It’s no secret that I’m not particularly proud to be American, but I’m a United States-based food writer, which means certain editorial choices are influenced by certain American holidays. (That’s capitalism, baby.) This Sunday is Independence Day, a day often celebrated with the consumption of “flag cakes,” along with other red, white, and blue desserts.
I’m not going to turn on my oven on July 4th, but even my clerk-hardened heart is a little enchanted by a themed dessert, and it just happens that two of my favorite fruits – blueberries and cherries – fit into the Christmas color scheme. Top it off with some white whipped cream and you have a deconstructed flag dessert, if not a full flag cake.
The format of this treat is simple: layer cherry pie pieces with whipped cream and blueberries in a pretty glass, then eat with a spoon. You can also use blueberry pie and fresh cherries if you want to change it up a little. Use a store-bought cake; A homemade cake is too precious to crumble.
The whipped cream can be freshly whipped or from a can, or you can dig into the entire American theme and grab a can of Cool Whip. Would you like to use cherry pie filling and cookies instead of a full pie? Go straight ahead! This dessert is meant to be liberating and simple – perfect for the type of person who has forgotten we even have a long weekend ahead of them (me) or the type of person who hates baking (me, too). It tastes really good too because it’s cake, whipped cream and blueberries, and people will like it because – again – it’s cake, whipped cream and blueberries.
For extra credit: have a canister or bowl or whipped cream ready for your guests to add as they please. Every component of the dessert is important, but the whipped cream could be the most important.
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