Bumbleberry Pie Sundaes #MyPlatinum #sponsored

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade.  I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I am continuing to enjoy using Cascade Platinum in my dishwasher.  The dishes have never been so clean.  This week, my focus was on food presentation.  I'm sure you've noticed I love to try new recipes and take pictures of food to share with you.  I had to laugh when we went to a Mexican restaurant a few weeks ago and Pierce pretended to take a picture of his food.  Like mother like son?  I love how sparkling my dishes are now with Cascade - I don't have to angle them in the picture to try to hide a streak from view - they look shiny from every side.  And I couldn't believe the other day when I put two new glasses with sticker residue in the dishwasher with Cascade Platinum.  When I took them out, the residue was completely gone! 

This weekend I had a friend coming into town, so I made Gail Simmons' Bumbleberry Pie Sundae recipe.  Berries are in season right now in Virginia, and I was eager to take advantage. 

Ingredients:
3 cups plus 3/4 cup mixed berries, well washed and divided (any combination of strawberries hulled and quartered, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries halved)
4 tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 pinch coarse salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 pint raspberry sorbet (I substituted raspberry sherbet because it was a little more economical)
6 graham crackers, crushed
2 tbsp. fresh lemon zest

1.  In a medium saucepan heat three cups of mixed berries, 2 tbsp. sugar and lemon juice over medium heat, until the blueberries begin to burst and the other berries break down, about 10 minutes.  Remove off heat and stir in pinch of salt.
2.  Place half the berry mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.  Return the sauce to the saucepan and stir well to combine with remaining fruit.  Allow to cool slightly.
3.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl crush 3/4 cup mixed berries with remaining 2 tbsp. sugar using a fork, until slightly chunky and loose.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, using a balloon whisk or hand held mixer, beat the cream at medium speed until soft peaks form.  Gently fold crushed berries into whipping cream.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4.  To serve: spoon 2 tbsp. of sauce into 6 parfait or rocks glasses.  Top w/ a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprinkling of crushed graham crackers, and a pinch of lemon zest.  Then add a scoop of the raspberry sorbet and another 2 tbsp. of sauce.  Top with a dollop of whipped cream and finish with a sprinkling of the graham crackers and another pinch of zest.  Serve immediately.

We all loved this dessert.  The berries have a divine flavor that practically jumps off the spoon.  And speaking of spoons, did you notice how sparkling my silverware is in these pictures? 

Don't forget that you can submit images to the Cascade My Platinum Instagram contest to win wonderful prizes.  And stay tuned for next week - I'll be blogging about favorite drinks!