For many, the summer season means the exciting anticipation of the annual beach vacation. But why leave the tropics at the coast? This simple and refreshing recipe will help transform your backyard into a tropical stay-cation with the help of the beloved fruit: the pineapple.

This recipe was inspired by two very influential people in my life, my grandmother & my boss. My sweet grandmother loved to celebrate birthdays, and my birthday conveniently falls on the first week of summer. Every year she would make one of my favorites, an angel food cake made with an unexpected twist: pineapple! 

But what about my boss? One summer I worked on a ranch in Colorado that focused on hospitality and service for the guests who visited to explore the mountains on horseback (that’s me in the pic below—-look for another post soon all about me) . At the end of the summer, my boss thanked us for our hard work by offering her own hospitality; she invited all 30 female staff members into her home with her 5 young children and served a berry and vanilla pudding trifle.  The memory sticks out in my mind as such a sweet moment. Reminiscing on all of the hard work and wonderful memories that were created that summer in a lovely home with these people whom I had come to love so dearly and enjoying a delicious dessert together!

So inspired by these two lovely women…

Mixed Berry Trifle with Pineapple Cake Dessert

Ingredients:

1 box of angel food cake mix

20 oz can of undrained crushed pineapple 

2 cups strawberry slices

2 cups blackberries

2 cups raspberries

2 cups blueberries

8 oz. bucket of Cool Whip (if desired)

5 oz. of Greek vanilla yogurt

For the pineapple angel food cake:

1) In a large bowl, mix together the angel food cake mix with the un-drained can of crushed pineapple.

2) Bake according to the original cake box instructions

3) Allow time to cool