A.K. Whitney

It’s here!

Longtime food writer A.K. Whitney is thrilled to announce the publication of “The Unofficial Strawberry Shortcake Cookbook” by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster!

Part of Adams’ popular “Unofficial” series, which has to date covered everything from Harry Potter to Bridgerton to Disney Parks, this work is unauthorized, unapproved, and has no connection to Wildbrain Ltd or its affiliates.

“The Unofficial Strawberry Shortcake Cookbook” is a love letter by a lifelong fan to the  many Strawberry fans worldwide. Make sure to follow the cookbook’s Instagram page for updates, trivia, and cooking demos!

PURCHASE BOOK HERE!

When passions converge

A.K. Whitney’s love of baking started when she was five years old, at Christmas, when she found a large box under the tree containing an Easy-Bake Oven. Well, technically, it was a Dolce Forno, since she and her family were living in Monza, Italy at the time.

Her love of Strawberry Shortcake came later, at age 10, when on summer vacation in France. After terrifying herself by looking at the horror video section in the department store at Cap 3000, she went into the safer toy section, where she came across an adorable array of deliciously scented dolls with names like Charlotte Aux Fraises, Clafoutis Myrtilles, Mousse Framboise, Abricot, and Baba Orange.

Sadly, she didn’t have enough money to buy them all, or enough suitcase space. But she was delighted to find that, on returning to Mexico City (where she and her family had moved a few years earlier), Strawberry Shortcake was equally popular. Her name there was Rosita Fresita, and Whitney was able to add to her doll collection by getting the villain, The Peculiar Purple Pieman, also known as El Pastelero Bigoton.

Years passed. Her family moved again, this time to Southern California, where they stayed until Whitney’s parents decided to move back to their native Sweden. They told her she needed to go through her childhood toys in the garage, and decide what to keep, throw away, or sell. She found her Strawberry Shortcake dolls (except for the Pieman), in pristine condition, and put them in a box in her closet.

PURCHASE BOOK HERE!

Shortcake therapy

A few more years passed, and to cheer herself up after several deaths in the family, Whitney got out her Strawberry Shortcake doll collection and decided to display it. She then discovered, to her delight, that there was a huge international Strawberry Shortcake fandom, and that, thanks to them, not only were reproductions of the classic dolls for sale again, there was a big market for the used ones. Finally, she was able to finish her collection (including a new Pieman) without worrying about funds or luggage parameters.

When COVID 19 shut down the whole world in 2020, Whitney didn’t bother with sourdough starters. Instead, she baked the treats inspired by her dolls, and posted their photos on her various personal social media accounts.

Immediately friends, particularly ones in publishing, urged her to turn the project into a cookbook. Even after having worked for decades as a food writer, editor, and recipe developer, she had never thought she would actually write a cookbook.

But sometimes, all you need is some berry sweet encouragement…

PURCHASE BOOK HERE!