Celebrate Independence Day with Sweet Delights
Coconut Water and Fresh Berry Popsicles
Ingredients
Fresh Berries (blueberries, raspberries, sliced strawberries, etc.)
Coconut Water (best with pure coconut water such as Amy and Brian’s Coconut Juice)
Instructions
- Drop berries into popsicle molds (smaller pieces will go to the bottom, others will have to be gently nudged into the mold using a butter knife or extra popsicle stick).
- Pour coconut water over the berries to fill the popsicle mold, then insert popsicle sticks.
- Cover and chill for several hours.
- Allow to sit on counter at room temperature for a few minutes for easy release from the molds.
American Flag Coconut Cake
Ingredients:
Baked 9×13 inch sheet cake, flavor of choice (vanilla, coconut, lime, orange, chocolate, etc.)
Shredded coconut, about 3-4 cups
red and blue food coloring
Vanilla frosting or cool whip
Instructions:
- Bake cake in glass pan per instructions on the box, or from a favorite cake recipe. Set aside to cool.
- Place 1/2 cup coconut into ziploc bag. Add blue food coloring, zip the bag closed and shake until the coconut is evenly dyed.
- Place 1 1/2 cups coconut in a clean ziploc bag. Add red food coloring, zip the bag closed and shake until the coconut is evenly dyed.
- Use a spatula to evenly spread the cool whip (or frosting) on top of the cake.
- Add the blue coconut to the upper left hand corner of the cake, creating a large square.
- Add the stripes to the cake, alternating between the red and white coconut, beginning and ending with red.
4th of July Trifle
Ingredients:
1 whole angel food cake cut into small cubes
2 pints of strawberries (sliced)
2 pints of blueberries
6 tbsp of condensed milk
1.5 cups of water
1 box of white chocolate instant pudding mix
12 ounce tub of whipped cream
Trifle bowl
Instructions:
- Cube up half of the angel food cake and layer in the bottom of the trifle bowl. On top of the cake, add a layer of blueberries.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the water and condensed milk for 2 minutes. Seriously, set a timer. Then let stand for another 2 minutes and fold in the whipped cream. Then whisk in the white chocolate pudding and let stand for another 2 minutes and fold in the whipped cream.
- Spread 1/2 of this creamy mixture evenly over the blueberries and cake.
- Add a layer of sliced strawberries and top with the remaining cake cubes. Finally, add some more blueberries and the remaining cream mixture. Decorate the top of the trifle with your remaining blueberries and strawberries.
- Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.
Fruit Rockets
Use foil cocktail sticks to give these rockets some extra sparkle. Feel free to swap fruits in and out to suit your tastes (grapes, blueberries, and strawberries are shown in image below left). Raspberries, blackberries, melon, and mango chunks work well too, although the shape of a strawberry is perfect for the pointy rocket tip!
American Flag Pretzels
What could be easier than large pretzels rods dipped and drizzled with melted candy? Simply microwave separately 2 cups of white candy melts, and 1 cup each of blue and red candy melts. Then dip each rod first into the white candy, allow to cool on parchment paper until hardened, then dip into the blue candy. Sprinkle the blue area with white star-shaped candy sprinkles. Lastly, using a plastic bag with a very small portion of the corner cut off, drizzle the red candy over the white area. Viola!
