Birthday cake...

I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth... I've been busy... Recently it's been all about the birthday celebrations. I think it's nice sometimes when you can stay home and make something special for a special occasion. We went out to dinner but for dessert we had a Mixed Berry Shortcake. It's super easy! And good for any day;o)

Mixed Berry Shortcake
what you need:
Sara Lee Pound Cake (I didn't have enough time to make my own--pls don't be disappointed, Uncle)
Strawberries, quartered
Raspberries, whole (or sliced in half, if preferrable)
Blueberries, whole
Whipped cream (I made my own... see below for the how I did it)

First things first--defrost the pound cake and cut in to about 1 inch slices--be sure to have at least 2 slices per person. (I like a lot of cake!) Wash all the fruit and cut in to bite-size pieces--variation: It can be any fruit you like, fresh or frozen. With frozen fruit, you can always slightly defrost it and make sure that it is well drained. The piling technique on this may vary with preferences but I like to stack it (from bottom to top): one pound cake slice, a spoonful of each fruit, a dollop of whip cream, sandwiched between the 2nd slice of pound cake with whip cream on top too. For presentation, you can put one of each fruit on top of the whipped cream topping.

To make vanilla whipped cream I used vanilla extract and vanilla sugar for flavoring. Vanilla sugar is vanilla bean peels (leftover from another adventure *wink) that has been left in granulated sugar.). It's best to use cold Heavy whipping cream.

I used a metal mixing bowl poured in the heavy whipping cream straight from the refrigerator. Add in the flavoring(s) and using a whisk I used a quick jabbing mixing motion and you're supposed to do that for about 15 minutes until it thickens and becomes kind of fluffy. Be careful not to overbeat or else it will start to get thick like butter.