Stars Stripes Tart Food

STARS & STRIPES TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Combine butter and sugar in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour and milk; beat at low speed until well mixed.
• Press dough onto bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Prick bottom with fork. Bake 14-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.
• Combine all filling ingredients in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Spread over top of cooled crust. Cover; refrigerate 1-2 hours or until firm.
• Arrange fruit on filling in design of American flag just before serving, using strawberry halves for stripes and blueberries for stars. Brush fruit and filling with apple jelly.

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER DESSERT

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with floured star-shaped cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on parchment-paper lined baking sheets. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Brush lightly with water and sprinkle with sugar. Cool.
• In a large bowl, combine berries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add remaining sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Place sour cream in a small serving bowl; fold in whipped cream. Place bowl on a serving platter. Spoon berries onto platter; top with pastry stars.

STARS-AND-STRIPES CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; line with parchment, then spray the parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder and baking powder. Set aside.
• Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar and salt, then slowly beat in 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Increase the speed to high; beat until stiff shiny peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the meringue to a separate bowl.
• In the same mixer bowl (leave it dirty!), combine the egg yolks, vanilla and the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Beat on high speed until light and doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Beat in the water and canola oil.
• Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, then stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
• Add the food coloring to the batter and beat on high speed until smooth and bright red, about 1 minute.
• Stir a dollop of the meringue into the batter using a rubber spatula. Add the remaining meringue and gently fold into the batter until no white streaks remain.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking sheet; spread evenly with an offset spatula. Tap the bottom of the pan firmly against the counter to remove any air bubbles.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately loosen the edges with a paring knife.
• Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, working quickly while the cake is still warm.
• Lay a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) over the cake. Place another baking sheet on top of the towel.
• Invert the cake onto the towel. Remove the pan and peel off the parchment.
• Starting at a short end, roll up the cake and towel together into a log. Keep the cake rolled up until it has cooled completely.
• Unroll the cake (it's OK if the end is still curled up). Cut the cake into 3 long strips, each about 4 inches wide. Use a ruler to make sure they're even.
• Spread an even layer of frosting on each strip of cake (use a little less than one-third of the frosting). Make sure to get frosting under the curled end.
• Make the frosting: In a clean mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla and heavy cream. Slowly increase the speed to high and beat until smooth.
• Roll up one of the strips into a tight spiral.
• Move the spiral over to the next strip so that the ends meet and roll up into a fatter spiral. Continue with the third strip to make a large spiral.
• Turn the cake flat-side down and place on a cardboard round or platter. Gently squeeze the spiral together to make sure it's compact.
• Cover the cake completely with a thin layer of frosting, using the frosting to cover the seam of the spiral. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Return the cake (without the cardboard round) to your workspace and cover completely with the remaining frosting using an offset spatula.
• Place a star-shaped cookie cutter on top of the cake. Sprinkle some blue sanding sugar inside the cutter (use a small brush to help distribute the sugar), then carefully lift the cutter. Repeat to make more stars in different sizes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When you slice into the spiral, you see vertical stripes!

STARS AND STRIPES BERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• FOR THE STARS:.
• Slice each cake lengthwise into 5 equal pieces.
• Spread scant 2 teaspoons jam each on 5 cake slices and top with remaining slices to create jam sandwiches.
• Using 2-inch star cookie cutter, cut out 3 stars from each sandwich.
• Chop remaining sandwich scraps into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.
• FOR THE BERRIES:.
• Toss blueberries, 1 T. sugar and water in bowl.
• In separate bowl, toss raspberries with remaining sugar.
• Let sit until sugar dissolves and berries are glossy, about 5 minutes.
• TO ASSEMBLE:.
• Arrange 7 star sandwiches upright around bottom of 3-quart trifle dish.
• Place 2 cups sandwich scraps in center of dish.
• Arrange 3 cups blueberries around stars, piling up blueberries so that they surround all edges of stars.
• Spread 2 cups custard in even layer on top of blueberry and cake layer.
• Place 1 cup sandwich scraps on center of custard layer.
• Arrange 2 cups raspberries around perimeter of dish.
• Spread remaining custard in even layer on top of raspberries.
• Arrange 7 star sandwiches upright around perimeter of dish.
• Arrange remaining blueberries around stars and pile remaining raspberries in center of dish.
• Spoon whipped cream on top of raspberries and top with remaining star.