Stars and Strips Berry Trifle

Ingredients

• 2 store-bought pound cakes (16 ounces each), thawed and edges trimmed
• 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
• 6 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon water
• 3 cups fresh red raspberries
• 4 cups vanilla custard, refrigerated until firm
• 1 cup lightly sweetened whipped cream

Directions

1. For the stars: slice each cake lengthwise into 5 equal pieces. Spread a scant 2 teaspoons jam on each of 5 cake slices and top with the remaining slices to create jam sandwiches.
2. Using a 2 inch star cookie cutter, cut out 3 stars from each sandwich. Chop the remaining sandwich scraps into ½ inch pieces and set aside.
3. For the berries: toss blueberries, 1 tablespoon sugar, and water in a bowl. In a separate bowl, toss raspberries with the remaining sugar. Let sit until sugar dissolves and berries are glossy, about 5 minutes.
4. To assemble: arrange 7 star sandwiches upright around the bottom of a 3 quart trifle dish. Place 2 cups sandwich scraps in the center of the dish.
5. Arrange 3 cups blueberries around the stars, piling them up so they surround all edges of the stars.
6. Spread 2 cups custard in an even layer on top of the blueberry and cake layer. Place 1 cup sandwich scraps on the center of the custard layer.
7. Arrange 2 cups raspberries around the perimeter of the dish. Spread the remaining custard in an even layer on top of the raspberries.
8. Arrange 7 star sandwiches upright around the perimeter of the dish. Arrange the remaining raspberries in the center of the dish.
9. Spoon whipped cream on top of the raspberries and top with the remaining star.