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Celebrate the summertime with Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta. This dessert bruschetta features a homemade almond pudding, lemon curd, macerated strawberries and blueberries, too! Red, white and blue, these Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta are the perfect dessert to serve to a crowd, whether you’re celebrating Memorial Day weekend, July 4th or even Labor Day. Festive, colorful and utterly delicious, this dessert bruschetta is sure to impress!
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The inspiration behind this recipe goes to my mother-in-law, who made the most delightful trifle for Easter when we visited Louisiana.
She combined a few recipes to make the killer dish—which featured angel food cake, homemade almond pudding, lemon curd and berries galore. The combination was out-of-this-world, and when I mentioned that to her (and how I, not-so-surprisingly would like to eat the entire trifle dish of dessert), she sent me home with her recipe card.
Today’s recipe was supposed to be individual-sized trifles.
But my bruschetta brain got the best of me.
Y’all should know by now how I feel about bruschetta. (If you don’t, let me direct you to my Roasted Grape Bruschetta with Whipped Feta, French Onion Bruschetta, Vegan Tuscan Kale Bruschetta and Grilled Peach Bruschetta for a refresher on my bruschetta LOVE.)
It’s delicious. It’s portable. You can do so much with it… and now, I’ve turned it into dessert.
Because WHY NOT?
This Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta was encouraged by that simple question… and the end result was better than I could have even imagined. It shares striking similarities with my mother-in-law’s Easter trifle while becoming a single serving dessert that’s perfect for a party.
Like a trifle, you can make it in advance. But you can also make it the day-of, and it’ll be delicious. (We tried it both ways and couldn’t decide which was better.)
You can double or triple the recipe for a crowd if you’re feeding a crowd. You can leave it at the original serving if not. Again, it stores well in the fridge, so if you and yours don’t eat all of it in one round, you won’t have to toss it. It won’t get soggy in the fridge.
What is bruschetta?
Bruschetta is an Italian dish that starts with bread, rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt. Other toppings, obviously, can be added, like tomatoes, vegetables, cured meat, cheese, etc. Bruschetta is an antipasto or starter dish. (You can see many of my variations of this classic Italian appetizer: )
So why are you calling this bruschetta if it’s DESSERT?
You know how dessert pizza is a thing? This is in the same vein.
I know it’s not traditional, but my goodness, is it good!
We change it up here by using a loaf of angel food cake as our “bread,” grilling it to get some crispness before layering on a homemade almond pudding, macerated strawberries, blueberries and topping with toasted almond slivers.
Can I make this if I don’t have a grill?
Yes! Our grill is currently defunct, so I used our grill pan to get the beautiful char marks on the bruschetta.
If you don’t have a grill pan, toast the angel food cake slices in a toaster oven or a toaster. If you don’t have either of those, toast the slices in the oven.
What do I need to make this Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta?
- Glass bowls to create various facets of the dish, as well as macerate the strawberries.
- Liquid measuring cup for all the liquid ingredients required in the pudding.
- Measuring spoons for everything else. 😉
- A whisk for the pudding-making portion of this recipe.
- A sturdy Saucepan for the almond pudding.
- A Fine Mesh Strainer so your pudding doesn’t have lumps in it.
- A Silicone Basting & Pastry Brush to brush the pound cake slices with butter.
- A cast iron grill/griddle (or an actual grill) to grill the pound cake slices.
- Long Porcelain Serving Platter or another platter where the bruschetta can be displayed.
What can I pair with this Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta?
- Easter Strawberry Champagne (not just for Easter, y’all, and the strawberry theme carries over!)
- Mixed Berry Vanilla Bean Cake (if you can’t get sweets out of your head!)
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Cheese Dip (because chocolate pairs beautifully with berries!)
- Prosecco Popsicles (red, white and blue AND boozy! What’s not to love?)
- Strawberry and Blueberry Hand Pies (because blueberry and strawberry for a summer holiday are the perfect pairing!)
- Patriotic Triple Berry Spritzer (perfect for a crowd!)
Ready to dive into this recipe?
Scroll down to learn how you can make this goodness at home…
Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta
Celebrate the summertime with Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta. This dessert bruschetta features a homemade almond pudding, lemon curd, macerated strawberries and blueberries, too! Red, white and blue, these Patriotic Strawberry Bruschetta are the perfect dessert to serve to a crowd, whether you're celebrating Memorial Day weekend, July 4th or even Labor Day. Festive, colorful and utterly delicious, this dessert bruschetta is sure to impress!
Ingredients
Almond Pudding
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.5 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
Other Toppings
- 2 cups strawberries , sliced
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 pint blueberries
- 14 teaspoons lemon curd
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 11 oz. angel food cake , sliced into 14 pieces
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
Instructions
Make the Pudding
In a medium saucepan, whisk together powdered sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, heavy whipping cream and egg yolks. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbling. Should take around 6 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue whisking while the mixture cooks.
Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.
Stir in butter and almond extract.
Press plastic wrap against surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (and up to 3 days.)
Prepare the Rest of the Toppings
When the pudding has refrigerated for the allotted time, prepare the rest of the toppings.
Slice the strawberries (if they haven’t been sliced already), and toss with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside and let macerate for at least 20 minutes.
Using a small skillet, toast the almond slivers over medium-low heat until a golden brown.
When golden brown, remove from the heat and let cool.
Slice the angel food cake into 14 pieces.
Brush the cake on both sides with melted butter.
On a preheated grill or grill pan, toast the cake on both sides, letting it sit for long enough to where grill marks become apparent on the cake. Flip and repeat.
Remove the angel food slices from the grill/grill pan when both sides have grill marks, and allow time to cool.
Make the Bruschetta
Place the cooled angel food cake slices on a serving platter.
Dollop 1.5-2 tablespoons of chilled pudding onto the angel food cake slices.
Drizzle 1 teaspoon of lemon curd on top of the pudding.
Top that with a tablespoon of strawberries and their juice.
Add blueberries. (I simply pressed a few into the pudding so they would stay put.)
Finish by topping with toasted almond slivers.
Serve immediately, or let stand in the refrigerator for up to two days!
Recipe Notes
Make ahead tip: This dessert can be made 1-2 days in advance! Follow the instructions, then cover with plastic wrap and chill until it’s party time. Since the angel food cake has been toasted well, it holds up to the toppings and doesn’t become mush. That said, it can also be made the same day and eaten immediately after putting it together.
If you don’t have a grill pan, toast the angel food cake slices in a <a href="http://amzn.to/2tpkK8v" rel="nofollow">toaster oven</a> or a toaster. If you don’t have either of those, toast the slices in the oven.
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