Family Circle’s Blueberry-Strawberry Shortcake

FAMILY CIRCLE'S BLUEBERRY-STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE 

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling and to sweeten cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup solid vegetable shortening, very cold
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 quart blueberries
3 cups heavy cream, whipped

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add buttermilk and mix just until dough comes together in a ball. Divide dough evenly into thirds; wrap in plastic and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.

Heat oven to 325 degrees Roll each piece of dough on lightly floured parchment to a 10-inch circle. Prick with a fork and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

To assemble: Set aside a few strawberries and blueberries to top finished dessert. Place one pastry disk on a serving plate and cover with a third of the remaining berries, followed by a third of the whipped cream. Repeat layering two more times and finish with reserved berries.

Haylee’s Note:

We loved this dessert!  It was delicious!  Darin grew strawberries and blueberries in our garden this year, so I think I will make it again!  I think this is a really pretty dessert, and perfect for a patriotic celebration like 4^th of July!

Red, White, and Blue Flag Cake

RED, WHITE AND BLUE FLAG CAKE

To make this cake you will need three full layers of white cake, all the same height (make two recipes of cake or two cake mixes - you will end up with four layers so use one for another purpose). One layer will need to be white, one layer will need to be red and one layer will need to be blue. Use food coloring to get desired shade. Bake the layers in 9" round greased and floured rounds. Let cool. Freeze the layers to make them easier to work with during assembly.

Assembly:
Split the white layer and the red layer in half horizontally using a long serrated knife. (You can also use a cake leveler to help keep the cut even.) Do not split the blue layer. Start assembly by placing one split white layer on a cake plate. Frost the top of this layer using white icing. Place one of the red split layers on top of the frosted white layer and frost it with icing. Set aside.

Place the remaining red split layer and the remaining white split layer on top of the full blue layer. Place a round bowl (or paper pattern) approximately 5" diameter on the top of the cakes in the center and cut through all the layers using the bowl as a guide. You should now have a circle cut through the layers. Keep the center red circle, the center white circle and the outer (approximately 2" wide) blue cake ring. Set aside all other cake pieces for a different use.
Place the outer blue cake ring piece on the iced white and red cake layers. Carefully spread icing around the inside of the blue ring.

Insert the round white cake piece in the center of the blue ring and ice. Insert the red round cake piece making sure it is flush with the blue cake ring.

You should now have a complete cake ready to ice. Finish by icing the entire cake with white icing and decorating as desired.
To serve, cut into slices and be amazed at the cool flag each piece becomes!



Haylee’s Note:
I got this recipe from Studio 5, and they got the recipe from here This was a really fun cake to make! Hope you enjoy it! Oh, and here is a little video that my bro-in-law took when we sliced it open!