Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Trifle

Looking for a festive holiday dessert? This Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Trifle is perfect! Layers of creamy whipped cheesecake filling alternate with orange liqueur-soaked gingerbread and cranberry sauce for an easy treat that everyone will love.

I love a good trifle recipe. Heck, they’re so easy to make, I even love a bad trifle recipe. But don’t worry—this cranberry bliss cheesecake trifle is neither good nor bad, it is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. (So is this Black Forest Brownie Trifle and Spiced Pear Poundcake Trifle.)

Seriously, this is going to be the hit of your holiday party. This trifle recipe is inspired by Starbuck’s Cranberry Bliss Bars but may be even better! It’s creamy and fluffy, the cheesecake has that perfect little tang to it, it’s festive thanks to the cranberry sauce and gingerbread, plus it’s boozy, which is the most important part. (I kid!)

The other thing I love about this recipe is that you can make cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (or use leftover cans—no shame), pop 3 cups of the leftovers in the freezer, and use it to make this trifle when Christmas rolls around. 

Ingredients for Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Trifle

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need for this recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.

Cheesecake filling:

• Cream cheese – I like regular cream cheese, because this is a holiday dessert, after all. But reduced-fat will also work. I don’t recommend fat-free cream cheese, which is just lackluster all around.
• Sweetened condensed milk – Not evaporated milk, which is unsweetened. 
• Vanilla – You can use vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract.
• Orange – You’ll need the zest and the juice. Zest the orange first because it’s hard to zest a juiced orange. 

Trifle:

• Gingerbread – I like to use the cake-y gingerbread. Crushed gingerbread cookies or graham crackers work too. 
• Orange liqueur – There are many options here. Curaçao (authentic Curaçao, not the blue stuff, which would look terrible in this anyway), Triple Sec, Grand Marnier, and Cointreau are a few. 
• Cranberry sauce – Here’s my cranberry sauce recipe.
• Whipped cream – Homemade whipped cream if you plan on eating this soon; stabilized whipped cream or Cool Whip if you need to keep the trifle in the fridge for a day or two. (Regular whipped cream will start to deflate after a while.)

How to Make a Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Trifle

Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full printable instructions.

1. Make the cheesecake filling. Add the filling ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. 
2. Make the first set of layers. Add half of the gingerbread to a trifle dishes and drizzle half of the liqueur evenly over it. Add half the cheesecake filling, half the cranberry sauce, and half the whipped cream.
3. Repeat. Do it all again! End with the whipped cream, sprinkle on some more orange zest, and add more cranberry sauce and some shaved white chocolate, if desired, to make it look pretty.
4. Chill. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Tips for Making a Cheesecake Trifle

This trifle is super easy, but these tips will help make sure it turns out perfect!

• Let the cream cheese come to room temperature. This makes it easier to blend smoothly into the other ingredients for the cheesecake.
• Use a trifle dish. Yes, it’s just as delicious if you make it in a bowl, but will it look as nice? No, it won’t. See if someone in your friend group has a trifle dish you can borrow or look at resale shops if you don’t want to invest in a pricy one. This is a recipe all about those layers!
• Don’t eat it right away. Chill it for at least an hour so the flavors have time to come together and the liqueur really soaks into the gingerbread. It makes this cranberry cheesecake trifle extra delicious!
• Add sugared cranberries for an extra special touch. They are easy to make and they make any dessert look like it came from a professional bakery!

How to Store Leftovers

Wrap this cranberry bliss cheesecake trifle in the dish or, if you have smaller amounts of leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container. They’ll keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 days if you don’t mind the layers starting to run together and such.

I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, but I don’t recommend it because I suspect the trifle might get a bit watery after thawing. If you successfully try this, let me know in the comments below!

What to Serve With Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Truffle

• The Best Hot Buttered Rum
• Sugar Cone Christmas Trees
• Eggnog Pound Cake
• Christmas Meringue Cookies
• Red Velvet Oreo Truffles
• Snowman Marshmallow Hot Cocoa Toppers

More Cheesecake Recipes 

• Pecan Pie Cheesecake Recipe
• Chocolate Cheesecake
• Best Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
• Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
• Best New York Cheesecake Recipe
• Easy Funfetti Cheesecake Recipe

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