How do you plan to spend the patriotic summer holiday tomorrow?
Hopefully surrounded by friends, family, children, and sunshine.
Feeling red, white and blue?
Need a pretty little dessert that’s easy to transport and share at your backyard bbq, beach picnic, or fireworks fete?
Or better yet, a special, homemade gift to deliver to a neighbor, friend, or loved one to say “thinking of you this fourth”?
Here is my go to 4th of July dessert – absolutely fast and easy.
No cooking required.
Grocery to gourmet.
And by adding the lids ontop, perfectly packable, portable and giftable.
Ready?
Step by step DIY Cupcake Jars:
Ingredients:
Half pint glass canning Jars, screw on lids optional
6 Vanilla cupcakes, 6 (any icing color works, as you slice it right off)
Whipped Cream
pint Raspberries, rinsed
pint Blueberries, rinsed
Raspberry Preserves
Blueberry Preserves
Optional – cute red, white and blue accessory for the finishing touch ontop
Directions:
Wash out the canning jars, and pat dry.
Slice the top off of the cupcake, to remove the icing, using a horizontal motion.
Unwrap the cupcakes, removing the paper cupcake wrapper.
Slice the cupcake in half horizontally, to create two cupcake halves.
Drop a cupcake half into the bottom of each canning jar, to create the first layer inside the jar.
Using a long spoon (iced tea spoons work best if available in your pantry) add a spoonful of Raspberry Preserves ontop the cupcake.
Next, the REALLY easy part. If your kids aren’t already manning this project, pull them in for this step.
Add raspberries to create a fresh fruit layer.
I like the place them in a flat, smooth “stripe” ontop the jam to emulate the American Flag.
Finish off with a delicious whipped cream layer, again spread as smooth and “stripey” as possible.
And there you go – first red and white layers complete.
Now, on to the blue and white.
Top with the other cupcake slice…
A schmear of blueberry preserves…
A “stripe” of blueberries…
And a MOUNTAIN of whipped cream.
I like to finish it off with a fresh berry garnish, and add in the petite pinwheels for the “cherry” ontop.
Serve with a demi spoon (don’t you LOVE these sapphire Sabre spoons, straight from my mother’s personal Parisian collection?), or a coffee spoon, or a small fork – whatever you have in your silverware drawer.
If you are on the move, simply screw the lids on nice and tight and pack up for the perfect portable picnic fare at your fireworks fete.
Paired with a chilled, crisp Rose Champagne, you have the ultimate Fourth of July dessert course.
Cheers to the red, white and blue.
