We celebrated my Mom’s birthday this year with a dinner party. It was a small family affair, just the way she likes it. I’m grateful that the rain held out and we were able to dine al fresco and I could take advantage of using our grill.

I was in the mood for a little bit of everything, so we grilled chicken, steak and fresh summer veggies. Asparagus is one of my all-time favorite things to cook on the grill. I simply coat them in olive oil and add a dash of salt and pepper. It is a bonus that they also look so beautiful when the heat turns them into a vivid green.

Instead of traditional birthday cake, I made strawberry shortcakes with strawberries from a local farm here in Connecticut. It’s my Mom’s favorite dessert and I love the fact that she didn’t want a traditional “cake.”

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake

One of the things that I like to do ahead of time is slice and sugar the strawberries and let them sit for a few hours at room temperature “to sweat.” As soon as the biscuits are ready, I slice them in half and use the juice from the strawberries to soak the bottom of the biscuit, then add strawberries followed by fresh whipped cream.

As far as the biscuits, I use the basic biscuit recipe on the back of Betty Crocker Bisquick because it is totally fool-proof. There are so many different textures and temperatures at play between the warm crispy biscuit, the sweet strawberries and cold soft whipped cream. Below are the photos and step by step instructions for this perfect summer dessert.