Does anyone know how "Trionfo di Fragole" or Strawberry Cream Cake got its name?

pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added 12 months ago

Where did you taste this cake? All Italian cuisine is regional. I've not heard of it before. It could be specific to one single town. And it could be just the whim of the chef.

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ChefJune added 12 months ago

Pierino, it's a very common cake in Italian bakeries in (at least) Boston and New York. But I don't know its history.

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added 12 months ago

Add your answer here

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chefsusie added 11 months ago

Voted the Best Answer!

Perhaps this will give you starting place?

Sant'Antonio da Padova. Festa delle fragole a Campo de' Fiori

In occasion of the festivity of Sant'Antonio da Padova, the Roman girls who used to harvest strawberries organised every 13 th of June a party in Campo de' Fiori to celebrate the ending of the harvest time.
This festivity was called Trionfo delle fragole , that is Triumph of the Strawberries. At the centre of the field was built a very big basket around which the girls used to lay little baskets filled with strawberries.
At the end of this "ritual" sturdy men used to carry the basket on their heads through the streets of the centre. During the procession girls and boys used to sing merry songs celebrating Sant'Antonio, such as:


Salutiamo cor fischietto
sant'Antonio Benedetto.
Trullallero, trullalà
Tutti quanti a sfravolà.


The celebration ended with a general, and generous, distribution of the strawberries.

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Thank you so much for this explanation! it has a special meaning to me because when I went to School in Rlome, we lived in Campo dei Fiori! You might be interested in what Marcella Hazan's answer was:

chefsusie's answer: Perhaps this will give you starting place? Sant'Antonio da Padova. Festa delle fragole a Campo de' Fiori In occasion of the festivity of Sant'Antonio da Padova, the Roman girls who used to harvest strawberries organised every 13 th of June a party in Campo de' Fiori to celebrate the ending of the harvest time. This festivity was called Trionfo delle fragole , that is Triumph of the Strawberries. At the centre of the field was built a very big basket around which the girls used to lay little baskets filled with strawberries. At the end of this "ritual" sturdy men used to carry the basket on their heads through the streets of the centre. During the procession girls and boys used to sing merry songs celebrating Sant'Antonio, such as: Salutiamo cor fischietto sant'Antonio Benedetto. Trullallero, trullalà Tutti quanti a sfravolà. The celebration ended with a general, and generous, distribution of the strawberries.
Thought you might be interested in Marcella Hazan's answer:

Marcella Hazan My dear Monte, I am grateful for your kind thoughts. "Triumph of ..." is a not uncommon title for a dish that exalts the qualities of one of its components. It has no regional roots, nor do I believe, has the dessert you made, although it sounds delicious. How can you go wrong with strawberries and custard cream?

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ChefJune added 11 months ago

She is not from that region, so unless she had researched it -- and her answer doesn't sound as if she did -- she easily might not have known. In any case, it is a delicious cake!

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AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.

added 11 months ago

And today is June 13. What an interesting coincidence! The text quoted by chefsusie can be seen at http://www.aboutroma.com... . I only mention that because there are all kinds of other interesting facts on that web page. ;o).

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chefsusie added 11 months ago

I hope I didn't bother anyone with my post. I didn't say where I got the information, I assumed that historical information isn't like a recipe and requires a notation. It was something I quickly came across and thought this may help someone with research. Just a nerd with a computer, far too much time on my hands and a penchant for researching food for hours. LOL

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