Heavenly Blueberry and Cream Angel Dessert

1. For the blueberry filling: In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened, 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

2. For the cake and cream layer: In a blender or with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer), whip together the cream cheese, half-and-half or evaporated milk and sugar until smooth and creamy. Transfer the mixture to a bowl if you used a blender. Fold in the angel food cake cubes. Keep in mind (from the note below) that you may not use all of the cake cubes, especially if using an angel food cake mix. Add cake cubes until they are all thickly coated with a layer of cream. If making this in advance, it can dry out if there is too much angel food cake added.

3. For the whipped cream: In a medium sized bowl using a mixer, beat together the heavy cream and powdered sugar until peaks form.

4. To assemble: In a trifle dish or in a large glass bowl, spread half of the angel food cake mixture. Top with half of the blueberries, spreading evenly across, and then spread half of the sweetened whipped cream. Repeat the layers.

5. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve chilled.

Recipe source: Adapted from my Aunt Marilyn.

Note: So here’s the deal … it depends on what type of angel food cake you are using to determine how much of it you need. You need about one angel food cake. According to my Aunt Marilyn, a store bought angel food cake is the perfect size. I made this while my mom was visiting; she made an angel food cake from a cake mix and we used almost all of it in the dessert (minus the amount that exploded in my oven and the pieces we snacked on—so I’d say we used 3/4 of the cake). I’m guessing that my homemade angel food cake recipe would be just about perfect since it is slightly less tall than a cake mix angel food cake. Basically, just keep an eye on the cream/cake mixture as you are adding the cake. Only add cake cubes while they are all evenly coated with a thick layer of cream. Too many cake cubes and it might dry out (especially if it is made in advance). Speaking of making it ahead, this can be assembled and refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance.