Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle

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 Peanut butter and chocolate lovers will go crazy over this Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle. It has an chocolate cake layered with fluffy cream cheese filling and chopped up Oreos, Butterfinger and Reese’s cups!

How many of you love a “wow” dessert? You know, one of those desserts that is put out at a party or get-together and is gone 15 minutes? Maybe you baked that delicious cheesecake or those amazing frosting cookies that everyone loved. Don’t you just love seeing people enjoy your baking?

If you’re looking for an easy-peasy “wow” dessert that your friends and family will beg you for, you’ve come to the right place. All you need is a few ingredients, a little time, and all the self-control in the world.

Trust me, for this recipe, you’ll need it.

chocolate peanut butter trifle in a glass dish

Why you’ll love this recipe:

  • The peanut butter and chocolate combination you know and love.
  • Easy and delicious.
  • Serves a crowd.
  • Layer in a large trifle dish, punch bowl or individual mason jars.

Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle Inspiration

Have you ever had Adam’s Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory? Oh my goodness, it is my FAVORITE. So rich, delicious, and decadent. We don’t get there as often as I’d like to, so we decided to create a trifle version of my favorite dessert.

I helped my mom put this Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle together while my friend and I were making a fancy decorated cake for a party. We had leftover cake and needed to use it up. This trifle, without a doubt, is easier than a fancy layer cake any day. It took my friend and I 4 ½ hours just to ice the cake.Talk about hard work! My mom made the trifle in only 45 minutes of that time. Both were “wow” desserts, but throwing together a trifle is 10 times easier.

The Parts of a Trifle

Trifles are generally made of some time of cake, pudding, whipped cream and another food item such as berries, candy or nuts. Many times they include cream cheese or a homemade custard and can have sauces or syrups.

For this trifle, we layered the following: chocolate cake, cream cheese peanut butter filling, Cool Whip and candies. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and creamy with a little crunch from the candy.

How to Make Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle

Make a cake:

I made a boxed chocolate cake mix and added crushed Oreos to the batter. You can do this exact thing or you can make a homemade chocolate cake. (Or want something a little more decadent? Use brownies!)

Make the filling:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened cream cheese, butter and peanut butter. Whip these ingredients together until they are well combined, about 1 minute.
  • Add the powdered sugar and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes.
  • Carefully fold in 8 ounces of the Cool Whip. (You’ll use the remaining Cool Whip for layering in the trifle.)

Layer the trifle:

Cut the cake into small pieces or cubes. Put a layer of cake in the bottom of the trifle dish. Spoon ½ of the cream cheese filling on top of the cake. Sprinkle with ⅓ of the peanut butter cups and Butterfinger bars. Put ½ of the reserved Cool Whip on top of the candy.

Repeat the layers: cake, cream cheese filling, candy and Cool Whip. Then top with the remaining ⅓ of the candy pieces.

a spoon in a trifle dish

What if your trifle dish is too small? If you have leftover parts of the trifle, make individual servings to freeze for later when that sweet craving hits!

closeup of reese's trifle
closeup of reese's trifle

Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle

4.60 from 15 votes
Peanut butter and chocolate lovers will go crazy over this Reese’s Butterfinger Cream Cheese Trifle. It has an chocolate cake layered with fluffy cream cheese filling and chopped up Oreos, Butterfinger and Reese’s cups!
Servings 20
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 1 box Pillsbury chocolate cake mix 15.25 ounces, plus ingredients shown on the back of the box to prepare the cake
  • 1 package Oreo cookies 15.5 ounces, quartered
  • 8 fun-size Butterfinger candy bars chopped
  • 1 bag miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups 12 ounces, chopped

Filling:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup salted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 12 ounces whipped topping divided

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to the box directions. Set aside.
  • Quarter the Oreos** and add the cookie pieces to the cake batter.
  • Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake as directed on the back of the box. The cake will most likely need an additional 10 minutes for baking, but check it often. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, the cake is done.
  • Set the cake on a wire rack to cool. Cool the cake completely before putting the trifle together. I made my cake earlier in the day so it would be ready to go when I needed it.
  • For the filling:
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened cream cheese, butter and peanut butter. Whip these ingredients together until they are well combined, about 1 minute.
  • Add the powdered sugar and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes.
  • Carefully fold in 8 ounces of the Cool Whip. (You'll use the remaining Cool Whip for layering in the trifle.)
  • Now you're ready to assemble the trifle.
  • Cut the cake into small pieces or cubes. Put a layer of cake in the bottom of the trifle dish. Spoon ½ of the cream cheese filling on top of the cake. Sprinkle with ⅓ of the peanut butter cups and Butterfinger bars. Put ½ of the reserved Cool Whip on top of the candy. Repeat the layers: cake, cream cheese filling, candy and Cool Whip. Then top with the remaining ⅓ of the candy pieces.
  • Depending on the size of your trifle dish, you may not be able to fit all of the ingredients in. We used all of our filling, but had about ¼ of the cake leftover. As you prepare the trifle, be sure to leave enough room so that you can have two of each layer and it will look so pretty!
  • Refrigerate until serving. This can be made a day in advance.

Video

Notes

If your chocolate cake is already made up, feel free to add the Oreos into the trifle along with the chopped candies.
The calories shown are based on the trifle serving 20, with 1 serving being 1/20 of the trifle. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition

Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 457mg | Potassium: 249mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 308IU | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 3mg
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 546
Keyword layered dessert, reese’s

Originally Published on May 12, 2014

About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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lea
6 years ago

There is a picture of the trifle in what looks like a mason jar? I’m curious how many mason jars the recipe will make? I like the idea of doing individual ones to give away.

Kim
2 years ago

Can this be made with brownies? Thx!

Silvia
4 years ago

5 stars
I made this for my husband’s birthday today and he loved it! I’m not a huge peanut butter fan but even I had seconds. I followed the recipe exactly and it delivered! He felt very special and the triffle looked beautiful. Talk about effortless decadence.

Melody
6 years ago

Can this be made with the yellow cake mix

AnnMarie
9 years ago

Oh wow, I’ll have a teaspoon of that please! That’s all my guilty sweet tooth will allow! Looks yummy. Pinning despite the guilt of just looking at it!