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shortcake

Unicode: 1F370

Description

A piece of cake, usually depicted as a triangular slice from a larger round cake, with white or light-colored frosting and often a small cherry or berry on top.

Group:

Food & Drink > food-sweet

Status:

fully-qualified

Emotion:

Typically represents celebrations, birthdays, special occasions, sweetness, indulgence, or dessert.

Backstory

This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010), representing a common celebratory dessert. It quickly became a staple for digital birthday greetings and other joyous events.

Usage Examples

  • Happy Birthday! 🎂
  • Let's celebrate! 🎂
  • Time for dessert! 🎂
  • Life is sweet! 🎂

Cultural Differences

Western culture:

Strongly associated with birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and other festive gatherings.

East Asian culture:

Also used for celebrations, but sometimes seen as a generic sweet treat rather than solely tied to birthdays. In Japan, sponge cake with strawberries and whipped cream is a popular birthday cake.