A few weeks ago we went strawberry picking.  We had such fun and of course ended up coming back with a ton of strawberries.  A few days later I had some friends and their kids coming over for dinner so dessert had to be strawberries and cream.  Not only did I have the strawberries, I also wanted a very quick and easy dessert as I was short on time.  But even with quick and easy, I wanted it to look nice and not just serve it as a bowl of strawberries and cream.  So I decided to involve some meringues and some madeleines to dress up the dessert.

These ones were mini shop bought meringues topped with whipped double cream and chopped strawberries. No added sugar here as meringues are so sweet.  It took me seconds to put together but still looks pretty.

With these ones I bought some delicious madaleines and layered these with the strawberries and cream, topped with a dusting of crushed meringue to add some crunch.  I also chopped the strawberries and left them in a bowl with a little bit of sugar so their juices would run.  I used these juices to keep the dessert moist, especially the madeleines.  You can use strawberry liquor too but I had made these especially for the kids.

It’s not always possible to make desserts from scratch so I’m totally in to using shop bought stuff and putting my own touch on it.  These strawberries and cream went down a treat with both the kids and adults and my friends even commented on how lovely they looked.  What are your favourite short-cut desserts?

I’ve linked up to Honest mum’s tasty Tuesdays.

{all photots by ebabee}