Blueberry Lemon Trifle for Spring and Summer Desserts!

Perhaps it's the same where you live - after the longest and coldest winter in recent memory, we are so ready for warmer weather here in upstate New York! This past Easter weekend, we were blessed with warm days and sunny skies. To help celebrate spring and the promise of warmer days, I decided to make an Easter dessert that reflected all the lightness and cheer of a new season - a blueberry lemon trifle. Part of the incentive was a trifle dish my friend Kim gave me for my recent (BIG) birthday(!). Another motivating factor was extra layers of lemon cake waiting in my freezer to be turned into something wonderful. I had a bag of frozen blueberries, a box of vanilla pudding mix (six serving, cooked not instant) and a big container of Cool Whip. Cool Whip is not something I buy regularly, preferring by far home-made whipped cream, but for ease of preparation and stability, I had that Cool Whip thawed and ready to go!

This would be a great dessert for any spring or summer brunch or dinner, but I'm thinking it could be especially lovely for Mother's Day.

Here's how it all came together:

BLUEBERRY LEMON TRIFLE

Ingredients:
1 2-layer baked cake, lemon (home made or mix)
6-serving Vanilla pudding mix, cooked style
3 cups milk for the pudding
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups frozen blueberries
Large container Cool Whip, thawed

Early in day or day before, make cooked pudding according to package directions. Cool. Chill in fridge until ready to use.

Make blueberry compote:
In medium saucepan, stir together:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Add:
2 cups water, whisk well until completely blended.

Stir in 2 cups frozen blueberries.  Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring often, and then continue to boil for two more minutes until quite thick.

Cool and set aside. Chill in fridge until ready to use.

Getting ready to assemble trifle:

cooked vanilla pudding
large container of Cool Whip

To the vanilla pudding, fold in 1/2 the container of the Cool Whip until well combined.

Cut lemon cake layers into chunks, about 1 1/2-inch in size.

Into trifle dish, layer ingredients using about a third of each ingredient per layer, starting cake chunks, then blueberry sauce,  pudding mixture,  and layer of straight Cool Whip. Repeat layers until you get to the top, finishing with pudding mixture and a fluffy crown of Cool Whip (see photo). Garnish with a tiny bit of blueberry sauce and a lemon slice.

Chill. Bring to the table, and spoon into serving dishes.