Old-Fashioned Heaven On Earth Cake Recipe

Summertime is the best time to make no-bake desserts. Heatless, easy, and lightly sweet, the fluffy, often-chilled desserts are the perfect pairing for hot, humid weather and smoky grilled dinners. Midwesterners are no strangers to these uniquely assembled desserts and may even be the masters of them, churning out classics like cookie salad, pretzel Jell-O, icebox cake, and lush. The formula for this type of dessert is usually about the same: A sturdy cake or cookie base, a punchy, sweet layer of fruit, and a rich layer of decadent, fluffy cream, piled together in casserole form. The result is often not the most artistic visually — but it's the perfect combination of flavors and textures that make these desserts so great.

One of the most classic no-bake desserts is the Heaven on Earth cake. As the name cleverly implies, the dessert uses angel food cake as a base for creamy layers of vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and pie filling. Made with either cherry or strawberry pie filling, the cake takes on a light and fruity flavor that is further complemented by the endlessly soft cake beneath it. Though typically made entirely with store-bought ingredients, my version emphasizes old-fashioned flavors with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream, resulting in a lightly-sweet cake with a soft, delicate texture. A delicious way to layer the sweetest flavors of summer, this cake delivers a taste of Heaven on Earth in every slice. 

Heaven on Earth cake is made in several layers, starting with a layer of cubed angel food cake. You can make the angel food cake at home or buy it pre-made — because it is cubed and hidden under layers of other ingredients, I recommend saving yourself the time and buying a cake from the store. From there, you'll need two boxes of fresh strawberries (one for the filling, one for the topping), lemon juice, cornstarch, cream cheese, instant vanilla pudding, whole milk, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar.

Add ½ cup strawberries, ¼ cup water, and the lemon juice to a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a pot with the cornstarch and bring it to a boil over medium heat.

Once boiling, turn the heat to medium-low and add the rest of 1 container of sliced strawberries, or about 2 cups. Stir until the mixture comes to a simmer, then remove from the heat.

Transfer the strawberry mixture to a bowl to cool.

In the meantime, cut the angel food cake into 1-inch cubes.

Arrange the cake on the bottom of a glass 9x13-inch casserole dish.

Layer the cooled strawberry mixture onto the cake.

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until fluffy.

In another bowl, whisk together the pudding and milk until thick.

Fold the pudding into the cream cheese, using the electric beater to combine into a fluffy mixture.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the strawberries in the casserole dish.

In a large bowl, use an electric whisk to whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until just combined.

Spread the whipped cream across the cream cheese layer. Chill for 6 to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

When ready to serve, top with fresh sliced strawberries.

Sift powdered sugar over top to serve.

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While Heaven on Earth cake is known for its bright-red cherry or strawberry filling, the cake can technically be made with any fruit of your choosing. If you'd like to make this cake with fresh fresh cherries, remove the stem and pit from the cherries, then make the filling according to our cherry pie filling recipe by boiling the cherries with water, lemon juice, and cornstarch. You can also use this technique with blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries for unique alternatives.

If you're making this cake out of season or simply have fruits leftover from summer in the freezer, you can use frozen fruits to make this recipe, as well. No need to thaw the fruits ahead of time: Just add the fruit to a saucepan and bring to a boil, then follow the pie filling recipe from there. Frozen berries and cherries will still taste fresher than canned, meaning you can get the same summery flavor any season of the year.

Heaven on Earth cake is typically made using store-bought ingredients, which is what makes this cake so effortless to prepare. Of course, using canned pie filling and Cool Whip will taste much different than the homemade versions of the same, but the swap can save you a lot of time and a few less dishes to clean. To make this cake with pre-made ingredients, head to the store and buy a few cans of our favorite cherry pie filling or swap the fruits with one of Bonne Maman's jarred pie fillings. You can even use lemon curd, which can be found near the jams and jellies, for a tangy, ultra-summery version.

The other layer you can buy pre-made is the whipped cream, which can be swapped for Cool Whip or similar. I don't recommend using an aerosol can of whipped cream for this recipe for two reasons: First, because the slow-release method will take a long time to coat the entire cake, and the recipe may require more than one can. The second is that the cream doesn't have the same, soft texture as the cream found in the tub, and will fall flat much faster due to the gas that creates the foam. For this recipe, you want a thick, creamy whipped topping, and you want it to stay stable for as long as possible while the cake chills.

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