Earlier this summer, for my debut with The Retro Network, I wrote an article about my five favorite dolls from the Strawberry Shortcake toyline. I enjoyed writing that article and all of the sweet memories it brought back. Especially my memories of how each of the dolls smelled, which is the signature of this line.
1. Apple Dumplin’
I received Apple Dumplin’ for my third birthday. She was part of the original grouping along with Strawberry Shortcake and Blueberry Muffin from my first article.
An interesting thing about the Apple Dumplin’ character is that she would write things down with a pencil on a notepad. Surprisingly, it was Blueberry Muffin and not Apple Dumplin’s own big sister, Strawberry Shortcake who was the only one who could read and understand what Apple Dumplin’ wrote.
Apple Dumplin’ has a pet named Tea-Time Turtle and sometimes she would ride on it in the cartoon, but the doll is too big to sit on the toy turtle.
I also have a Christmas tree ornament of Apple Dumplin’ and Tea-Time Turtle which goes on our big living room tree every year.
2. Raspberry Tart/Torte
I think Raspberry may have been from my first trip to Cumberland Mall during our first winter in Georgia. I also think I received her just before we experienced our first Georgia “snowstorm”.
Raspberry had a pet monkey named Rhubarb. I’ve never had the opportunity to try rhubarb and I’ve always been curious about how it tastes, but I’m also aware part of it could be poisonous.
Raspberry was known for often lacking tact or having a “tart” tongue, so to speak. Somewhere along the line, either the greeting card company or the toy manufacturer found out about the other meaning of “tart” and changed the second part of the doll’s name to Torte.
3. Huckleberry Pie
Huckleberry came in the original wave for my third birthday. When I played with my brother, he would usually pick Huckleberry because he was “the boy”.
I also remember Huckleberry as liking to fish (but having a tendency to fall asleep nexr to the pond) and having a little dog named Pupcake.
4. Cherry Cuddler
Cherry Cuddler was definitely a Christmas present. I know this because there’s a Christmas morning picture where I am holding Cherry Cuddler (still in her box) while my brother opens what looks like a Mr. Potato Head).
This was our last Christmas in Chicago. By the following Easter, we would already be in our house in Georgia.
Cherry Cuddler was a baby like Apple Dumplin’ and Apricot (from the original article).
Given that her second name is “Cuddler”, she apparently liked to cuddle with her friends and her pet goose, Gooseberry.
5. Butter Cookie
Butter Cookie is another infant member of the group and until Baby Needs a Name came along, I think she was the youngest. She had a little bear cub named Jelly Bear and according to the promotional materials for this character, she was just learning to crawl. She had a vanilla/shortbread cookie like scent. This is another one of those dolls where unfortunately, I don’t have a clear memory of buying or receiving her.
6. Angel Cake
Angel Cake was a big time grail for me. She was on my Strawberry Shortcake bedspread and I always liked her purple hair and halo-style gold hair ribbons. She was also frequently shown holding or playing a harp. She’s very well mannered, always saying “Please” and “Thank you.”
She had a pet skunk and there was a special about a pet parade that ended with Angel Cake volunteering to adopt the skunk and naming it Souffle.
I finally received a reproduction of Angel Cake a few years ago as a Christmas gift alongside yet another doll of the title character of the franchise. Sadly, the characters’ pets were not included in this reproduction line. Angel Cake and the most recent Strawberry Shortcake are both still in their boxes for now because my four year old niece loves to undress dolls.
7. Orange Blossom
Orange Blossom was my other grail doll and my most recent acquisition. While I was scrolling through Amazon last month, I happened to see that they had some Orange Blossom reproductions (from the same line as Angel Cake) for a little over twelve dollars.
Orange Blossom was the artist of the group, often shown with a palette and paintbrush. She had a pet butterfly, either named Marmalade or Fluttershy.
She came the same day as TRN Podcast Episode 057 (Favorite Game Shows). I was listening to the part where Mickey and Jason were talking about “Press Your Luck” and “Whammies” when I opened the Amazon package.
I had just finished some Wendy’s chicken nuggets. I opened the box to take a sniff. I never even knew what this doll smelled like, so it was a lot of fun to have that experience for the first time.
Sadly, it appears the most recent manufacturer of these reproduction dolls has discontinued the line. For now, it looks like Orange Blossom will complete my collection. I was sad they never made dolls based on newer food phenomena like pomegranates, tiramisu, or pumpkin spice.
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