Sharing is caring!

If you are in need of an easy Easter dessert, this trifle parfait is the perfect choice!  With a wide choice of color and flavor combinations, you can create a no-fail spring dessert that quick fix for you and a mouthwatering treat for your guests!

Who’s Bring Easter Dessert? Raise Your Hand!

If your family is anything like mine, whenever there’s a family get-together or celebration coming, we all divvy up who is going to make what – appetizers, sides, main dishes, and desserts.  

In my family, I’m usually the one who is assigned dessert.  Not because I’m so great at desserts but more like because I’m NOT so great at cooking.  But I don’t mind. 

Baking is way easier than cooking, in my opinion, and so much more forgiving. I mean, when there is sugar and butter involved, how bad can it taste?  You really can’t mess it up.

The Trifle: My Go-To Dessert

The trifle (or the parfait, if you are making individual servings) is my go-to.

With alternating layers of cake (or brownies or cookies, even), pudding and whipped cream, it is SO easy to make, and it is a hit every time. It’s almost embarrassing to take any credit for it.

If you like to bake or if you’ve been designated family dessert girl, here’s a great spring or Easter dessert recipe to bring to your next get together. 

This is super-easy to make, and there really is no way you can ruin this.  You have so many ways to put together this trifle or parfait.

Tips and Tricks for the Trifle| Parfait

I’ve made this dessert both ways – in a big bowl as a trifle as well in individual glasses as parfaits.  The bowl trifle is definitely quicker and easier, so if you aren’t super concerned with presentation, it’s a great choice to make.

Your guests can just slop it on a plate – the more mushed together it is, the better it tastes.

Easy Easter Trifle | Parfait Dessert {Pro-Tips}

Presentation for Trifle

I made this trifle with my mom when I was visiting her in Florida with the boys. 

For this one, I used Funfetti box cake mix, vanilla pudding, pistachio pudding, and heavy cream. 

We topped it with spring sprinkles and spring M&Ms.

 

Presentation for Parfaits

There is a little more involved in assembling the parfait compared to making a trifle, depending on what glasses you use. 

If you use a wider mouth glass, it is easier to get the ingredients in without having them drip and smear down the sides.  If you don’t care about that, no problem. 

But if you want it to look nice and neat from the outside, go slow in putting the ingredients in.

I had to wipe the inside of the glass clean with a damp paper towel as I went, before I added the next item.

Adding Spring/Easter Colors

I bought a white cake mix and added blue food coloring, hoping to get a baby blue cake.

However, the cake mix, even though it said ‘white’ had more of a yellow tint to it, so the cake was more green than blue. 

Not a huge deal because it was still in the spring and Easter family, but it wasn’t totally my intended outcome.

A lemon cake would have also worked, and I could have added the food coloring to the Cool Whip instead. Spring colors are the goal.

This time, I used banana pudding instead of vanilla, and I still used pistachio. 

In retrospect, I feel like the banana taste was a little too strong, so I would probably go back to using vanilla. 

I used Cool Whip this time around because – the real story? 

My hand-mixer is boxed up in the shed somewhere because we are (hopefully) moving soon.  I didn’t have anything to beat the heavy cream with, so I just bought Cool Whip. 

I kept it in the fridge instead of the freezer, and it was just the right consistency and still tasted delicious.

I started with cake on the bottom, then added banana pudding (so as not to have 2 green elements side by side), then Cool Whip, then cake, then banana (or pistachio) pudding, then topped with Cool Whip.  

For some parfaits, I just kept it mostly green and omitted the banana pudding (fun for St. Patrick’s Day?). 

If you are making a parfait rather than a trifle, you can change up the combinations any way you want.

I also added a little pink food coloring to the Cool Whip, and it was a nice touch. 

You could definitely color the Cool Whip or whipped cream to change up the color combinations.

Decorations

I used colored spring sprinkles from Wilton and spring M&Ms. 

On top of a few are your traditional Peeps.  I also used green-dyed sweetened shredded coconut (food coloring) to make the bed of grass the bunny and chick peeps are sitting on.

(To dye coconut, put 1 cup coconut, 1 teaspoon water and a drop of food coloring in a bag and shake it around.  Add more color if you want the color to be brighter.)

Serving Amounts

With the ingredients listed in the recipe card below, I was able to make one large trifle. 

Using those same ingredients, I was able to make the 5 glasses of the parfait as shown in the picture (varying sizes, but 3 were pretty large), with about a 1/2 cake leftover and a little bit of pudding. 

My glasses were all different sizes, but you could definitely use smaller cups (clear plastic party cups are a great choice) and make a nice amount for a larger group. Mason jars (16 oz.) are also a great choice!

If you REALLY wanted to make this a baking hack, you could just buy a box of Entenmann’s cake and store-bought pudding cups!

I’ve never used pudding cups when I’ve done this, but in the past, I have definitely used cake that was pre-made. (Even I can handle making instant pudding, lol).

Here are the succinct ingredients and instructions for the trifle!

A Trifle for Every Occasion

There are so many ways to assemble a trifle or parfait.  It really would work for any holiday or occasion – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays. 

(Here’s a key lime coconut trifle I made for the summer, and it was AMAZING!)

But you can also find 60+ of the BEST trifle recipes here. I’ve done my homework!

A spring parfait is such an easy recipe, and it is so adaptable. This easy Easter dessert is an absolute no-fail dessert.   

I guarantee it will go over big, and you can beam with pride as you take compliments for such a stupid-easy dessert. 🙂

If you want to try a wonderful classic dessert for Easter – a little more ‘grown up’, try this: The Absolute Easiest Ever Italian Ricotta Easter Pie Recipe!

And if you are looking for more fantastic Easter sweets to make, here are 35 amazing Easter treats that are as delicious as they are adorable – and perfect for kids, too! 

If you’re gifting those treats, be sure to attach one of these free printable Easter tags!

And if you’re doing a full-on brunch for Easter, check out these 30 Ideas for Brunch Charcuterie Boards! Perfect for an Easter gathering!

What are your favorite, go-to, super-easy desserts? I’d love to hear about them!

If you think others might enjoy this recipe, I’d love it if you shared it!

More Spring/Easter Inspiration:

Fabulous Easter Candy and Dessert Charcuterie Board Your Gathering Needs

The Absolute Easiest Ever Italian Ricotta Easter Pie Recipe

Spring-Inspired Butterfly Chocolate Chip Cookies

30+ Adorable Easter Crafts for Kids