A creative twist on the classic frosted carrot cake is this carrot cake trifle. It’s a terrific treat to prepare ahead of time because it tastes much better after being constructed for some time. If preferred, add some toasted nuts on top.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) package carrot cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cup toffee baking bits (such as Heath®)
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip®), thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Make the cake: Beat cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and beat until batter is evenly mixed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 31 to 36 minutes. Remove from the oven; keep the oven on.
- Cool cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 more minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, start the topping. Spread almonds and coconut onto a baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven until toasted and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit until cake is cooled.
- At the same time, make the filling: Beat milk and pudding mix in a bowl with an electric mixer until combined and starting to thicken. Beat in cream cheese until smooth, then fold in whipped topping.
- Cut cooled cake into bite-sized pieces. Mix cooled almonds and coconut with toffee baking bits in a bowl.
- Layer 1/2 of the cake cubes in the bottom of a trifle dish or glass bowl. Cover with 1/2 of the filling, then 1/2 of the topping. Repeat layers once more.
- Try this
- recipe instead of the boxed mix.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 520 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 45 g |
| Cholesterol | 88 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 445 mg |
| Sugars | 24 g |
| Fat | 35 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It looked pretty and festive for Easter, but the cool bland. If I make it again, I would either decrease the amounts of cool whip & cream cheese, or I would add vanilla to the mixture.
So delicious a true five star. My bowl came home from the party empty.
I’ve made this recipe a few times since last Thanksgiving. It’s the bomb!!! It’s so delicious almost everyone has seconds! I suggest buying 2 each of the pudding, cream, cheese, and whipped cream. I’ve never had enough for the layers. This recipe will definitely be going down as a new tradition in our family. Thank you so much to whoever submitted it!
I used 1 instant vanilla pudding and 1 box of sugar free cheese cake pudding and didn’t adjust the milk at all. Get your cream cheese out ahead of time so it can be softening. I made the cake the night before. Watch the coconut and almonds closely and give them a stir about half way through. Served with Carmel sauce drizzle.
So good! One of my favorite trifles
It was very good however I prefer traditional carrot cake cream cheese icing. Hubby thought it was great! Followed the recipe as printed. I would make it again.
Definitely make this one again. Everyone raved about it. Used real whipping cream instead of Cool Whip which made it all the more delicious. Plus it looked wonderful in a trifle dish.
Totally addicting! The only changes were that I used a little less than half of a leftover Sam’s iced, carrot cake instead of baking one, and I used 1 vanilla & 1 cheesecake pudding instead of a larger vanilla size. Everyone had seconds!
Very good and very rich. Easy to prepare. Will make again. Thank you.
Absolutely delicious. Made it for Christmas Eve and it was a hit. Only thing I did different was omit the coconut because of an allergy and added more toffee bits and almonds. Outstanding!!
Made this for a potluck and everyone wanted the recipe. They also want me to make it again…a hit!
Actually, my niece made it for my birthday. I think it was my favorite dessert of all time! As did my Mom and 5 sisters! Having read through the recipe I liked the author’s suggestion that it can be use with any cake tha may have had an oops out of the pan. She also made the fondant carrots that were incredibly realistic looking.
This is so good. My trifle bowl was overfull and I could not fit all the cake in there. I think it needs more cream cheese flavor and will either add more cream cheese or maybe see if there is a cheesecake pudding flavor to use next time. My daughter just make the cake per directions on the box.
AMAZING!!!!! I made this for Easter & it was awesome!! Something different, beautiful & everyone loved!!! Thank you for this great recipe! The only change I made, was to make my own carrot cake that my family loves (Carrot Cake X on AR) rather than use a mix. I used an electric mixer to make the pudding then added a block Neufchatel cream cheese (less fat & softer) that I set out on counter for about a half hour. I blended until it was creamy. I put it all together the night before & it was PERFECT!?
I followed the recipe exactly and would not change a thing. I used a Carrot Cake box mix that calls for water to reconstitute the included carrots and raisins so I used no extra water. FABULOUS Easter Dessert!
so friggin’ awesome….one of the best desserts I’ve ever had!!
Made for Christmas eve dinner…. Exactly as directed and everyone loved it, even my ex-husband who hates carrot cake had 3 servings!
Simple to make and delicious!
Yaaaaaaaaaas! I just brought this to Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit. My aunt stole a huge chunk of it for a post-Christmas meal with other relatives today, my parents took some home, and even my uncle, who hates coconut, liked it (though, I didn’t tell him it was in there ;D ) I did use Carrot Cake III from this site instead of a boxed cake mix, and made real whipped cream instead of using Cool Whip. I was a little short on filling, but I’m assuming that’s due to the whipped cream change. Next time I’ll whip a full 16oz of it and that should do it. I did have a little trouble getting the cream cheese mixed into the pudding smoothly, in the end it was still a little lumpy, but the toppings masked that at least! I let it soften a bit first, but maybe it needed a little more time. I might try a cooked pudding next time and see if the heat makes it easier to blend the cheese in. There will definitely be a next time though, this is completely delicious.