Name: Cherries in the Snow Dessert
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature); ½ cup powdered sugar; ½ cup 2% milk; 12 ounces Cool Whip whipped topping (thawed); 1 9" pre-baked angel food cake; 2 cans cherry pie filling (21 ounces each)

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An easy, no bake dessert that looks pretty too! Cherries In the Snow is a sweet, creamy, layered dessert with angel food cake.

closeup of angel food cake, whipped cream and cherry pie filling dessert

This vintage Cherries in the Snow recipe is an easy, no-bake dessert with just 20 minutes of prep! It layers store-bought angel food cake, a fluffy cream cheese mixture, and cheerful cherry pie filling for a beautiful presentation in a glass baking dish or trifle dish.

Perfect for the holidays, summer potlucks, or as a birthday treat for someone who prefers a lighter dessert, this make-ahead recipe is as effortless as it is delicious.

Just 6 Ingredients Needed

This easy cherries in the snow recipe has simple ingredients:

Cream Cheese. Full-fat cream cheese is the best for this angel food cake dessert.
Powdered Sugar. Powdered sugar mixes in more smoothly than granulated sugar. No graininess and just a hint of sweetness.
Milk. This is to thin the cream cheese mixture slightly and allow the whipped topping to fold in.
Cool Whip. The light Cool Whip pairs so nicely with the airy angel food cake and creates the perfect texture.
White Angel Food Cake. To keep the recipe quick, buy a store-bought angel food cake. Or make angel food cake at home. Need gluten-free? Make our gluten-free angel food cake.
2 Cans of Cherry Pie Filling. Buy the “More Fruit” pie filling so you can have cherries in every bite.

How to Make Cherries in the Snow

Make the gorgeous dessert in just 3 steps:

Mix. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy. Mix in ¼ cup of milk until smooth, then add in the other ¼ cup milk and mix again. Gently fold in the Cool Whip.

angel food cake with whipped cream in a bowl

Add cake. Break the cake into small pieces and add into the whipped mixture. Fold to combine and place in a 9×13 baking pan.
Top. Spread the cherry pie filling on top. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

spreading cherry pie filling over angel food cake in a glass pan

Can you make this dessert in advance?

Yes! This is a perfect make ahead dessert. Although you can serve it right away, making it in advance will help the filling to set slightly and allow the flavors to combine. We prefer making this a day before serving.

Make sure you cover the cherries in the snow dessert with plastic wrap (or use a baking dish with a lid) and store in the fridge until serving.

cherries in the snow dessert with one serving out

Recipe Variations:

Use any type of pie filling you’d like. We love blueberry pie filling and raspberry pie filling! Any of these will make an angel food dessert with gorgeous color.
Don’t like angel food cake? Use white cake instead.
Add more flavor. Add a teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract to the cream cheese cake layer.
Want to make a homemade fruit sauce for the top? Try raspberry sauce or strawberry sauce.
Make this lower in fat and calories by using reduced fat cream cheese, low calorie pie filling and fat free Cool Whip. You can even use Monk Fruit powdered sugar.
Use a trifle dish for a dessert with more layers. Layer half of the cream cheese mixture, then pie filling and repeat layers. Perfect for parties!
Make individual parfaits in small glasses. Layer similarly to our strawberries and whipped cream.

a bowl of angel food cake dessert with cherry pie filling

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