This heaven on earth cake is one of my favorite summer desserts. Easy to make, pretty to look at, and best of all— juicy red cherries are the star of the show. It’s like a delicious cherry trifle prepared in a 9X13-inch serving dish. Potluck, barbecue, church supper perfect!
A slice of heaven…..Wait, there’s more! This dessert is NO BAKE. We are using a store-bought angel food cake as a base here. This time of year, we want our dessert and our playtime too.
Last-minute pool party? This is perfect. Too hot to turn on the oven? No-bake desserts are the ticket! Try my Strawberry Heaven on Earth Cake next!
Heaven On Earth Cake Recipe
I love making…okay, I love eating this cake so much that I absolutely agree with its name. This is a sweet little reminder that special treats don’t have to add up to hours in the kitchen. So go ahead and have your cake and eat it too with this sure crowd pleaser.
Do you choose cherry? Have I got some desserts for you! Try my cherry delight, cherry pineapple dump cake, or classic cherry crisp.
And with a cherry on top! Now doesn’t that sound like heaven? 🥰
Ingredients
- prepared Angel food cake
- instant vanilla pudding
- milk
- sour cream
- cherry pie filling
- cool whip
Tips
- Different Cake: In lieu of Angle food, try pound cake, chocolate cake, a simple vanilla sponge cake, or even brownies.
- Homemade: If you make a homemade Angel food cake, use a tube cake pan.
- Semi-Homemade: If you want to step it up from my basic recipe, use a boxed angel food cake mix.
- Can you make angel food cake a day ahead? Absolutely. Pro tip: The cake needs to be completely cooled before using in this recipe so making it ahead of time is a great idea!
- Best Knife: To cut the fluffy texture of the cake of Angel food cake into cake cubes is a knife with a serrated blade.
- Optional garnish: Instead of the sliced almonds, use slivered or chopped! They really add a nice aesthetic element not to mention crunch! A few fresh mint leaves are always a lovely touch!
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- Can You Freeze This? No. Since this cake has sour cream, it is not recommended to freeze. The texture might differ once thawed.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Assemble a day ahead or a few hours ahead, and refrigerate.
Variations
- Switch up the pie-filling flavors! Use different great pie fillings: apple pie, blueberry, lemon pie filling, or raspberry are alllll amazing!
- Top it! This is great topped with an extra dollop of whipped toppings like Cool Whip, homemade whipped cream, fresh berries, fresh pitted cherries, or virtually any fresh fruits.
- Serving Adults Only? The cake cubes can be quickly dipped in sherry or your favorite flavor of alcohol.
- Sub the Sour Cream! Use plain Greek yogurt instead!
How to Make Heaven On Earth Cake
- Layer cake pieces. Place half of the cake pieces on the bottom of the baking dish. Layer evenly.
- Pour cherry pie filling. Pour two-thirds of the cherry pie filling over the cake.
- Layer cake again. Layer the remaining cake pieces over the cherry filling.
- Mix and spread. Combine the pudding mix mixture and spread evenly over the cake.
- Cool whip. Spread Cool whip evenly over the pudding.
- Garnish. Top with pie filling and almonds.
- Chill. Let it chill for hours in the fridge.
****The complete instructions are below.
More Easy Sheet Pan Cake Recipes
Here are some of the easy sheet cake recipes I love…
- Strawberry Jello Cake
- Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
Heaven On Earth Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (14-ounce) prepared Angel food cake, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 (3.5-ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling
- 1 (8-ounce) tub cool whip, thawed
Instructions
- Layer half of the cake pieces evenly on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Pour 2/3 of the cherry pie filling evenly over the cake.
- Layer the remaining cake pieces over the cherry filling.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together pudding mix (1 box), milk (1 1/2 cups), and sour cream (1 cup), then smooth. Spoon an even layer over the cake.
- Spread cool whip (1 tub) evenly over pudding.
- Garnish the top with the remaining pie filling and almonds.
- Chill for about 4 to 5 hours. Cut into servings.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Different Cake: In lieu of Angle food, try pound cake, chocolate cake, a simple vanilla sponge cake, or even brownies.
- Homemade: If you make a homemade Angel food cake, use a tube cake pan.
- Semi-Homemade: If you want to step it up from my basic recipe, use a boxed angel food cake mix.
- Can you make angel food cake a day ahead? Absolutely. Pro tip: The cake needs to be completely cooled before using in this recipe so making it ahead of time is a great idea!
- Best Knife: To cut the fluffy texture of the cake of Angel food cake into cake cubes is a knife with a serrated blade.
- Optional garnish: Instead of the sliced almonds, use slivered or chopped! They really add a nice aesthetic element not to mention crunch! A few fresh mint leaves are always a lovely touch!
Nutrition
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Can any of the 9 x 12 pan recipes ingredients be cut in half ??????
Yes they can.
Can this be frozen?
Hi, Margaret. No. Since this cake has sour cream, it is not recommended to freeze. The texture might differ once thawed.
Have you used a different pie filling than cherry for this recipe?
Hi, Dee! I haven’t but I want to. You can definitely use different great pie fillings: apple pie, blueberry, lemon pie filling, or raspberry are alllll amazing! 🙂
I leveled up the angel food cake I bought! It’s so gooooooood! Thank you for this recipe
Hi, Kaye! That’s so amazing. Thanks for sharing your positive review 🙂