LA TRINIDAD, Benguet: Residents and tourists alike will have a chance to partake of the largest strawberry shortcake that paved the way for the municipality to be a record holder in the Guinness Book of World Records, with the expected serving of the twin strawberry shortcake that will serve as one of the major highlights of the annual staging of the town's Strawberry Festival on Saturday, March 18. Mayor Romeo Salda disclosed that the twin strawberry shortcake will be a heart-shaped cake with a height of 7 feet, a length of 14 feet, and a diameter of 5 feet. He explained that bakers will be featuring both the red and white strawberry varieties, which will be made available to the public. The local chief executive pointed out that the twin shortcake that will be served are expected to produce 16,000 slices, where the first 1,000 slices will be given for free while the remaining slices will be sold at around P30 to P35 per slice to be able to raise the funds that had been used in baking the twin shortcake. In 2004, the municipal government, in partnership with local bakers and concerned stakeholders, was able to bake and present the largest strawberry shortcake that was included in the Guinness Book of World Records. Salda said the bakers need around 275 kilos of both red and white strawberries to prepare the twin shortcake that will be presented right after the conduct of the street dancing and mini-float parade on the said date, where the same will be done at the Municipal Hall. Based on the computations from the local baking industry, the local government needs at least P1.2 million to be able to prepare the twin shortcake. The mayor said there are strawberry farmers who will supply the required volume of both red and white strawberries to be used by the local bakers. The red and white varieties of strawberries are now promoted by stakeholders.
