The most glorious holiday dessert. This festive trifle features sticky gingerbread spice cake, luscious cheesecake whipped cream & soft candied cranberries.
Gingerbread and cranberries are my winter muses. My sticky gingerbread spice cake has already proven to be quite the fan favorite. And my soft candied cranberries are incredibly versatile. So what could be better than to combine my two favorite recipes of the season in this stunning gingerbread cranberry cheesecake trifle.
GINGERBREAD CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE TRIFLE ANATOMY
A trifle consists of multiple layers of crumbled or cubed cake, pudding or cream, and fruit. Most commonly recognized a British dessert, trifles make for a glorious celebratory treat. This recipe yields an average-sized trifle that fits well in a 128 oz. trifle serving bowl.
Firstly, there is GINGERBREAD cake. I developed my sticky gingerbread spice cake specifically for its role in this trifle. By using oil instead of butter, you get a moister cake that doesn’t dry out when refrigerated. Which means you can make this trifle ahead of time without risking the texture of the cake. This cake tastes best when made the day before and left at room temperature to get nice and sticky.
Secondly, we have CRANBERRY. Trifles typically feature fruit in some form and cranberries are the perfect match for the richly flavored gingerbread cake. The tartness of the cranberries is tamed through a simple candying process. And the final result yields soft whole cranberries that are delicious & festive.
Finally, there is CHEESECAKE. The final element of a trifle is something creamy. A soft, cheesecake whipped cream balances the spices of the gingerbread and the tartness of the cranberries perfectly.
A dreamy combination of flavors and textures, this gingerbread cranberry cheesecake trifle is an easy, yet elegant holiday dessert. And it tastes delicious whether you make it ahead of time or just before serving ❤️
GINGERBREAD CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE TRIFLE
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: serves 8 1x
Ingredients
- (1) 8×8″ sticky gingerbread spice cake cut into small squares
- 2 cups (480g)heavy cream, chilled
- 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar cut into small squares
- 1 package (8 ounces/225g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (240g) sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt, chilled
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup soft candied cranberries in syrup
Instructions
To a medium sized bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add softened cream cheese, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Beat mixture with the whisk attachment until smooth, about 2 minutes (stop mixing to scrape bowl with a spatula to ensure ingredients are evenly mixed).
Add in the sour cream or Greek yogurt and mix until smooth. Add in the heavy whipping cream and mix initially at low speed to blend into mixture. Once cream is incorporated into the cream cheese mixture, slowly increase the speed of your mixer to medium high and whip the cream until it has medium soft peaks, about 2-3 minutes.
To assemble your trifle, scoop 1/2 of the cheesecake whipped cream into the bottom of the trifle dish into an even layer. Add the cut up gingerbread cake followed by about 1/2 of the candied cranberries & some of their syrup. Finish with the remaining cheesecake whipped cream and garnish with the rest of the candied cranberries and their syrup (save the final cranberries to add just before serving if making ahead).
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
