Strawberry Shortcake began as greeting-card art and became one of the defining toy lines of the early 1980s. The dolls smelled of fruit, and every character was named after a dessert. The idea is charmingly simple: a cheerful girl in a strawberry-print bonnet lives in a land where everything is sweet, and her friends each represent a different fruit or treat.
Since then she's been redesigned four times, and each version reshuffled the cast. This guide covers the characters who matter most across all of them, then explains how each version differs, so you can work out which Strawberry Shortcake you (or your kids) actually grew up with.
- Created by
- American Greetings
- Key original artist
- Muriel Fahrion
- First TV special
- 1980
- Versions
- 1980, 2003, 2009, 2021
- Current owner
- WildBrain
Strawberry and her main friends
These are the characters who have appeared across most versions. Personalities shift a bit from era to era. The descriptions below go with the version where each one is best known.
Strawberry Shortcake
The lead · Baker and gardener
Strawberry is warm, optimistic and practical: the friend who notices when someone is left out and does something about it. She loves baking and growing things, and she wears red hair and a bonnet or hat covered in strawberries. Over the years she's gone from a rag-doll country girl, to a café owner in a tiny berry city, to a young baker chasing her dream in a big city. The kindness has stayed the same.
Orange Blossom
Strawberry's close friend
Orange Blossom is thoughtful, organised and dependable, often the calm one when plans go sideways. In the 2009 series she runs the town's market. In earlier versions she has a gentle, crafty streak. Her pet in the 1980s line was a butterfly called Marmalade.
Lemon Meringue
Stylist · Fashion lover
Lemon Meringue cares about hair and style, and in the 2009 series she runs a salon. She can be a touch vain or dramatic, but she's loyal and generous with her talents. Her 1980s pet was a frog named Frappé.
Blueberry Muffin
The bookworm
Blueberry Muffin is the reader and planner of the group, happiest with a book and a quiet afternoon. In 2009 she runs the town bookshop. She's the friend who looks things up before anyone else has finished arguing. Her pet in the original line is Cheesecake, a mouse.
Huckleberry Pie
The main boy of the gang
Huckleberry Pie is the outdoorsy, easygoing boy of Strawberry's circle. He likes fishing, adventures and a good nap in the sun. He's laid-back where Strawberry is busy, and often provides the comic relief. His dog, Pupcake, is never far away.
Angel Cake
The sweet one
Angel Cake is gentle and good-natured, and she's a peacekeeper when the others squabble. She was a major friend in the 1980s and 2003 versions, with a skunk named Souffle as her pet in the original line.
Raspberry Tart / Raspberry Torte
Fashion and flair
In the 1980s she was Raspberry Tart, a lively, impulsive friend with a monkey called Rhubarb. The 2009 version renamed her Raspberry Torte and made her a confident designer who runs a fashion boutique and sometimes lets her competitive streak get the better of her.
Plum Pudding
The dancer
Plum Pudding is the performer of the 2009 gang. She runs a dance studio and loves putting on shows. The original 1980s "Plum Puddin'" came with an owl companion, Elderberry, and looked quite different. It's a good example of how much the franchise rewrites its cast.
Apple Dumplin'
The littlest friend
Apple Dumplin' is the toddler of the cast, adored by everyone and usually needing to be looked after. In the 2003 version she's Strawberry's little sister. In the 1980s line she came with a turtle named Tea Time.
Ginger Snap
The inventor (2003)
Ginger Snap is an energetic, inventive girl from the 2003 relaunch. She's always tinkering with a new gadget that only half works. She brought a bit of science-minded fun to a cast that had been mostly about baking and nature.
Lime Chiffon
1980s friend
Lime Chiffon is a cheerful, musical friend from the original line, paired with a bird called Parfait Parrot. She's mostly a nostalgia favourite today.
Butter Cookie
1980s friend
Butter Cookie is one of the youngest girls in the original cast, often seen with her bear companion, Jelly Bear.
Cherry Jam
Pop star
Cherry Jam is a glamorous singer who arrives in Berry Bitty City in Berry Bitty Adventures. Her fame causes some friction with the gang before she learns to fit in.
Pets and sidekicks
Almost every 1980s character came with an animal companion, and the toys were sold as pairs. Custard and Pupcake are the two who carried over into every later version.
Custard
Strawberry's cat
Custard is a pink-toned cat with a dry, slightly sarcastic outlook. She loves Strawberry but rarely shows much enthusiasm for anyone else's plans. Her running rivalry with Pupcake is a constant source of gags.
Pupcake
Huckleberry Pie's dog
Pupcake is an eager, bouncy puppy who loves adventures as much as his owner does. He and Custard bicker like siblings, which is about as much conflict as Strawberryland usually allows.
Honey Pie Pony
Strawberry's pony (2003)
Honey Pie Pony joined in the 2003 relaunch as Strawberry's pony friend. She's playful and affectionate, and she became a popular toy in her own right.
The Berrykins
Tiny helpers
The Berrykins are small, berry-shaped creatures who help things grow. They first appeared in a 1980s special and returned as the hard-working, easily excited townsfolk of Berry Bitty City in the 2009 series.
The villains
The Peculiar Purple Pieman
Of Porcupine Peak
The Peculiar Purple Pieman is a long-moustached, theatrical pie-maker who lives on Porcupine Peak and schemes to steal Strawberryland's berries and recipes. He's vain, dramatic and much too pleased with himself, and his plans fail every time. He's a classic 1980s cartoon villain, never actually frightening.
Sour Grapes
The Pieman's partner in crime
Sour Grapes is a scheming, jealous rival who often teams up with the Pieman. Her pet snake, Dregs, is as sly as she is. Like the Pieman, she's more petty than evil, and some versions give her a chance to soften.
Every version of Strawberry Shortcake
- 1980 The original. TV specials begin with The World of Strawberry Shortcake, alongside Kenner's scented dolls. Strawberryland is a rural storybook world, and the cast expands quickly to dozens of friend-and-pet pairs. The Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes are the villains.
- 2003 The relaunch. A new animated series and toy line give the characters a cleaner, more modern look and a smaller core cast: Strawberry, Orange Blossom, Angel Cake, Ginger Snap, Huckleberry Pie, Apple Dumplin' and Honey Pie Pony. A feature, The Sweet Dreams Movie, followed in 2006.
- 2009 The Berry Bitty revamp. The characters are redesigned as slimmer, more grown-up girls who live in a tiny town called Berry Bitty City, where everyone runs a shop. The CGI series Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures centres on six friends: Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Blueberry, Raspberry and Plum.
- 2021 Berry in the Big City. WildBrain's CGI series sends Strawberry to Big Apple City to chase her dream of becoming a baker. Familiar names return, redesigned for a new generation, with a more comedic, fast-paced style.
What the characters are about
Strawberry Shortcake is a show about small, kind actions. The stakes are a ruined bake sale, a hurt feeling or a missing ingredient. Problems get solved by friends pitching in, not by anyone winning. Each friend has one clear trait, like the organiser, the stylist, the reader or the dreamer, so young viewers can easily see which one they're most like.
That approach puts it in the same family as the Care Bears, another American Greetings creation built around feelings, and My Little Pony, which also turned a 1980s toy line into a cast with distinct personalities. If you like the gentle, everyday tone, Hello Kitty and the wider Sanrio roster come from the same tradition of characters designed first as cards and gifts.
All Strawberry Shortcake character names A–Z
A–B
- Angel Cake — friend
- Apple Dumplin' — youngest friend
- Berrykins — helpers
- Blueberry Muffin — bookworm
- Butter Cookie — 1980s friend
C–F
- Cheesecake — Blueberry's mouse
- Cherry Jam — pop star
- Custard — Strawberry's cat
- Dregs — Sour Grapes' snake
- Elderberry Owl — Plum Puddin's owl
- Frappé — Lemon's frog
G–L
- Ginger Snap — inventor (2003)
- Honey Pie Pony — Strawberry's pony
- Huckleberry Pie — friend
- Jelly Bear — Butter Cookie's bear
- Lemon Meringue — stylist
- Lime Chiffon — 1980s friend
M–P
- Marmalade — Orange's butterfly
- Orange Blossom — close friend
- Parfait Parrot — Lime's parrot
- Peculiar Purple Pieman — villain
- Plum Pudding — dancer
- Pupcake — Huck's dog
R–T
- Raspberry Tart / Torte — fashion friend
- Rhubarb — Raspberry's monkey
- Souffle — Angel Cake's skunk
- Sour Grapes — villain
- Strawberry Shortcake — lead
- Tea Time — Apple Dumplin's turtle
Frequently asked questions
Who are Strawberry Shortcake's friends?
Her core friends are Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Muffin, Huckleberry Pie, Angel Cake, Raspberry Tart (or Torte), Plum Pudding and Apple Dumplin'. Which ones appear depends on the version. The 2009 series, for instance, centres on six girls who each run a shop.
What is Strawberry Shortcake's cat called?
Custard. She's a cat with a dry sense of humour who has been with Strawberry in every version of the franchise, usually as the one making sarcastic comments from the sidelines.
Who is the villain in Strawberry Shortcake?
The Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak, a scheming pie-maker who wants Strawberryland's berries for himself. In the 1980s he usually teamed up with Sour Grapes and her snake, Dregs. Both are comic villains whose plans always fall apart.
How many versions of Strawberry Shortcake are there?
Four main ones: the original 1980s TV specials and toys, the 2003 relaunch, the 2009 revamp with Berry Bitty Adventures, and the 2021 CGI series Berry in the Big City. Each redesigned the characters and changed who was in the main group.
Who created Strawberry Shortcake?
American Greetings developed the character as greeting-card art in the late 1970s, with illustrator Muriel Fahrion closely associated with her original look. Kenner turned her into a hugely successful line of scented dolls in 1980. The franchise has since changed hands and is now owned by WildBrain.