I've had so much sugar and carbs the past two weeks that I think I'm turning into a giant dessert. I feel so blah and bloated. Even my teeth have this weird feel to them, as if they're screaming eat a bowl of soup, will ya?!

So I'm not going to participate in National Whipped Cream Day, but you can feel free to do so (unless you don't want to break that New Year's diet you're on - you're still on that, right?). Here's a quick recipe for whipped cream from AllRecipes, and these recipes have whipped cream on top of them: Cranberry Chocolate Cake with Rummy Whipped Cream, Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Cream and Pecan Praline, and Cherry Chocolate Shortcakes with Kirsch Whipped Cream. Of course, Cool Whip is always good in a pinch (I know, it's whipped "topping" not cream). By the way, whatever happened to chocolate flavored Cool Whip? I used to love that. I'd freeze it and make a dessert out of just that.

And for those of you who do "other" things with whipped cream, you should be ashamed of yourself.

In summer, any dessert that involves fresh fruit is hard to resist. This is particularly true if the dessert is one made by Heidi of 101 Cookbooks. Her Champagne Summer Shortcakes combine some wonderful elements into a beautiful, end-of-the-summer dessert. The base is a buttery and ever-so-slightly salty shortcake biscuit, with a melting richness. The cakes are split and filled with black mission figs, pluots and nectarines, which have been tossed in a syrup made of honey, sugar and champagne. To bring the whole dish together, Heidi added scoop of vanilla ice cream to the side, but lightly sweetened whipped cream would probably work equally well if you prefer that ultra-light texture with your shortcake. Make sure to take a bit of each element onto your fork for each bite. And make extras, because you'll probably want seconds.