Simple Patriotic Berry Trifle

I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July weekend.  I had a great weekend, spent with my three favorite guys in the whole world!  Our three day weekend was filled with shopping, parks, pools, festivals and a backyard cookout for our family of four.  We had all of the fixins', from potato salad to baked beans.  As a result, we spent a couple days eating our cookout leftovers.  

For our holiday dessert, I wanted to keep things on the light side.  I've really been watching my sugar intake this summer, so anytime I make a dessert, I make sure it is something my husband will eat the majority of, keeping my dessert portion to a minimum!  He is not a fan of rich decadent desserts, but prefers his sweets to be light and fruity.  I decided on a super-easy berry trifle that not only taste light and summery, it also looks pretty for a patriotic celebration.  Not to mention, it is a cinch to throw together!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pint strawberries 
1 pint blueberries
6 oz raspberries
6 oz blackberries
one store bought angel food cake
one 16 oz Cool Whip ([refer lite or sugar free)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
2 tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Rinse all berries.  Dice the strawberries.  Cut the angel food cake into one inch cubes.  Make a simple syrup by cooking the sugar, lemon juice and water on medium/high heat until sugar is dissolved. Take off of heat and stir in vanilla.  Brush the liquid on all sides of the angel food cake.  Place half of angel food cake in serving dish.  Top with berry variety of your choice.  Spread a layer of Cool Whip over berries.  Place the other half of angel food cake on top of Cool Whip.  Top with berry variety of your choice. Spread a layer of cool whip over berries.  Decorate the top with remaining berries.

NOTE:  

*** If watching sugar intake you can omit the simple syrup step.  I've made it both ways, this past weekend, I skipped that step, to make an even lighter version of this recipe.

***You can make this completely from scratch and make your own angel food cake and whip cream.  For me this semi-homemade version fit my busy life just fine.