1 pound frozen raspberries
6 T sugar
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup hot water
4 T Grand Marnier
1/2 cup cold water
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 pound marscapone cheese
4 T powdered sugar
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean*
lady finger cookies
chocolate shavings
slivered almonds

Combine raspberries and 6 T of sugar.  Set aside.

In separate bowl, dissolve 1 cup of sugar in hot water.  After sugar is dissolved, stir in Grand Marnier and cold water.

In separate bowl, combine whipping cream and powdered sugar.  Whip until fluffy.  Fold in marscapone cheese and vanilla seeds.

Brush lady fingers on both sides with Grand Marnier syrup.  Place on bottom and sides of large pan.  Layer with raspberries, then half of the marscapone mixture.  Add chocolate shavings, then layer the remaining marscapone mixture.  Top with slivered almonds and refrigerate until serving.

NOTES
For our Christmas Open House, we changed the layering to fit the shot glasses: lady fingers, 1/2 marscapone, raspberries, 1/2 marscapone, chocolate shavings, then topped with fresh raspberry.

*To obtain seeds from a vanilla bean, take a sharp knife and carefully slice the bean lengthwise.  Turn the knife over to the flat side and hold down one end of one half of the bean while using the flat side of the knife to scrape the bean along its length.  The seeds will collect on the knife.  The empty husks of the bean can be saved and placed in a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar - perfect in coffee or to sprinkle on cookies!  Yum!