REVIEW: The Citrus Shortcake at EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival

Lovers of citrus-flavored everything, unite! We have several items to try at this year’s Taste of EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, and a stop by The Citrus Blossom Outdoor Kitchen just might be the perfect place to start.

My stop at the Citrus Blossom had me trying the Citrus Shortcake. According to the Festival Passport, the shortcake features orange chiffon cake, lemon curd, mandarins, whipped cream, and citrus crumble.

I’m someone who loves slathering lemon curd all over freshly baked scones on a day off. In fact, truth be told, while I enjoy the scones, I think I love the lemon curd more. It’s bright and pungent (in a good way), and its tart taste is something that always leaves me wanting more. So, if you’re going to say that lemon curd is being used in a Disney food item, let’s hope it’s everything it should be.

Unfortunately, the lemon curd being used in the Citrus Shortcake isn’t as pucker-inducing as I’d like. The chiffon cake is lovely, light and airy; just like you would expect a chiffon cake to be. The whipped cream is really good, and the citrus crumble, while not necessarily plentiful, was a nice, sugary touch.

I found that the canned mandarin oranges didn’t really add to the treat; in fact, I felt they detracted a bit from what was trying to be an elevated snack. The Citrus Shortcake is certainly beautiful to look at, but overall, the mandarins just weren’t needed.

The violas that top the cake are edible, and if you ever ate grass on a whim as a kid, you know what they taste like. It’s fun to do once, but after eating the violas on the Citrus Shortcake, it’s not something I feel I need to do again any time soon.

The shortcake costs $4.50, and, it’s sad to say, but I won’t be repurchasing it. Thankfully, while this one was a bit of a miss, there are plenty of other citrus-inspired treats and snacks to eat at the festival this year!

Have you had anything amazing at this year’s Flower & Garden? Please let me know in the comment section below so that I can add it to my list!

Happy snacking!

If you’re planning a visit to Flower & Garden and you’d like our thoughts on the snacks that we tried on the first day of the festival, be sure to tune in below: