Red, White, and Blue Trifle (Fourth of July Dessert, Part 2)

Looking for a way to use the leftover cake and frosting from the Surprise Flag Cake? How about a trifle! This festive layer dessert is easy to assemble and you already have half of the ingredients prepared if you made the Surprise Flag Cake. Just run to the store to grab some fruit and the ingredients for the pudding layer and you are all set.

I found the recipe for the pudding layer on Not Just Cute's blog a few months ago and have been looking for a reason to try it out. This recipe uses half of the milk that the pudding calls for, which makes a thicker, richer pudding base. Then you fold in Coolwhip and it creates a light but flavorful pudding, perfect for layering in a trifle dish. For a thicker pudding that you could pipe into cupcakes or frost a sheet cake with, use less Coolwhip. Add more Coolwhip for an even lighter pudding, and use this as a fruit dip or topping for waffles. This recipe is very quick to make and you can play around with it depending on the flavors and thickness you desire.

The combination of red, white, and blue cake layers, fresh fruit, the light pudding layer, and rich frosting make this a very tasty dessert without being too heavy or filling. Even though I did not have a trifle bowl (mental note: put trifle bowl on Christmas wish list), you could still see the wonderful colors and layers in my glass baking dish. This recipe was just as big of a hit as the Surprise Flag Cake. You should definitely try making this trifle with the special pudding layer at least once this summer. Play around with the cake, pudding, and frosting flavors. Add different fruits based on what's in season. If you experiment with different flavor combinations, come back here and let me know how it turned out!

Red, White, and Blue Trifle
(Serves 12-16)

Cake layer:
Leftover cake from Surprise Flag Cake (or the equivalent to roughly 3/4 of a baked 2 layer cake), cut into small pieces

Fruit layer:
1 pint blueberries
1 pint strawberries

Pudding layer:
1 5-ounce box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 8-ounce container Coolwhip, thawed

Frosting layer:
Leftover frosting from Surprise Flag Cake (or the equivalent to roughly 1 1/2 cups frosting)

Mix together instant vanilla pudding and milk for 2 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Fold in Coolwhip. Refrigerate until ready to assemble trifle.

To assemble the trifle, layer half of the cake on the bottom of a trifle dish. Layer half of the blueberries and half of the strawberries on top of the cake. Spread half of the pudding mixture over the fruit. Repeat layers. Spread frosting over final pudding layer. Garnish trifle with a few pieces of cake and fruit. Serve chilled.

Nutritional Information:
16 servings
Per serving:
Calories: 320
Fat: 12.5g
Fiber: 1g

Pros:
-Easy and quick to assemble
-Festive
-Easy to transport
-Versatile (use other fruits, cake flavors, pudding flavors, or frosting)

Cons:
-Caloric/high in fat

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5