Queen Elizabeth II’s visits to the D.C. region throughout her long life were always showstoppers, but it was her first visit to the area — as a princess in 1951 — that became the claim to fame for one Alexandria bakery.
Shuman’s Bakery was already a mainstay when Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip made a brief visit to the region 71 years ago, a short junket that capped a monthlong tour of Canada. Shuman’s was founded in Alexandria in 1876 by Louis P. Shuman, the son of a German immigrant. Several generations of the family were born in the apartment above the bakery’s longtime home in the 500 block of King Street.
One of its specialties became its jelly cake — three thin pieces of poundcake separated by layers of homemade red currant jelly and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It became a mainstay for Alexandrians hosting guests and a must-have come Christmastime.
It was that renown that gave the jelly cake entry into the orbit of Princess Elizabeth seven decades ago,…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
