Berry Shortcakes with White Chocolate Whipped Cream

This berry shortcake is so incredibly delicious and is full of perfect summer flavor. I am not a very awesome baker so its a perfect dessert for me, I don't make my own pound cake I just buy a favorite local made one; it also keeps your kitchen cool which is an added bonus! This particular pound cake is lemon but any flavor is perfectly fine. The star of the show is the white chocolate whipped cream, its absolutely perfect. The white chocolate is intensely sweet and creamy and it creates the perfect topping for the tangy, tart fruit. I chose to use blueberries and strawberries because they are in season and can be found locally right now in NY, early July, but feel free to use any combination of berries you would like. I made a strawberry-rhubarb compote earlier in the week for some ginger pancakes and the leftovers were perfect as the berry sauce for the shortcakes. If you don't want to make the compote feel free to macerate some of the berries in sugar and a bit of lemon juice to make a quick berry sauce. I put the berries in a bowl sprinkle them with sugar, squirt of lemon juice and let them sit for an hour. The sugar draws out the fruit's natural juices creating a nice sauce for the dessert. We ate this berry shortcake for dessert and for breakfast, it was just so delicious and its gorgeous to boot, who wouldn't be awed when you bring this to the table:

This recipe serves 6

Ingredients

1 Pint organic, local strawberries, hulled and chopped in half
1 Pint organic, local blueberries
1 Cup strawberry-rhubarb compote, get the recipe here.*
1 loaf locally made pound cake, mine was lemon flavored, any dense cake or angel food cake would work nicely.
1 Cup grass-fed heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp fair trade, organic confectioner's sugar
1/3 Cup white chocolate chips, I used Ghirardelli.
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract

Directions

*If you are not using the strawberry-rhubarb compote then you will want to put half your berries in a bowl with 1/4 cup of sugar and let them macerate in the fridge. If you are using the compote go to the next step.

In a small bowl melt your white chocolate chips, by microwaving them for 30 second intervals, each time I take them out and stir till they are melted. Cool completely.

Prepare your whipped cream by placing very cold heavy whipping cream into a large bowl. Whip on high for 2 to 3 minutes or just until soft peaks form. Add in the confectioners sugar and vanilla extract and whip for another minute. Add in the cooled white chocolate and whip till stiff peaks form. Place in the fridge till ready to serve.

Cut your pound cake into slices, you will want 2-3 for each person, I used 3 per serving but shared with my husband.

To serve: place a piece of pound cake on a serving plate, top with strawberry-rhubarb compote (or some of your macerated berries) top with some whipped cream, another piece of pound cake, more whipped cream and then sprinkle with fresh berries. Its a plate of summer heaven!