If you don’t have the time or inclination to make a flag cake, sizzle up your Fourth of July barbecue with my Red, White, and Blue Parfaits. They are delicious, easy to make, and just as festive.
One serving includes two 1-inch thick slices of angel food cake, 1 cup of halved or quartered strawberries, and ½ cup blueberries. Add whipped cream or Cool Whip® to taste. You don’t have to be too fussy about the layers. The red, white, and blue colors will make their own patriotic statement.
The following recipe serves 4. If you are having a large crowd, this recipe is easy to double, triple, or quadruple. You can make an angel food cake from scratch or buy one at the supermarket. One store-bought angel food cake will make 8 to 10 parfaits.
Serve Red, White, and Blue Parfaits in wine glasses or Mason jars.
Fourth of July Red, White, and Blue Parfaits
Serves 4
1 container (8 ounces) heavy whipping cream or 1 container (8 ounces) Cool Whip® topping 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons Confectioners’ sugar, or to taste
4 cups strawberries, washed, hulled, and cut in halves or quarters, depending on size of berry
2 cups fresh blueberries
8 slices (1-inch thick) Angel Food cake, cut into 1-inch squares
Strawberry slices and blueberries for garnish
To whip the heavy cream: Place the attachments to your mixer in the freezer for 15 minutes. Make sure the heavy cream is cold.
Place heavy whipping cream in a large bowl. On a medium-high speed, whip cream until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and Confectioners’ sugar and whip until semi-sturdy peaks form. Peaks will droop slightly when the mixing attachments are lifted out of the cream but should not lose their shape. In 4 Mason jars or wine glasses, place cake squares from 1 slice angel food cake. Layer with ½ cup strawberries and ¼ cup blueberries. Top with whipped cream. Repeat with a layer of angel food cake squares, ½ cup strawberries, ¼ cup blueberries, and top with whipped cream.
Garnish with sliced strawberries and a few blueberries.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Tips for selecting blueberries: Look for deep, purple-blue to blue-black berries with a slight silver frost. Blueberries should be plump and free of moisture. The best indicator of maturity is color. Reddish berries are not ripe and, therefore, not as palatable; but they can still be used in cooking. Avoid green, dull, lifeless, or mushy berries. Always check for mold, especially on the bottom of the container.
Tips for storing blueberries: Blueberries are the least fragile berry and can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days. For best results, keep the berries dry during storage.
Tips for selecting strawberries: Strawberries should be plump with a bright red color. Their caps should be green and look fresh. Avoid fruit with limp or spoiled caps. The size of a strawberry is not an indication of flavor. Small or large strawberries can be sweet and juicy. Do not buy strawberries with white or green splotches or mold. Moisture speeds decay so don’t buy fruit with excess moisture. Always check the quality of the fruit from the bottom of the container as well.
Tips for storing strawberries: When you bring this fruit home, it is a good idea to pick through the strawberries and discard any bruised or damaged berries. Cover and refrigerate the strawberries by placing them in a reusable, paper, or plastic bag or by lightly wrapping them in plastic. Do not wash them until just before eating.
On selecting cream: Light cream, also called table cream, normally contains 20 percent fat, but can contain between 18 to 30 percent. Light whipping cream is most often found in supermarkets. It contains 30 to 36 percent milk fat. Sometimes emulsifiers or stabilizers will be added to it. Heavy cream, also called whipping cream, is whipping cream with milk fat content between 36 to 40 percent.
Tips on selecting milk, cream, or half-and-half: Choose milk, cream, or half-and-half that comes in an opaque container. If exposed to light, milk, cream, or half-and-half packaged in clear containers may lose vitamin A and riboflavin. Avoid containers that leak or have been damaged in any way. Refrigerate your dairy products as soon as you get home.
Tips on storing dairy products: Containers of dairy products should be tightly closed after use and put immediately back into the refrigerator. Never leave dairy products out on your kitchen counter any longer than necessary and never more than 2 hours. Once opened, butter should be covered while stored in the refrigerator. If you’ve put milk or cream in a pitcher for serving, don’t return unused product back to its original container.
Carol Ann
Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market and Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Carol Ann Kates
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