4th of July Parfaits

I absolutely love the 4th of July and all things red, white and blue! Backyard BBQ’s, family and friends and celebrating this wonderful country where I live! I’m always on the hunt for fun and festive recipes to add to our 4th of July events. These 4th of July parfaits are a perfect addition. Not only are they adorable, but they are beyond yummy! Seriously, cake layered with cheesecake mousse and topped with whip cream…yes please!

4th of July Parfaits:

Aren’t these 4th of July parfaits absolutely fantastic! They are so easy to make and you will look like a super start when you serve them at your 4th of July parties.

Shopping List:

1 White Cake Mix (and ingredients to bake it)
1 Red Velvet Cake Mix (and ingredients to bake it)
Food coloring
Jello Cheesecake Mix (or any sort of cheesecake mix)
Cool Whip
Plastic File Folders
Sprinkles

How to Make:

First, you will want to make your cakes. Make the red velvet cake as directed. Make the white cake as directed and divide it in half. Use blue food coloring to color half of the cake mix. Leave the other half white. You are ready to bake!

I used a very small pan (here’s what I used) (affiliate link) to bake each of these separately. (You could also use an 8 by 8 pan and not fill it very full.) Because they were small they baked in about 9 minutes, so watch them closely to see when they are done and pull them out (when a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean). Each cake will make about 6 cake circles.

Set the cakes aside to cool completely.

I wanted to make these using clear plastic so the full dessert could be seen! I couldn’t find plastic strips so it was time to get creative, I used plastic file folders! 🙂 I just grabbed the file folders at an office supply store, make sure they are sturdy enough to hold your parfaits in place. I cut ours to the size we wanted for our parfaits (I did 4″x 8″).

Once you cut the plastic to the size you want, just make a circle and tape it together. You want the size of the circle to match the size of your cake circles.

Once your plastic holder is together, you are ready to start to assemble your parfaits. Start with a cake layer, so the bottom of your parfait is a solid piece and will be easier to handle. Cut a circle to fit inside your plastic:

Place the cake circle in the bottom of your plastic ring.

For the cheesecake mousse layer I used a cheesecake jello mix. Make cheesecake as directed, add equal parts Cool Whip, fold together. Put your cheesecake mousse in a plastic bag, cut the corner tip of the bag allowing a big enough hole for the cheesecake to push through. Pipe the cheesecake mousse on the first layer of the cake. Repeat until all of your layers are complete. I did three cake layers, and topped it with whip cream and red, white and blue sprinkles.