Instructions: A Fourth of July dessert of stars served on stripes, made with berries, cake and ice cream, should inspire happily patriotic reactions.

The ice cream stars can be made a day ahead and assembled at the last minute.

The marionberries in this recipe are a high-quality kind of blackberries; you can substitute regular blackberries.

Equipment you should have at hand includes a 3- or 4 inch star-shaped cookie cutter, jellyroll pan (or disposable aluminum baking sheet), plastic squirt bottle, mesh sieve or food mill, food processor and 2 cookie sheets.

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