It was Fourth of July and I was having my annual gathering of friends over for an indoor barbecue and to watch the Macy’s fireworks on the Hudson.
But this year was different. Everyone was expecting cake. With the heat and other party prep, I wasn’t that keen on baking a fussy cake. And those classic sheet cakes with the berry American flags on top seemed a little, well, tired to me. I wanted to make something easy, summery, and patriotic. I came across a recipe for Red, White, and Blue Berry Trifle on MarthaStewart.com. And now that I’m looking at their photo, my version looks… lacking. I’ll explain.
I liked the idea of the original recipe, but I cut some corners and calories. Instead of using a combination of mascarpone cheese and heavy cream for the white cream layers, I used Cool Whip and low fat cream cheese.
I knew locating lady fingers would require some travel and I was busy gathering ingredients for the rest of my 4th of July spread. So, I substituted vanilla wafers.
Finally, the recipe called for 5 cups of raspberries. But raspberries are expensive! Which is why I opted for a combination of sliced strawberries and raspberries.
Here’s my mise en place.
The first step was to prepare the pan. I was using a 10″ springform pan, but the original recipe called for an 8″ springform pan. And in hindsight, using a smaller pan would have yielded a nice, tall trifle cake with distinct layers as seen on Martha Stewart’s website.
I didn’t bother with the parchment round on the bottom of the springform pan. Instead I just wrapped a tall piece around the edge, which took some maneuvering to get it to stay put.
Next I combined the softened cream cheese with the Cool Whip and a smidge of confectioners’ sugar.
Next I mashed the sliced strawberries with raspberries and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar.
Then it was time to assemble. I placed a layer of vanilla wafers on the bottom of the springform pan.
On top of the cookies I placed 1/2 the berry mixture.
On top of the berries went half the cream mixture. Then I repeated the layers and topped the cake with a layer of blueberries. The cake then had a chill in the fridge for a few hours before being un-molded and served.
As you can see, the layers were so thin, they melded together.
I served it to friends and was told it was good, but I wasn’t that into it and didn’t finish my piece. Chris finished it for me, so it was definitely edible. But the remainder of the cake got tossed.