With the 4th of July just around the corner I wanted to be sure to post a couple of recipes in time for the festivities. In the 1850′s, strawberry shortcake parties were a popular way to celebrate the arrival of summer (2). This sweet dessert is traditionally made with baking soda to produce a crumbly biscuit often referred to as a scone in the UK. For a lower calorie version of the dessert, angel food cake is used to replace the shortcake (my version includes a variant of this cake). In Japan a sponge cake is used to instead of shortcake and is commonly served at Christmas and at birthdays (3). The oldest printed reference is from Michigan from the 1840′s (4) and because I am a native Michigander it is only appropriate that I choose this dessert to celebrate the 4th!
Bryant Chapin, Still Life of Overturned Basket of Strawberries, 1922,
Oil on canvas, 33 x 43 cm, Private Collection
