The official birthday cake

When I was a kid we lived in Michigan, and even after we moved away, I was frequently there on my early-July birthday, visiting grandparents.  Every year my "birthday cake" consisted of strawberry shortcake because the strawberry season was still hanging on and who wouldn't prefer a strawberry shortcake to a boring old cake??

For the last four decades, however, we've lived considerably farther south, where strawberry season runs from late May into early June.  So no strawberry shortcake as a birthday treat.  It became a nostalgia trip, mentioned wistfully in the same breath as Northern Spy apples (now becoming extinct), northern fall foliage (I've only managed one decent leaf-peeping trip in 40 years), and walking to school in the snow uphill both ways.

But something wonderful happened this year -- I got to be in northern Michigan for my birthday!

My absolute favorite baked good to sit underneath the berries is a rich biscuit, but angel food is certainly acceptable.

In the olden days there would probably have been whipped cream on top of this concoction, but who needs it?  Life is sweet.