Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Fruit Dessert Recipes Red, White, and Blue Berry Trifle This summery, no-cook dessert is the perfect trifle-cake hybrid. Prep Time: 20 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 8 Jump to recipe You don't need a trifle bowl for this red, white, and blue layered dessert. It's a delicious mashup, somewhere between a trifle and a cake, and features juicy summer fruit, tender lady fingers, and a sweet-tangy mascarpone filling. While it's perfect for a Fourth of July cookout, it's also easy enough to whip up any time. And, because it's a no-bake dessert, it's ideal for those hot days when you can't bear to turn on your oven. You'll need a springform pan to build it in, which you'll line with a couple of pieces of parchment paper to ensure an easy release. This recipe only takes about 30 minutes to pull together, but allow at least three hours of chilling time before it's ready to serve. It's festive, impressive, and fun to make—this easy dessert should be on your summer to-do list. How to Wash and Store Berries So They Stay Fresh Longer Credit: Jacob Fox Equipment Needed For This Easy Berry Trifle Springform pan: With its straight sides and removable band, an eight-inch springform pan is the perfect vessel to use for this dessert. We don't recommend using a round cake pan or baking dish as the sides will not be high enough to hold the layers, and serving it may be tricky. Parchment paper: Lining the sides of the springform pan with a couple of strips of parchment paper will keep the edges of the trifle cake neat and smooth and will make removing the band extra easy. Make sure the strips are wide enough to reach one inch above the top of the pan. Electric mixer or whisk: To beat the cream into the mascarpone, you can use either a whisk or an electric mixer. Using a whisk requires a bit more elbow grease, but it will work just as well. Mixing bowls: Grab two bowls for this recipe: a large one for the cream mixture and a medium one for mashing the raspberries. Small offset spatula: A small offset spatula is the best tool for spreading the cream mixture on top of the berries. If you don't have one, you can use a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon instead. Mascarpone Cheese vs. Cream Cheese Thick, creamy mascarpone cheese adds a luscious richness to this dessert and provides a delicious foil to the sweet-tart berries. It's made primarily with heavy cream, giving it a richer mouthfeel than cream cheese, which is made with more milk than cream and has a tangier taste. To keep the blueberry layer moist and infuse it with even more flavor, brush it with our easy lemon syrup. Making Our Red, White, and Blue Trifle Ahead You can make this recipe up to three days ahead of when you plan to serve it. After building the layers, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you're ready to serve, simply remove the band and parchment and cut it into slices. Directions Credit: Jacob Fox Line pan with parchment: Cut 1 or 2 pieces parchment 1 inch taller than side of an 8-inch springform pan and line inside of pan. Credit: Jacob Fox Mix raspberries with confectioners' sugar and orange juice: In a medium bowl, combine raspberries with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and orange juice. With the back of a fork, lightly mash berries to release their juices and let sit 10 minutes. Credit: Jacob Fox Use a gentle touch when mashing the berries—they should be lightly crushed to release their liquid but still be quite chunky. Mix mascarpone and confectioners' sugar; add cream and vanilla and whisk: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together mascarpone and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Whisk in cream, vanilla, and pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. Credit: Jacob Fox Add half each of ladyfingers and raspberry mixture to pan: Place half the ladyfingers in pan and top with half the raspberry mixture. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Spread half cream over berries; repeat layers: With a small offset or rubber spatula, spread half the whipped cream over berries. Tap pan gently on counter to remove air bubbles. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers, raspberry mixture, and whipped cream. Credit: Jacob Fox Top with blueberries and refrigerate: Top with blueberries and refrigerate until whipped cream is stiff and cookies have softened, about 3 hours (or, tightly covered with plastic, up to 3 days). To serve, unmold trifle and peel away parchment. Credit: Jacob Fox How to Store This Berry Trifle Leftover berry trifle can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days. After that, the cookies may become overly soft and mushy from the fruit juices. We don't recommend freezing this dessert. Variation You can use strawberries instead of raspberries, if desired. Cut any large berries in half before tossing with the sugar and orange juice and mashing. 5 More Red, White, and Blue Desserts No-Cook Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Filled Strawberries for Fourth of July Fireworks Cookies Pull-Apart Vanilla-Wafer Cupcake-Cake With Berries Cornmeal-Berry Sheet Cake Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.