Easy Strawberry Shortcake

1 box white cake mix
1 container strawberries, sliced
1 pt. whipping cream
4-6 T. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

It's really as simple as bake the cake, whip the cream, slice the berries & assemble, but I've given a little more detail below!

Make cake according to package directions. You will only need one layer, so you can either make half the mix in a cake pan and the other half into cupcakes for the kiddos or make both layers & freeze one. Depending on how many people you want to serve, you might want to make the layer in a pan bigger than 9", if you have one.

After cake is baked and cooled, split it horizontally. The best way to do this is to use your serrated knife and cut into one side of the cake about 1/4 of the way through, then gently turn the cake, always keeping the knife only about 1/4 of the way into the cake. This should make for nice really even layers. You can slide that top layer onto something flat, ie rimless cookie sheet, piece of cardboard, cutting board, etc and then slide it back onto the filled middle of the cake when needed. If you don't feel up to this "splitting" task, just leave the cake unsplit.


Sprinkle a little sugar over your cut berries to get them to juice up. Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks, add the powdered sugar & vanilla, whip to stiff peaks {taste for sweetness}. Spread a bunch of your freshly whipped cream on the bottom layer, add a bunch of your berries, replace the top layer, add more whipped cream and put the rest of your berries on top. If you're not splitting, just put a bunch of whipped cream all over the cake & put as many berries as you want over the top.

This is *so* much better than those spongy pre-made shortcake cups you buy at the grocery store. And who can even compare freshly whipped cream to that cream in a can? {Hey, I buy it too, but fresh is *so* much better.} This is perfect for a spring or summer meal. The best part is you can vary the cake flavors & the fruit for other simple cakes. How about chocolate cake, whipped cream & cherries? Or spice cake, whipped cream and grilled peaches? Make it your own!