This berry trifle is the perfect patriotic dessert to serve this Fourth of July! It has layers of red strawberries, blue from the blueberries and white from the layers of angel food cake and decadent cheesecake cream. It will be the centerpiece of your table and dessert of the night!
I love summer desserts. They should be light and bright, like this berry trifle! The angel food cake is SO light that it's way too easy to put down.
Tip! Serve your cake with some sparklers on top if you're serving this on July 4th!
Trifle Ingredients
- Angel food cake, pound cake or sponge cake: You can use store-bought or make your own. But if you're entertaining, I suggest going with store-bought to save time!
- Cream cheese: I use whipped cream cheese so the filling stays light and fluffy. Plus it makes things easier when whipping later.
- Heavy whipping cream: This is what makes our cheesecake cream so light and fluffy. Whipping it will turn it into whipped cream.
- Vanilla Extract: To flavor our cheesecake filling.
- Berries: I used strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.
- Powdered Sugar: To sweeten our cream filling. Powdered sugar as opposed to granulated sugar dissolves easily and won't leave your cream grainy.
Assembling Your Trifle
I first started with a layer of the cheesecake cream. This will give the cake something to sit in and start our white layer. Then I added the angel food cake cubes around the perimeter of the trifle.
In between the cake, I added strawberries using my hands so I could strategically place them in the crevices.
Next I added a thick layer of blueberries and more strawberries in the center. Make sure that blue layer is thick because when the next layer of cream is added, they will get covered.
Next, add another layer of cheesecake filling over the berries.
Add more angel food cake cubes over the cheesecake cream and finally more strawberries and blueberries like in the previous berry layer. You can press down the cake and berries if it's getting a bit high. The trifle should just be touching the rim at this stage.
Finally, add another layer of cream filling to the top with a pile of berries. I snuck in a few blackberries to the top because I love the color and texture they add. Garnish with a mint sprig and you've got a beautiful fourth of July trifle ready to serve!
Here is an overhead view of me assembling the trifle. Notice the thick layer of blueberries on the top right photo. This thicker layer needs to be visible on the outside of the glass.
Trifle Tips
- Choose Fresh Berries: If the berries do not look fresh and bright, don't get them.
- Prepare the Berries: Make sure to wash and DRY the berries well! We don't want water ruining the trifle.
- Focus on ratios: You don't want too much cake or too many berries.
- Slicing: Slice the larger strawberries into uniform pieces lengthwise for even, visually pleasing layers.
- Chill Before Serving: Let the trifle sit in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and the cake to soak up the cream.
- Use a Clear Trifle Dish: A clear glass trifle dish showcases the beautiful layers.
- Serving: Use a long-handled spoon to reach down and serve each layer in every scoop, ensuring guests get a bit of everything in each bite.
July 4th Tablescape Idea
Check out this patriotic tablesetting for a festive red, white and blue table set up! The link is above!
Other Summer Desserts You'll Love
Red, White & Blue Cheescake Trifle
Ingredients
Method
- Cut cake into large cubes about 1½" wide.
- Cut the strawberries lengthwise. This is purely for aesthetics so you can see the strawberrie through the glass. Keep the slices thicker. (See photo above for an example.)
- Add heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer and whisk on high for about 40-60 seconds until the mixture thickens. You do not want your cream to be too thick. Stop mixing when it starts to resemble loose pudding.
- Slowly whisk in your whipped cream cheese until smooth and combined. Add to a large Ziploc bag and set aside. (The bag makes piping easier.)
- When ready to assemble, snip off the corner of your bag. Make sure the hole is large enough to easily pipe the filling.
- Pipe ⅓ of the filling onto the bottom of your trifle. Spread evenly using a rubber spatula making sure the cream touches the exterior about 1" thick.
- Next add your cake cubes using your hand to the perimeter of the trifle dish. Place them close together but not too tight. Fill the center with more cake cubes. *Try to choose cake cubes that are about the same size.
- Using your hands, place your strawberries individually in between the cake cubes pointy side down on the outside of the dish. (See photo above for an example.)
- Next add a little more than ⅓ of your blueberries to the exterior making sure they stack nice and high. Add cake cubes to the center to level the layer. Press down the cake gently with your hand to keep everythin compact.
- Repeat again with the cake cube layer on the exterior (if not already done). Repeat with the cheesecake layer and berry layer on exterior. At this point, you should be at the rim of your trifle dish.
- Finish your trifle with the rest of your cheesecake filling and a small stack of berries including the blackberries in the center. Garnish with mint and serve chilled!
Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts below!