4th of July Trifle

“This was so good! I only used about half the powdered sugar as suggested, and I’m glad. It was plenty sweet. I loved the almond flavoring on the fruit. Instead of angel food cake, I used a sour cream pound cake by Paula Deen. It was fabulous!”

“Made this for 4th of July 2012.Worth the time and effort, a hit.A large trifle bowl was nearly devoured at the bbq we attended.I also didn’t use the almond, I wanted the fresh fruit flavor to shine and it did. Did cut the powdered sugar in half and probably could of gotten away with only 1/2.Will be a keeper for sure.”

“This was excellent and I will definitely make again next year.Everyone loved it and many came back for seconds. It was difficult to make the layers look nice as the cream cheese layer tends to spread out.I will try harder next year and do thicker fruit layers.I omitted the almond extract as my husband is allergic. I added extra vanilla extract instead. I also made it much healthier by using only one cup of confectioner’s sugar in the cream cheese layer.Two cups seems excessive.I also did not add ANY sugar to the fruit. Strawberries and blueberries are naturally sweet enough that they don’t need added sugar.”

“I was looking for a festive dessert for the Fourth, and this is it!My family loved it, and it looked so pretty.I used a homemade angel food cake, which I baked in a 9 x 13 pan.Thanks so much for a recipe I intend to use on an annual basis.”

“I made a few changes–I used pondcake sprinkled with an orange liqueur and didn’t add the almond flavoring to the fruit..It was a big hit and everyone wanted the recipe.,almost forgot,sorry I didn’t take a photo.I arranged the blueberries as stars and strawberries as stripes on the top of the dessert.A great 4th of July dessert!”

“This was really good and everybody loved it!!!Thank!!”

“Definite hit!I didn’t need it to look red, white, and blue and I couldn’t find a large quantity of blueberries without spending a mini-fortune.So I mixed strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.I also reduced the almond extract to 1 T b/c I felt 3 were too many.But it was just right and well received.Looks good, easy and tastes wonderful!My kind of dessert!”

“This is absolutely delicious and was a big hit at a Fourth of July party.Like others, I cut A LOT of the sugar.I used only 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar in the cheese mixture rather than 2, and no sugar at all in the fruit.I also omitted the almond flavoring from the fruit.Made this way, this was a relatively light, wonderful dessert.”

“This was very easy and made me look like the hostess with the mostess..There were no leftovers!i did cut down on the sugar and used those pre-made shortcakes from the store and only had vanilla flavoring…. next time i will use the almond, but it really did turn out well … thanks so much for posting !”

“Delicious! I made this in memory of my grandmother who just passed away, she used to always bring a trifle to our parties. It was a big hit there was nothing left all I had to do was clean my dish and bring it home. I did tweak it a little bit. I did not add as much almond to the strawberries and blueberries but I added extra almond to my filling. Instead of making the whipped cream, I did use store bought whipped topping. I used a pound cake that I cut up into squares and just layered the cake filling and the fruit. Fabulous everyone loved it.”

“This was amazing! Granted, I cheated and did it all the easy way. I layed pound cake pieces, then instant vanilla pudding I made the night before (you gotta let it firm overnight or its just too runny), blueberry preserves mixed with fresh blueberries, store-bought whipped cream, and strawberry preserves. I had enough room to layer everything twice, and then just put a bunch of blueberries and drizzled more preserves on top. It was such a hit, everyone at the bbq ate it in under 20 minutes. I ran back home and made another one since I had enough for more. 2nd time I round I skipped the blueberries and just sprinkled graham cracker crumbs and shaved milk chocolate on top. Even better!”

“Oh my goodness!!!! My family doesn’t know how close this dessert came to being eaten before the 4th of July celebration dinner! Soooo delicious . . .and beautiful, too!”

“I made this for our family’s 4th of July cookout. I am not known for being a cook, so this was a big leap for me. I reduced the sugar and almond flavoring just as others suggested and it was a HUGE hit! Thanks for a recipe that is easy, tasty and pretty all at the same time.”

“This dessert is definitely a competitor for SUPREME RULER OF ALL DESSERTS IN DESSERT UNIVERSE.The only constructive comment I have is that I sub’d Lady Fingers for the cake and did not mix the cake in with the cream cheese mixture.The reason I did not include with the mixture is that I ate about 1/2 of the mixture before assembling the dessert.So, if you have more self-control, your dessert may look more like the picture.”

“Made this for a 4th of July party and it was a huge hit!I took the advice of many other reviewers and cut the granulated sugar on the fruit to 1/4 cup (rather than 3/4).I also cut the almond extract on the fruit…to 1 tsp.It gave the fruit just a hint of almond flavor and it wasn’t overpowering. This is a great recipe and I’ll make it again….before the next 4th of July!”

“This is a beautiful and delicious trifle.I wish I could give it 5 stars, but when I make it again I will reduce almond flavoring to 1T and sugar to 1/3C in the fruit mixtureand reduce confectioners’ sugar to 1 1/2 C.I will definitely make it again and thank you so much for posting this!”

“What a beautiful and delicious dessert! I used less sugar and I really don’t think it sacrificed the flavor. Everyone was raving! This is much too good to have just once a year!”

“I also took everyone’s advice and added less sugar.I used about 1 1/4 cups of confectioners sugar in the filling, and 1/4 cup with the fruit.I only used 2 tablespoons of almond extract in the fruit, and I still think that it was too much.I took it to work and everyone LOVED it, so it must just be me, but I’d rather taste the fruit than have it covered up with almond flavor.I think that next time, I’ll only use half a tablespoon or so.But it was really pretty and relatively easy to make!”

“This recipe was easy to make and so delicious.I took the first few reviewers’ advice and added more fruit and less sugar; I didn’t sugar my berries at all and added only 1 cup to the cream cheese mixture and, believe me, we didn’t miss it.For the top of the trifle, I made a large blueberry star and surrounded it with strawberry stripes.This one is going down as one of my all-time favorite desserts.The only draw-back is the cost: the berries alone were $11.But the taste was superb and worth it :)”