Fresh strawberries and yellow cake mix combine to create a delicious dessert for Mother's Day, family reunions, dinner parties, and everything in between!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Angel food cake and strawberries are a classic combination all your guests will love!
- A dash of sour cream prevents this dish from being too sweet, creating the perfect balance of flavors.
- This trifle bowl dessert is served cool, making it great for warmer weather!
Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake is made of small pieces of angel food cake layered with fresh fruit and rich cream.
Think of it like a strawberry trifle bowl!
I keep the recipe for this beautiful dessert on hand all year long! It comes in handy for those times when you need a decadent dessert in a pinch.
The best part is, that no one will know how easy it is to make.
🧾 Ingredients
Make sure you bake (or buy) your angel food cake ahead of time. Then, it's likely you'll already have everything else you'll need!
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cube the cake and add a layer to the large serving bowl.
- Add the cream mixture to the top of the cake layer.
- Layer the sliced strawberries next.
- Repeat layers, cover, and refrigerate until serving time.
🥫 Storage
Although best served right away, this strawberry punch bowl cake can be covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
It is not suitable for freezing!
📖 Variations
There are about as many variations of punch bowl cakes as there are good cooks in the South!
You can vary every component of this recipe from the fruit to the filling, and it always tastes great.
- Use different fruit - Other berries, cherries, peaches, and crushed pineapple all work great for this recipe! Adjust your sugar accordingly.
- Use pound cake instead of angel food cake.
- Try chocolate cake or brownies.
- Use instant pudding to make this punch bowl cake even easier!
- Softened vanilla ice cream can be used instead of whipped cream -just place your dessert in the freezer up until 20 minutes before serving.
- Use homemade custard (like the kind that's on my banana pudding) in place of the sour cream.
- Use all whipped topping instead of making your own cream.
- This is super cute made in mason jars for single servings!
You get the idea. This strawberry punch bowl cake recipe can handle any season, fruit, and variation you want to throw at it!
💭 Things to know
This classic southern strawberry punch bowl cake couldn't be any easier to make, but we could all use some tips, right?
Use these to make sure your strawberry punch bowl recipe is the best it can be.
Expert Tip: Cut the angel food cake into equally-sized cubes. This will make layering, serving, and eating easier. It'll look prettier, too!
- Choose the best-looking berries for the garnish on top.
- Use ripe berries for a sweeter taste.
- This recipe is best served right away. However, if you're going to have to hold it overnight, add 1 tablespoon of instant vanilla pudding when you're whipping the cream. This will help it stabilize and prevent it from getting too watery.
- Use leftovers to create cute single-servings in sherbert bowls.
👩🍳 FAQs
Simply put, a punch bowl cake is a Southern-style dessert that is layered and served in a punch bowl.
Similar to a strawberry shortcake, this recipe is fairly sweet with a strong flavor of fresh strawberries and cream.
Yes, a punch bowl cake is a type of trifle. Like other desserts considered to be trifles, it is made with layers of cake, fruit, and a pudding-like cream.
📚 Related recipes
Here are some more strawberry cake recipes I love!
- Strawberry Angel Food Cake is a sweet cake stuffed with fresh strawberries for a perfect spring dessert.
Strawberry Sheet Cake is topped with a cream cheese frosting and comes out moist every time!
Strawberry Pound Cake Recipe is dense, moist, and velvety, making it perfect for wedding cakes, bundt cakes, cupcakes, and everything in between.
🍽️ Serve with...
Pair this cake with a refreshing drink to quench your thirst and satisfy your tastebuds!
- The perfect cold salad for every party, this Broccoli Cauliflower Salad has a creamy homemade dressing and plenty of flavor.
- Kid-friendly and delicious, Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad is perfect for making ahead of time!
- Puffy, buttery, and just like the ones you remember from childhood, Lofthouse Cookies are a great addition to any dessert table.
- Coffee punch recipes are handd down by every Southern cook and pretty much guaranteed to show up at any celebration.
📞 The last word
We love this sweet dessert. It's light but also decadent and full of that fresh berry flavor.
Next time try the strawberry pavlova.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 2 pints strawberries, about 2 cups chopped and save the rest for garnish.
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, use less if the berries are very ripe and sweet
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Confectioner's sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 angel food cake, , cut into cubes
- Whole strawberries for garnish
Instructions
- Sprinkle the granulated sugar on the chopped berries and let them stand for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl beat the heavy cream and Confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form.
- Fold in the vanilla and sour cream until well blended.
- Set aside.
- Place ⅓ of the angel food cake pieces in the bottom of a large punch bowl, a large bowl, or a trifle dish.
- Sprinkle strawberry juice over the top - just a little.
- Spoon on ⅓ of the whipped cream mixture, about ⅔ of a cup.
- Spoon on half the chopped berry mixture.
- Add ⅓ of the angel food cake to the top, sprinkle with strawberry juice, spoon on ⅓ of the cream mixture, and top with the remaining strawberries.
- Add the rest of the angel food cake, the remaining cream, and arrange whole berries around the top.
- Refrigerate until serving time.
Notes
- Choose the best-looking berries for the garnish on top.
- Use ripe berries for a sweeter taste.
- This recipe is best served right away. However, if you're going to have to hold it overnight, add 1 tablespoon of instant vanilla pudding when you're whipping the cream. This will help it stabilize and prevent it from getting too watery.
- Use leftovers to create cute single-servings in sherbet bowls.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published January 30, 2018. Last updated for editorial content August 17, 2022.
Ginger
I'm so glad someone else makes trifle in a punch bowl! I love your story!
Kathy
I love your story and your little choir boys next to the punch bowl. We had those too...don't know what ever became of them though. Brings back sweet memories of home? Definitely trying this dessert, looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing your stories with us too!
Marye Audet
Thanks Kathy! It's so easy, too!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
It's funny the memories we retain. Mine also includes an elderly grandmother visiting our house, lots of wine, and finding her asleep in the backyard. I guess she had too much of the liquid fruit. 🙂 I like your punch bowl plus the story. I haven't made a trifle in years. Think it's about time.
Marye Audet
LOL!!! That's great Marisa.