Ingredients:

  • 475ml heavy whipping cream, chilled
  • 225g mascarpone cheese, cold
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 10ml pure vanilla bean paste
  • 5ml freshly grated lemon zest
  • 400g honey graham crackers
  • 120ml whole milk
  • 450g fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 300g fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
  • 150g fresh raspberries

Instructions:

  1. In a chilled bowl, combine the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Gradually pour in the heavy cream while continuing to whisk. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form and the texture is thick and ivory-toned.
  2. Briefly dip each graham cracker into the whole milk for no more than 1 second per side to flash-soak. Arrange a single layer of the dipped crackers in the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass baking dish.
  3. Spread one-third of the stabilized mascarpone mixture over the cracker layer. Repeat the layers of milk-dipped crackers and cream. Top the final layer of cream with the fruit arranged in a flag pattern: blueberries and raspberries in the top left corner for the field of stars, and sliced strawberries in horizontal rows for the stripes.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow the graham crackers to soften into a cake-like texture before serving.