But it was the gooseberry-cream-filled, meringue-topped, towering glory known as Hannchen Jansen that had me at the first crunchy and creamy bite.

WSJ: The Cake That Steals the Party

At the time-warped Palms Grill Cafe, thick slabs of gooseberry, peach and sour cream raisin tempt from a glass case, while the Andrews Sisters croon from the stereo.

BBC: Tastes of the American pie revolution

After all (as the board points out), it worked for the Chinese gooseberry, a hairy rarity until New Zealand's farmers banded together and propelled the kiwi fruit on to the world's dessert trolleys.

ECONOMIST: What��s black and wrinkled?