Easy brownie shortcake dessert

For my birthday I was going back and forth weather to buy a cake from a local bakery or make my own.  I had wanted to make this yummy looking cake for a while and decided it was pretty easy and quick to put together. The cake layers were made with brownie mix from a box, the filling from ready made cool whip and then it was just a matter of piling on the fresh berries. Couldn't be easier!
But the result is soooo delicious. Creamy and chocolaty and refreshing all in one bite. Needless to say it was a huge hit with my kids and husband. To quote my 9-year old daughter it was " delish and nutrish". Well said!  I found this recipe in a cooking magazine, but it wasn't really part of the featured recipes. It was actually an advertisement page for a certain kind of sour cream. Of course any thick and creamy sour cream will work and I didn't use the one advertised (sorry Breakstone's). I loved the hint of sour cream in the filling but this would undoubtedly work well with regular whipped cream as well, so make it to your personal taste.

Easy brownie shortcake dessert
1 pkg brownie mix

The cracks in the top will not be visible
once the cake is decorated

1 (16oz.) container sour cream, divided

1 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping

1 tbs. powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups cut-up mixed strawberries and blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie batter as directed on package, stir in 1/2 cup sour cream. Pour into greased  9-inch round cake pan  lined with parchment paper. Bake 45 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Mix remaining sour cream, whipped topping, sugar and vanilla together in a medium bowl.

Here comes the tricky part - cutting the brownie cake in half horizontally. It was a little tricky to divide the layers without breaking them, but I managed to shimmy them onto a plate without too much damage. With bottom half on a plate, spread with half of the sour cream mixture. Cover with top of brownie, remaining sour cream and fruit. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 10-12


Recipe adapted from http://www.kraftbrands.com/