desserts. I’ll use red velvet cake in ice cream, and turn extra vanilla wafers into lemon sandwich cookies. And that’s just one reason I love these carrot cake trifles. Here are a few more…
- Perfect for any skill level. You can make your cake from scratch, use a box mix, or even use one from the bakery.
- Pretty and portable. The carrot cake parfaits look lovely layered in glasses, but you can also pack them in jars and twist on the lid to take them when you need some picnic desserts.
- Easy to make gluten free. Since you can use any carrot cake, even a gluten free version will work wonderfully.
Carrot Cake Trifle Ingredients and Tips
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need to make this recipe so you can gather everything together. Then scroll down to the recipe card for the full amounts and detailed instructions.
- Carrot cake. You’ll need a single layer of cake, or about half of a two layer cake. You can also use about 12 cupcakes. These can be storebought, made from a mix, or try these recipes for Gluten Free Carrot Cake or Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes. Unfrosted is preferred, but you can either scrape off any frosting or just mix it in when you crumble the cake.
- Plain Greek yogurt. You can use nonfat, low fat, or whole milk yogurt.
- Cream cheese. Softened to room temperature. Either regular or light is fine.
- Powdered sugar. Sift it if it looks lumpy.
- Vanilla extract. Be sure it is gluten free, if needed.
Storing Carrot Cake Parfaits
Once you’ve assembled the parfaits, keep them covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing them as the cream cheese mixture will separate upon freezing and thawing, causing the parfaits to get soggy. However, you can freeze your prepared cake or cupcakes until you are ready to make the carrot cake trifles.
Mini Carrot Cake Trifles
Ingredients
- A single layer or about 12 cupcakes of your favorite carrot cake recipe, preferably unfrosted (see Note for suggestions)
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I used light cream cheese)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Crumble the cake/cupcakes and divide approximately into thirds.
- Using a hand mixer, whip together the Greek yogurt, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.
- Divide one-third of the crumbled cake between eight jars or glasses. Top with 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture.
- Repeat with another one-third of the crumbled cake and another 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture.
- Divide the last of the cake between the jars or glasses. If you have any cheesecake mixture remaining, divide between the parfaits, piping decoratively, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this?
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How creative! Why chose between cake and cheesecake when you can have both? 🙂 The little dollop of cheesecake on top makes it so adorable.
Thanks! I purposely made sure I had enough left to make the little dollop 🙂
So perfect for Easter! And I love the addition of Greek yogurt!
Thanks Candace. I swear I add Greek yogurt to everything.