Friday Favorites: Very Berry Limoncello Trifle

This Friday Favorite is a new recipe in our rolodex but after one bite, it was instant love. Berries are so abundant and fresh right now that I can’t help but keep a stock in the fridge. The problem with that is that I need to use them. We have been eating berries a lot with greek yogurt and a touch of honey but having that all the time is not quite enough to glorify these juicy morsels. There are so many ways to use fresh berries (some more to try HERE), but who doesn’t love them in dessert? Uh, NOBODY, that’s who!

Lemon is my favorite flavor to go along with berries but I didn’t want to stop there. Why go with just plain ole lemon when you can kick things up a notch with the delectably sweet and lemony Italian liqueur, Limoncello? It has balanced tart and sweet notes that really make those berries shine. Plus, a little punch of alcohol never hurts.

I had a few issues while making this recipe. As simple as it was, I kept running into problems. First, as I was photographing the limoncello bottle outside, there was a big gush of wind and one of my props fell over on the bottle and sent it crashing on the concrete. It was so sad to see all that goodness splatter and soak into the ground. I also got hit with a couple of glass shards causing my toe and leg to bleed! My super-sweet husband, M, was kind enough to clean up the mess for me while I went to buy a new bottle. (Or maybe he was being nice so he could be sure to get first dibs on the dessert later… hmmm.)

The problems didn’t stop there, halfway through making the recipe, I realized I had somehow forgotten to purchase one of the ingredients and I had to go to the store again! Needless to say, a lot of time and effort went into this dessert, although it shouldn’t have. Regardless of how much time it took, however, we enjoyed it equally as much.

A couple of days later, a friend was over and we celebrated with some trifle. When I told M, he looked at me in horror, clearly afraid that it was all gone. Lucky duck that he is, I saved him some. My sweet loves his sweets.

Very Berry Limoncello Trifle

www.barbaracooks.com

Servings: 12 • Size: 1 cup • Weight Watcher Points+: 5

Calories: 234 • Fat: 4g • Carbs: 31g • Fiber: 3g • Protein: 3g

Sugars: 19g • Sodium: 325g • Cholesterol: 13mg

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 ounce) prepared angel food cake
• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Limoncello liqueur, divided
• 3 cups fresh strawberries
• 2 cups fresh blackberries
• 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (8 ounce) package Neufchatel (light) cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) container fat free whipped topping, softened
• Mint for garnish (optional)

Directions:

 Tear the angel food cake into one inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Drizzle 2/3 cup of the Limoncello over the cake. Toss and let sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

 Cut the tops off the strawberries and slice. Place them in a medium bowl together with the blackberries and blueberries. Pour in 1/3 cup of the Limoncello. Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

 Beat the Neufchatel cheese with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of the Limoncello on high for 2 minutes until light and creamy. Add in the whipped topping and beat on low speed and additional 2 minutes or until fully incorporated.

 Layer the cake, berries and cream cheese mixture in a large trifle dish or individual clear trifle dishes or bowls. Finish with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture and garnish with berries and/or mint.