Heavenly Red, White, and Blue Angel Food Cake Trifle—Layer By Layer!

Have you ever wondered how to get to Heaven?   Well, that climb is layer by layer, and this layered Heavenly Angel food cake trifle will get you there with just one bite!

FUNNY AND SAD STORY—ALL ROLLED INTO ONE

Last year, my friend’s house burnt down.  It was a tragedy!   The night before her house burned down she had hosted a work party, and I catered the food.   I made this “Heavenly Angel Food Cake Trifle” as one of the dishes for the party.    After the party, they had an entire trifle left over, and so they “popped” it into the fridge to save it for the next day.  

THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN

Well, the short story is that the house burned down—completely, in an unforeseen accident!  But there, safely tucked away in her charred refrigerator was the entirely preserved trifle, and guess what my friend who had just lost her home, did (or tried to do anyway)?   She tried to save the trifle!  She didn’t want to waste it!  Why?  Because she had tasted it!   Now for safety purposes, I talked her out of eating it, and I told her that I would make her another one, and I STILL OWE HER!  I haven’t forgotten!   You can call in that favor anytime my friend!  You know who you are!

IN THE ASHES WE FIND HEAVEN PRESERVED

The moral of the story is that THIS Heavenly Angel Food Cake Trifle is GOOOOOOD!!!!   So good, you might even dig through the ashes to find it.   It’s layered with homemade pudding and homemade angel food cake, and topped with freshly whipped cream.  It’s not your average trifle, and heaven is not your average place!  This trifle will take you there, and it’s worth the effort!

Heavenly Red, White, and Blue Angel Food Cake Trifle—Layer By Layer!

The Amount of Ingredients you will need for your Trifle will depend on the size of your trifle dish.   

For my large trifle pictured above, I needed:

2 Angel Food Cakes (See Below)

2 Pints Strawberries, sliced

2 Pints Blueberries

1 Vanilla Pudding Recipe (See Below)

1 Whip Cream Recipe (See Below)

My Favorite Angel Food Cake Recipe

I’ve made several different recipes for angel food cake over the years, and this one takes the cake.  It came from one of my girlfriends back when I lived in Colorado.  What makes this recipe different?   It has extra sugar!  The extra sugar crystallizes on the top of the cake and gives it almost a caramelized topping.   This topping “holds” extra moisture in the cake, so that it’s consistency is moister than other angel food cakes I’ve tried.  

1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 Cup All Purpose Flour (Minus 2 Tablespoons)

1 1/2 Cups egg whites (about a dozen eggs, absolutely NO Yolks)

1  1/2 Teaspoons Cream of Tarter

1 Cup granulated Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla

1/2 teaspoons Almond Extract

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

  1.   Combine Flour and Powder Sugar Together.  Mix, and set to the side in a bowl.
  2. In your mixer, add egg whites, cream of tarter, vanilla, almond extract and salt.   Beat on low speed.   When bubbles begin to form on the surface of this egg white mixture, then move to step 3.  
  3. Increase the speed slightly, and then slowly pour in granulated sugar (NOT ALL AT ONCE).  But gradually add the granulated sugar very slowly over the next few minutes as the egg whites thicken into a merengue consistency.  
  4. Continue to beat this mixture until the egg white/Sugar-blend forms stiff peaks.  To test, I dip the surface of my finger in, and pull it out quickly.  It will form a stiff peak that holds its shape.  
  5. FOLD your dry ingredients into your merengue/egg white mixture.   The key here is to FOLD using a spatula.   Combine all ingredients, just until the dry ingredients disappear.  Do not over mix your ingredients or you risk causing your cake to fall in the oven.  
  6. Pour your cake batter into an UNGREASED angel food cake tube pan.   Bake at 375 degrees for 33-35 minutes, depending on your oven.   Tap the top of the cake with your finger before removing it.  If it “springs” back (ever so slightly), then it’s done.   If you pull it out too soon, it will collapse.  If you cook it too long, it will be dry.   It’s a delicate balance.  So, watch your cake!
  7. When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and COOL IT UPSIDE DOWN COMPLETELY before attempting to remove it.  It should also be “raised off” the surface of the counter. (You can prop it up on a bottle, or buy a cake pan with little tabs on the edges so that the cake doesn’t rest on the counter top).   Your cake can also collapse if you turn it right side up and it has not completely cool.    
  8. Remove the cake from the pan by running a butter knife around the edges to remove it, ONLY when you are ready to serve it.   I often make my cake the night before, cool it completely, then cover it with Saran Wrap and leave it in the pan until I am read to cut it out and serve it the next day.   

Fresh Vanilla Pudding

1 1/2 cup Sugar 

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten (save your yolks from your angel food cake)

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1 stick of butter, cut in to thick pieces

  1. Mix your flour and sugar together in a small pot on the stove over low to medium heat.   
  2. Add milk gradually.   Stir constantly until this mixture begins to thicken.  
  3. Then, temper egg yolk mixture before combining them completely.   Allow mixture to thicken over low heat.  
  4. Then remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.   
  5. Finally, add butter and allow it to melt into the pudding.  
  6. Place pudding in the refrigerator to cool.  Cover the surface of the pudding with Saran Wrap to prevent a thick “skin” from forming.   When cooled, serve.  

Fresh Whipped Cream Recipe

16 oz.  Heavy Whipping Cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

In a chilled mixing bowl, on medium-low speed.  Add vanilla, then whip cream while gradually adding sugar until it forms a thick consistency.  Do not over mix or it will turn to butter—just sayin!