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Glite Dictionary
shortcake

shortcake

11 2.4
A sweet biscuit or small cake served with fruit and whipped cream
  • noun
  • /ˈʃɔrtˌkeɪk/
translation icon : pastel
  • My little brother wants a shortcake for his birthday, and he insists it must be strawberry.
  • strawberry shortcake
  • shortcake and cream
  • shortcake for dessert

But I got to say the Strawberry Shortcake roll Smasher Pass smash, because I want to see what this thing looks like.

Examples

  • And I'll fix us up a scrumptious strawberry shortcake for lunch.

    On Golden Pond (1981)

  • Dinner includes BBQ ribs, oven-roasted chicken breast, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and scrumptious strawberry shortcake.

    Blog text (11)

  • Well, now you must try the banana shortcake.

    Hitchcock (2012)

  • My little brother wants a strawberry shortcake.

    The Iceman (2012)

  • Wonderful, and a side order of strawberry shortcake.

    Carefree (1938)

  • Dessert was strawberries over shortcake, covered with fresh cream.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • You're just in time for some peach shortcake.

    Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

  • Molly poured us coffee and went into the kitchen to bring out the strawberry shortcake Letty had made.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • At our family gatherings, we enjoy a delicious shortcake topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

  • I always make a homemade shortcake with ripe peaches and creamy whipped topping during summer.

Synonyms

cake
vsshortcake
850 1.0

A sweet baked food made from flour, sugar, eggs, and fat

is usually served topped with fruit and cream rather than alone
biscuit
vsshortcake
  • UK
74 1.0

A small sweet flat cake that you eat as a snack

is softer and meant to be served with fruit and whipped cream
baking-powder biscuit
vsshortcake
  • US
2.6

A small fluffy bread that uses baking powder and people often eat for breakfast or as a side

is served with sweetened fruit and whipped cream as a dessert

Surface Forms

shortcake singular
shortcakes plural

Morphology

shortcake = short + cake (semi-transparent) = short + cake

The components 'short' + 'cake' are identifiable, but 'short' in cooking often means 'crumbly' (as in 'shortbread'), so the compound denotes a specific type of cake rather than simply a 'small' cake.

Etymology

Shortcake comes from short + cake, where short in baking means 'crumbly' or 'made with fat', just like in shortbread. So a shortcake is a small, crumbly cake or biscuit often served with fruit and cream.