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America’s Test Kitchen’s epic Fourth of July dessert — a summer berry trifle

Looking for the perfect Fourth of July party showstopper? This Summer Berry Trifle from America’s Test Kitchen is made from scratch, from the chiffon cake base to the vanilla pastry cream and sherry-scented whipped cream. It’s beautiful and fresh — and all the components can be made ahead of time.

“This is the ultimate summer berry trifle,” says America’s Test Kitchen’s Jack Bishop, chatting by phone about Fourth of July party planning. “You’re going to do it completely from scratch, but it’s a component recipe. You can break up the work and take off in different directions. If you wanted to buy a sponge cake at the supermarket and skip that step, your world will not end. If you were going to cut corners: the cake. But please, please, make your own pastry cream! It’s so much better than what you can buy.”

The recipe calls for a mixture of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, but as long as you stick with the overall weight — the recipe calls for 3 pounds of fruit — feel free to change up the specifics, using all strawberries, perhaps, or adding stonefruit. Bishop suggests using “amazing raspberries and peaches or nectarines.”

All the components of this recipe can be made ahead of time, and the final assembly should be done six to 36 hours ahead, so the trifle has time to set. That means your dessert will be chilling in the fridge, while you’re chilling at the Fourth of July parade.

Summer Berry Trifle

Serves 12 to 16

Pastry Cream:

3½ cups whole milk, divided

1 cup  sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch salt

5 large egg yolks (reserve whites for cake)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake:
1 1/3 cups cake flour

¾ cup sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

¼ cup water

1 large egg, plus 5 large whites (reserved from pastry cream)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Fruit Filling:

1½ pounds (4 cups) strawberries, hulled and cut into ½-inch pieces (3 halved berries reserved for garnish)

12 ounces (2 1/3 cups) blackberries, large berries halved crosswise, 3 whole berries reserved for garnish

12 ounces (2 1/3 cups) raspberries, 3 reserved for garnish

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cornstarch

Pinch salt

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon plus ½ cup cream sherry

Directions:

1. Pastry cream: Heat 3 cups milk in medium saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt together in bowl. Whisk egg yolks and remaining ½ cup milk into the sugar mixture until smooth. Remove milk from heat and, whisking constantly, slowly add 1 cup hot milk to the sugar mixture to warm it. Whisking constantly, add tempered sugar mixture to milk in saucepan.
2. Return saucepan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick and bubbles burst on surface, 4 to 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla until incorporated. Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Press lightly greased parchment paper directly on the surface and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
3. Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment, and lightly grease parchment. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in bowl. Whisk oil, water, 1 egg and vanilla into the flour mixture until a smooth batter forms.
4. Using a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Whisk one-third of whites into batter. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold remaining whites into batter until no white streaks remain. Transfer batter to prepared sheet and spread into even layer. Bake until top is golden brown and cake springs back when pressed lightly in center, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
6. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Invert cake onto rack, discarding parchment, then carefully reinvert cake onto second rack. Let cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
7. For the fruit filling: Place 1½ cups strawberries, 1 cup blackberries, 1 cup raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan. Place remaining berries in large bowl; set aside. Using a potato masher, thoroughly mash berries in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and bubbling, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl with remaining berries and stir to combine; set aside.
8. For the whipped cream: Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream, sugar and 1 tablespoon sherry on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Using a serrated knife, trim ¼ inch off each side of cake; discard trimmings. Cut cake into 24 equal pieces (each piece about 2½ inches square).
10. Briefly whisk pastry cream until smooth. Spoon ¾ cup pastry cream into trifle bowl; spread over bottom. Shingle 12 cake pieces, fallen domino–style, on top of the pastry cream, placing 10 pieces against dish wall and 2 remaining pieces in center. Drizzle ¼ cup sherry evenly over cake. Spoon half of the berry mixture evenly over cake, making sure to use half the liquid. Using the back of a spoon, spread half the remaining pastry cream over berries, then spread half the whipped cream over pastry cream (whipped cream layer will be thin). Repeat layering with remaining 12 cake pieces, sherry, berries, pastry cream, and whipped cream. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 36 hours. Garnish top of trifle with reserved berries and serve.

— America’s Test Kitchen