Pumpkin Trifle

This pumpkin trifle dessert is everything you want in a fall treat: cool, creamy, and full of cozy flavor. With layers of spice cake, pumpkin cheesecake filling, and whipped topping, it’s an easy make-ahead dessert that looks just as good as it tastes.

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Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Trifle

Made with boxed cake mix and Cool Whip, this pumpkin trifle is simple to make but still looks impressive and perfect for the season.

• Perfect fall flavor with cozy spices
• Feeds a crowd and looks beautiful in a trifle bowl
• Comes together quickly with shortcut ingredients
• Easy make-ahead recipe
• Easy to customize with toppings and variations

Ingredients

• Spice cake mix – You can substitute with vanilla cake or pound cake if preferred. To switch things up, try using gingerbread cake or cookies for a pumpkin and gingerbread trifle variation.
• Water
• Eggs
• Vegetable oil
• Cream cheese – Softened for easy mixing
• Powdered sugar – Granulated sugar works in a pinch but may result in a grainier texture
• Pumpkin puree – Use plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
• Vanilla extract – Pure or imitation both work
• Pumpkin pie spice – Or make your own blend with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves
• Whipped topping – Cool Whip or any store-bought version; homemade whipped cream works too
• Toffee bits – Optional, add sweet crunch. You can swap in walnuts, crushed gingersnaps, or mini chocolate chips

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Pumpkin Trifle

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch pan. Mix the spice cake mix with water, eggs, and oil. Bake for 23–25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely, then cut into 1-inch cubes.
2. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar, then add pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Beat until creamy.
3. Layer the trifle: Add a layer of cake cubes to the bottom of the trifle bowl. Spoon half of the pumpkin filling over the cake and cover with half of one container of whipped topping. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and toffee bits.
4. Repeat: Add another layer of cake cubes, the remaining pumpkin filling, the rest of the first whipped topping container, and more pecans and toffee bits. Add a final layer of cake cubes.
5. Top it off: Spread the second container of whipped topping over the top layer. Sprinkle with the remaining pecans and toffee bits. Chill for at least 8 hours or until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Storage Tips & Make-Ahead Instructions

• Store: Cover the trifle with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The cake will soften as it sits but still tastes great.
• Reheat: No reheating needed; this pumpkin trifle dessert is best served chilled straight from the fridge.
• Freeze: Not recommended. Freezing can change the texture of the whipped topping and pumpkin mixture.
• Make Ahead: You can assemble the trifle up to 1 day in advance. Keep it covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For the best texture, add final garnishes like pecans or toffee bits just before serving.

Other Easy Trifle Recipes

• Easy Trifle Recipes
• Pumpkin Delight
• S’mores Dessert Trifle
• Boston Cream Pie Trifle
• Lemon Raspberry Trifle
• 4th of July Trifle
• Pumpkin Poke Cake

If you’ve tried this Pumpkin Trifle Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it turned out in the comments below.

5 from 2 votes

Pumpkin Trifle

Author — Jennifer Fishkind

Serves — 12

Pumpkin trifle is made with layers of spice cake, creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling, and whipped topping. This festive dessert is easy to prepare and perfect for fall.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Rest and Chill Time 8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 9 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

Spice Cake

• ▢ 15.25 ounce spice cake mix
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil

Pumpkin Layer

• ▢ 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
• ▢ ¾ cup powdered sugar sifted
• ▢ 15 ounce canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Whipped Topping

• ▢ 16 ounce containers whipped topping thawed
• ▢ 1 cup chopped toffee bits (Divide ⅓ cup and ⅓ cup for layers and ⅓ cup for garnish)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with baker’s spray (Baker’s joy or a generic version)
• In a medium size bowl, mix together the cake mix, water, eggs and vegetable oil. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 23 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Once completely cooled, slice into 1 inch cubes. The cubes do not need to be uniform in size.
• Using either a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or a large (4-5 quart) mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium high speed, add the softened cream cheese and mix for 1 ½ – 2 minutes until the cream cheese is completely smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar and continue to mix for another 1 to 1 ½ minutes until completely incorporated.
• Mix in the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla until well combined and creamy.
• In a trifle bowl (3.25 quart -or- 104 ounce) create a single layer of cake cubes at the bottom.
• Layer half of the pumpkin mixture on top of the layer of spice cake.
• Spoon ½ of 1 container of thawed whipped topping over the pumpkin layer.
• Sprinkle ⅓ cup of toffee bits over the whipped topping.
• Layer more cake cubes over the candy layer.
• Repeat the pumpkin, the other ½ of the 1st container of whipped topping, and toffee bits over the cake cubes. You will have enough cake to make 1 final layer.
• Spread the remaining whipped topping over the cake cubes.
• Sprinkle the remaining toffee bits over the whipped topping layer (I used about 1 teaspoon) You can make this ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:

• Store: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The cake will soften over time.
• Reheat: No need to reheat—serve chilled straight from the fridge.
• Freeze: Not recommended. Freezing affects the texture of the whipped topping and filling.
• Make Ahead: This trifle can be assembled a day ahead. Store it covered in the fridge. Add final toppings just before serving if you want them to stay crunchy.

Tips:

• Keep cake cubes roughly the same size for even layers
• Let the trifle chill for at least 2 hours before serving for best texture
• If your trifle bowl is smaller than 3.25 quarts, you may have leftover cake cubes
• For a quicker version, use instant vanilla pudding mixed with pumpkin and spices instead of the cream cheese filling

Nutrition Info

Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 369mg | Potassium: 288mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 6085IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 3mg

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