Heaven on Earth Cake is by far one of the easiest desserts ever, and the resulting dessert is completely out of this world!
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
- No Bake Refrigerator Cake – While you could go so far as baking an angel food cake from scratch, it’s completely fine to buy one at the grocery store instead! That way, you don’t have to do any baking
- A Holiday Dessert Option – No bake desserts are great for the summer months when you are trying to keep the house cool, but the red and white color makes this cake perfect for Valentine’s day and Christmas too!
- Customizable – I’ll give you some substitutions and additions that will make this recipe easy to make for any crowd.
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
- Mix Pudding: In a large mixing bowl, combine vanilla pudding mix with sour cream and milk. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth, then set aside for 5 minutes so that the pudding can thicken.
- Add Cake Pieces and Cherry Pie Filling to the Pan: Add half of the cubes of angel food cake to the bottom of a 9×13-inch dish. Top with ⅔ of the cherry filling, and then layer the remaining angel food pieces over the cherries.
- Cover with Pudding: Spread the thickened vanilla pudding mixture over the cake.
- Cover with Cool Whip: Top that with the whole tub of whipped topping.
- Add Toppings and Chill: Spoon the remaining cherry pie filling on top of the cool whip, then chill the dessert in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Before serving, sprinkle with slivered almonds.
Tip!
You can use a 9×9 dish to make this dessert if you want it to be taller, but I think it fits perfectly in a standard 9×13-inch baking pan.
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!
More Easy Dessert Recipes
All Cakes→
FAQs
Because the dessert requires at least 4 hours in the fridge to chill, It’s the perfect make-ahead recipe. I suggest making it no more than one day ahead of time.
The cherries in this recipe are divine, but the cake will work with any type of pie filling you like! Try lemon, raspberry, or strawberry pie filling instead.
Toasting almonds brings out their best flavor, and it’s very simple to do. Just add the almonds to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake at 350°F/180°C for 4-6 minutes. Stir/flip the almonds, then bake for an additional 2-4 minutes or until they’re toasty and brown.
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!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Heaven on Earth Cake
Equipment
- Serrated Knife for cutting angel food cake
Ingredients
- 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding
- 1 ½ cups milk whole or 2% (you can also use half and half if you wish)
- 1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 1 14oz pre-made angel food cake cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
- 1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping (Cool Whip)
- 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine vanilla pudding with milk and sour cream and beat using a hand mixer until smooth. Set aside to thicken for 5 minutes.
- Layer half of the angel food cake evenly in the pan, then spread 2/3 of the cherry filling over the cake, and layer the remaining angel food cake pieces over the cherry filling.
- Spread the vanilla pudding mixture over the cake
- followed by a layer of cool whip (use all).
- And finally, spoon the remaining cherry pudding on top of the cool whip and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Sprinkle with silvered almonds before serving.
Notes:
- To Toast Almonds: Add the almonds to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake at 350°F/180°C for 4-6 minutes. Stir/Flip the almonds, then bake for an additional 2-4 minutes or until they’re toasty and brown.
- 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.
- If you are baking an angel food cake, be sure that it is completely cool before you use it in this recipe.
- 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.
- Be sure to use instant pudding mix, and not the cook and serve type.
- Replace the cherry pie filling with any other canned pie filling you enjoy.
- Cubes of chocolate or yellow cake will be less airy than angel food, but still completely delicious.
- If you’d rather not use whipped topping, whip up 1 cup of cold heavy cream with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar instead.
- To Store: Keep covered in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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