Strawberry Shortcake Fondue by Belinda Hulin

Serves 6

6 cups strawberries, sliced

1 cup superfine sugar

1 tablespoon amaretto

6 cups sweetened whipped cream

½ cup strawberry syrup or chocolate sauce

2 dozen ladyfingers

Instead of fondue forks, you may want to give guests long-handled ice tea spoons for this dish.

Combine strawberries and sugar in a bowl. Toss well. Pour into a glass baking dish or shallow serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator, sprinkle amaretto over the berries, and stir well.
Smooth the top of the berries, then pile on the whipped cream, covering the berries. Drizzle strawberry syrup or chocolate sauce over whipped cream mounds.
Serve with spoons and ladyfingers.

Sugar Soak

Sprinkling sugar over peeled fruit draws liquid from the fruit, which dissolves the sugar. The resulting sugar syrup softens and flavors the fruit.