Strawberries!

Here in Texas, we’re already seeing lots of good, fresh strawberries. I love sweet strawberries. I’m not the biggest fruit fan so whenever I find something I like, I latch on. (Seriously, I try not to be picky but there’s so much I don’t like. I hate it because I know I’m missing out on all this good stuff but my taste buds don’t seem to agree.)
So here’s an easy, light treat for a spring/summer dessert.

Angel Food Cake with Strawberries

1 Angel Food cake, either store bought or you can make one. (Frankly, store bought is just as good.)
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 T sugar
Whipped topping- real or the fake variety

Take the sliced berries and place in a bowl. Top with the sugar and mix. Let sit for a few hours or overnight. This will let some of the juices out and the berries will get even sweeter.
Take the angel food cake and carefully slice off the top, about 2 inches, keeping the circular shape intact. (It’s a horizontal cut.) You will need this later.
Hollow out the rest of the cake, leaving enough cake to absorb the berry juice. (It’s sort of a tunnel.) Place ¾ of the berries in the hollowed out cake and place the top back on. If you really feel like it, mix some of the berries with the cake pieces and place in the cake’s hole.
Frost with the whipped topping and garnish with the rest of the berries.
Cut and eat.

This needs to be refrigerated, especially if you use fresh whipped cream.

Fresh Whipped Cream

1 quart heavy cream
1-2 T powdered sugar
1t vanilla extract

Place cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment (regular will work if you don’t have it or by hand, a whisk), mix until fluffy and thick but not completely done. The peaks will not stand up on their own just yet. Add the sugar and vanilla to taste. Whip until the peaks stand on their own. The cream will be nice and thick and easily spreadable.

This is such a simple dessert yet most people wonder about it. You can do something similar with a Strawberry Cake. (From the box is really just fine.) If the strawberries aren’t fresh, you can easily use frozen. Just make sure they are thawed.
For something slightly different, add the unsweetened berries to strawberry Jell-O. Let stand for half the time so it’s semi-solid and then add to the cake. You can also mix the whipped topping in with the berries before adding to the hollowed out cake.
Serve as is or with ice cream.
You can use any kind of berries with this, but I’m a strawberry girl.