Angel Food Blackberry Trifle for Michaelmas

As Abigail mentioned in the post below, blackberries are traditional for celebrating the feast of St. Michael. In A Book of Feasts & Seasons, Joanna Bogle, says that "It is a tradition that blackberries are no good to eat after September 29th because 'the Devil spat on them when he was cast out of Heaven into Hell on Michaelmas'!" But what do you do if your family doesn't like blackberries? Here is a trifle recipe that my family enjoys that is great with or without real blackberries. Blackberry jam substitutes for the real berries and is a lovely compliment to the sweet lemon cream and light angel food cake which reminds of the other archangels we celebrate today.

Angel Food Trifle

1 angel food cake (store bought or homemade), chopped up into bite sized pieces
2 (8 oz.) tubs Cool Whip or equivalent whipped cream
2 lemons
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
fresh/frozen blackberries or blackberry jam or preserves


First, zest lemons to measure 1 tablespoon of zest. Next, juice lemons to measure 1/4 cup. In a bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, & juice. Fold in 1 1/2 C. of Cool Whip. Set lemon cream aside.


To assemble the trifle:
Put 1/3 of the cake bits in the bottom of a tall glass container. Spoon 1/3 of the lemon cream on top along with scoops of plain cream. Add blackberries, sprinkling a few here and there or enough to make a solid layer depending on your family's fondness of blackberries. If you are using the jam instead, drop spoonfuls of it on top of the cake before the cream layer. Repeat twice to make 3 layers finishing with a layer of Cool Whip. Top with more blackberries. (If you are making this ahead, you might want to wait and add the blackberries on top just before serving so they don't weep all over your whipped cream.)

In the event your family doesn't like blackberries, I thought I'd let you know we decided to use some Haribo Gummi Raspberries to decorate the top. Symbolic and tasty!