Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans!! If you aren’t American… don’t despair! you can still make this recipe 🙂

The Fourth has always been one of my very favorite Holidays.  Growing up in New England, a place rich with early American History, it was always a VERY big deal.  My hometown put on a huge parade every year and we NEVER missed it, one year we even participated in it!  My parents and their friends also used to get up really early and stake out the best spots on the route so we didn’t miss any of the action.  One of my best friend’s and I also went through this very embarrassing phase (middle school, what can I say) where we’d dress alike in red, white & blue and get decked out with face paint… cute!!!!  Anyways…the parade was always followed by a big party and you know what that means.. a lot of delicious food!

When I think of the perfect recipe for a Fourth of July cookout I think of something easy, light and also refreshing! It’s hot out there after all!  This recipe nails all of these things on the head and will be a favorite on your dessert table this year and at cookouts all summer long

Let’s get baking!

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Red, White & Blue Berry Cake

yield: 8 servings– prep time: 15 minutes – bake time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups of cake flour (all purpose flour works fine too)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup milk

Optional: 1/2 tsp cinnamon or the zest of half a lemon

Topping:

Cool whip (as much as your little heart desires!!)

Sliced strawberries and blue berries… or other fruit! Again, as much as you want…

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Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder & salt) together and set aside. If you are adding cinnamon mix it in with the dry!

Step Two: Beat the butter and sugars together until combined.  Add in the egg and vanilla until well combined.

Step Three: To the butter/ sugar mixture add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low.  Slow add half the milk, then alternate with the rest of the dry and the rest of the milk. Mix until nice and smooth!  At this point if you’d like to add in the lemon zest do so!

Step Four: Pour into a greased round baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Step Five: Let cake cool completely and dice up your fruit.  Once cool, using a serrated knife slice the cake in half like this:

Step Six: Spread cool whip all over the first cake layer and then sprinkle on the fruit.  Put the top of the cake on the cool whip and fruit mixture and then repeat on the top!

Tip: Because the cool whip can melt, it’s best to assemble this cake right before serving! Especially helpful on those super hot days 🙂 ENJOY!