Happy (belated) Fourth of July, everyone! In patriotic spirit, I decided to throw together a themed and group-friendly summer dessert. Filled with fresh berries, spongy cake, and sweet and tangy vanilla + cream cheese whipped layers. It’s almost too good looking to eat—almost… but my guests and I readily gobbled up this delicious dessert!
I’ve had a series of unfortunate camera-related events recently. In between shooting and cooking in different places, to uploading pictures and writing posts on different laptops, there’s always a chance of misplacing memory cards, neglecting to recharge the battery, or forgetting the battery behind. Let’s just say all three things happened this past weekend and I’m now a bit short on the pretty pretty pictures :/
On the bright side, this beautiful trifle was the perfect way to celebrate the day of red, white, and blue! I regret to say (again) that I failed to post this early enough to be a holiday dessert inspiration (I promise I had this ready beforehand, but travel threw my schedule off) but the trifle is such a versatile dessert that could be made for just about any event! For one, it can feed A LOT of people with its many layers of fluffy cake, cream, and fruit. Secondly, it’s easy to replace ingredients to fit the occasionp; as an example, I choose to feature a red velvet cake to go along with the patriotic theme of the weekend.
But what I really appreciate about this dessert is its ability to be single-served. Look how adorable it looks in a stemless white wine glass?! The perfect layers of red cake, white cream, and blue berries are easily visible; and the wine glass trifle glasses make it so easy for guests to enjoy a mini trifle without needing to scoop out portions from a gigantic bowl.
- Premade cake, 9x13 or equivalent
- 2 pint fresh blueberries
- 2 carton fresh strawberries
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbs confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened room-temperature
- 2/3 c plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 c confectioner's sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- In a chilled or cool bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer on low to medium until soft peaks start to form.
- Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff peaks and an airy fluffiness forms.
- Beat softened cream cheese on low with an electric mixer.
- A third at a time, slowly add in 1/3 of the greek yogurt, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla extract. Repeat and continue mixing until soft peaks form.
- Cut cake or tear into 1-inch cubes.
- Prep and wash berries; core and slice strawberries.
- Add a layer of cake to the bottom of the trifle bowl*. Top with a layer of whipped cream followed by the cream cheese layer. Add a layer of fresh berries followed by a light layer of whipped cream.
- Repeat layers again, ending with a layer of whipped cream and/or a cream cheese layer. Use a spatula to smooth out the surface. Add a generous heap of berries or decorate as desired to top layer.
- Loosely cover and place in refridgerator to set and chill for ~2 hours. This dessert can be made a day in advance and chilled overnight.
- Serve chilled; scoop onto bowls or plates and enjoy!
- * If you don't have a trifle bowl (like me), you can use two 7-cup Pyrex glass storage bowls as a substitute for the serving bowl.
- Layering order is merely a suggestion; I would love to hear how you've experimented with different ingredients and layering methods!
-pfht
The pictures turned out beautifully! And so delicious :)