June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day!

National Strawberry Shortcake Day honors a dessert that’s great for summer consumption: it’s fairly light, easy to make, and makes use of the bounty of your own garden, strawberries!  This really is one of the most delicious and easiest summer treats.

The traditional strawberry shortcake is a sweet biscuit paired with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, but today, it’s fairly common to see versions of shortcake made with spongecake, and some recipes even call for pie crust or broken-up pieces.

Although you may think that strawberry shortcake is an American invention, it actually belongs to the Brits. The first mention of the dish dates back to 1588, when it was printed in an English cookbook. Strawberry shortcake was very popular by the 1850 and at that time it was layered with butter and sweetened cream. The French pastry chefs replaced butter and sweetened cream with heavy whipped cream only in 1910.

Strawberry shortcakes became popular in America during the times when summer fruit harvest was celebrated, dating back to the early 1900’s, especially in the South, and that event has morphed over time into celebrating Strawberry Shortcake Day.

If you’re interested in making your own, try this classic rendition, courtesy Mary Nolan and foodnetwork.com.

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Photo Credit: vm2002 / Shutterstock.com