This Berry Waffle Cake features layers of cake mix waffles topped with a cream cheese filling and garnished with fresh berries. It’s a light and scrumptious dessert perfect for your next patriotic party!
Waffles are one of my favorite breakfast foods and I was blown away when I saw some recipes for waffle cakes on Pinterest a few weeks ago.
I instantly knew I needed to make one to celebrate one of my favorite holidays: the 4th of July!
This recipe works because it’s:
- Easier than a traditional cake. There’s no greasing pans, or waiting 40 minutes for the cake layers to cook with this recipe. Plus, you won’t have to worry about getting any frosting to look perfect.
- A beautiful design. The waffle cake layers give this cake a unique design that will make it stand out from the rest.
- Perfectly patriotic! There’s nothing more patriotic than red and blue berries paired with a white cream and cake.
This recipe was adapted from Chelsea’s Messy Apron.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Add 1 box of white cake mix, 1 cup of water, 3 egg whites, and 1/2 cup melted butter to a medium mixing bowl. Using a handheld mixer, mix on low for 30 seconds until combined. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.
Preheat your waffle maker. Once heated, add about a cup of cake mix to the waffle iron and gently spread to the edges. Close lid and cook. Repeat the process with the remaining cake batter. Place the cooked waffles on a wire rack to cool.
While the waffles are cooking, beat 8 ounces of cold cream cheese for 2-3 minutes in a chilled medium mixing bowl until smooth.
Slowly add 1¾ cup of heavy whipping cream until it’s all combined with the cream cheese.
Continue beating at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the whipped cream and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (about 5-10 minutes). Refrigerate until the gingerbread house is done.
Assemble your cake by placing a waffle on a plate and topping it with 1/6 of the whipped cream mixture. Spread the filling evenly to the edges. Place another waffle on top and repeat the process until you’ve used 4-5 waffles, making sure to leave enough filling to cover the top.
Decorate with fresh berries and powdered sugar. Keep refrigerated until serving.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
Although this cake is formed like a stack of waffles, I wouldn’t recommend eating it for breakfast. It’s richer than your traditional Saturday morning waffles!
I was able to get 5 waffles out of the batter when making this cake. I used about 1 cup of batter for each waffle, making sure to get the batter all the way to the edges.
It was a little tricky to get the waffles out of the iron because I didn’t want to break them. The best technique I found was loosening the edge of each triangle gently and then tipping the waffle iron over the cooling racks so the waffle would fall out.
If you do happen to break a waffle, don’t worry! You can easily put it back together on the cake and the filling will keep it in place.
Make sure your waffles are completely cooled before assembling the cake and keep the filling in the fridge so that it doesn’t get runny.
Make sure to dry all of your berries before adding them to the cake so they don’t water down the topping.
You can also add berries on top of each layer for extra-fruity goodness. If you do this, I would only layer 3 or 4 waffles, instead of 5.
UPDATE December 2022: When I made this recipe I used a pudding filling that I adapted from another waffle cake recipe. I’m not a huge fan of pudding, so when I started making a cream cheese whipped cream for a few other breakfast recipes, I knew it was the missing flavor for this waffle cake.
If you would like to make the pudding filling, follow these directions:
- Whisk 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 cup of milk (1%, 2%, etc.) in a medium mixing bowl until combined.
- Whisk in 3.4 ounces of dry instant vanilla pudding into the milk mixture until well combined. Chill for 5 minutes.
- After the pudding has chilled, gently fold in 2 cups of whipped topping. Place the filling in the refrigerator to chill while the waffles cool.
More Like This
Looking for more easy summer desserts? You’ll love these!
FAQs
White cake mixes call for egg whites to keep the color of the cake white. So if you don’t want your waffles to have a yellow tint to them, I would just use the egg whites.
I hate to waste food, so if you need a way to use up the yolks, try this Zucchini with Scrambled Eggs.
If you don’t eat all of the cake in one sitting, you can cut it into slices and place it in an airtight container in the fridge. The cake will keep refrigerated for 2-3 days.
I hope your family loves this berry waffle cake! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!
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Patriotic Berry Waffle Cake
Ingredients
Waffles
- 15.25 ounce boxed white cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 3 egg whites
- ½ cup butter, melted
Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 1 ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish
- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Add cake mix, water, egg whites, and melted butter to a medium mixing bowl. Using a handheld mixer, mix on low for 30 seconds until combined. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.
- Preheat your waffle maker. Once heated, add about a cup of cake mix to the waffle iron and gently spread to the edges. Close lid and cook. Repeat the process with the remaining cake batter. Place the cooked waffles on a wire rack to cool.
- While the waffles are cooking, beat cream cheese for 2-3 minutes in a chilled medium mixing bowl until smooth.
- Slowly add the heavy whipping cream until it's all combined with the cream cheese.
- Continue beating on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the whipped cream and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (about 5-10 minutes). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Assemble your cake by placing a waffle on a plate or stand and topping it with 1/5 of the whipped cream mixture. Spread the filling evenly to the edges. Place another waffle on top and repeat the process until you've used 5 waffles, making sure to leave enough filling to cover the top.
- Decorate with fresh berries and powdered sugar. Keep refrigerated until serving.