About cake
Like everything else evolving with time, cakes have their moments in history too.
The history of cake dates back to ancient times. The first cakes were very different from what we eat today. They were more bread-like and sweetened with honey. Nuts and dried fruits were often added.
According to the food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word cake back to the 13th century. It is a derivation of 'kaka', an Old Norse word. Medieval European bakers often made fruitcakes and gingerbread. These foods could last for many months.
Cakes symbolise the importance of the person you bought it for, since in the old days, ingredients like refined sugar, nuts and dried food were expensive. Although they are not as expensive today, the message still holds through. It is a way to show someone you care.
Cakes are a part of ancient rituals
Cakes have their part to play in ancient beliefs and superstitions, some which still carries on to modern times. In olden times, people used cakes as offerings to their gods and spirits around the world. The Chinese celebrate Harvest Moon festival and have moon cakes to honour their moon goddess. This tradition continues up to today.
Russians have sun cakes called blini which are thin pancakes to pay their respect to a deity called Maslenitsa. Ancient Celts rolled cakes down a hill during the Beltane festival held on the first day of spring to imitate solar movement. With such a rich history and connection of humans with cake, it is no wonder that they remain such an important
part of our lives.
History of Birthday Cake
It is believed that the first actual birthday cake was made in Germany in the Middle Ages. The Germans would celebrate children’s birthdays with cake, calling the celebration Kinderfest.
Cakes originally were a coarse, bread-like product, and later became a much sweeter version, called Geburtstagorten.
In the 17th century birthday cakes were made more elaborate with details like icing, layers and decorations, like flowers. However, these kinds of cakes were only affordable by the wealthy, upper class due to the high-priced ingredients.
In the 18th century, food and baking utensils became more accessible, and therefore affordable. With that, the price of cakes went down significantly and the number of cakes produced went up considerably.
History of Birthday Candles
One theory is that the history of putting candles on cake began in Ancient Greece. The Greeks would make round cakes to honor Artemis, the goddess of the moon. The lit candles on the cake represented the glow of the moon, and the smoke from the candles carried their prayers and wishes to the Gods who lived in the skies.
Some scholars believe the tradition actually started in Germany, where a candle was supposedly placed on the cake to represent “the light of life”.
Today, most western cultures celebrate birthdays with cake, lit candles and a birthday song. The number of candles usually represents the age of the person being celebrated. Many believe that a silent wish must be made while blowing out all the candles with one breath. The wish cannot be told to anyone else, or it will not come true.
What was once just a simple pastry is now a world of complex varieties and flavors. Some of the most popular flavors include red velvet with cream cheese frosting, vanilla bean with buttercream frosting and the classic chocolate on chocolate.
According to the food historians, the precursors of modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid -17th century.
The most primitive peoples in the world began making cakes shortly after they discovered flour. In medieval England, the cakes that were described in writings were not cakes in the conventional sense. They were described as flour-based sweet foods as opposed to the description of breads, which were just flour-based foods without sweetening.
Bread and cake were somewhat interchangeable words with the term "cake" being used for smaller breads. The earliest examples were found among the remains of Neolithic villages where archaeologists discovered simple cakes made from crushed grains, moistened, compacted and probably cooked on a hot stone. Today's version of this early cake would be oatcakes, though now we think of them more as a biscuit or cookie.
Cakes were called "plakous" by the Greeks, from the word for "flat." These cakes were usually combinations of nuts and honey. They also had a cake called "satura," which was a flat heavy cake.
During the Roman period, the name for cake (derived from the Greek term) became "placenta." They were also called "libum" by the Romans, and were primarily used as an offering to their gods. Placenta was more like a cheesecake, baked on a pastry base, or sometimes inside a pastry case.
By the middle of the 18th century, yeast had fallen into disuse as a raising agent for cakes in favor of beaten eggs. Once as much air as possible had been beaten in, the mixture would be poured into molds, often very elaborate creations, but sometimes as simple as two tin hoops, set on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. It is from these cake hoops that our modern cake pans developed.
Cakes were considered a symbol of well being by early American cooks on the east coast, with each region of the country having their own favorites.
By the early 19th century, due to the Industrial Revolution, baking ingredients became more affordable and readily available because of mass production and the railroads. Modern leavening agents, such as baking soda and baking powder were invented.
Technology made the cake-baker's life much easier. The chemical raising agent bicarbonate of soda, introduced in the 1840's, followed by baking powder ( a dry mixture of bicarbonate of soda with a mild acid), replaced yeast, providing a greater leavening power with less effort.
Another technology breakthrough was more accurate temperature controlled ovens.
Europe and places such as North America where European influence is strong have always been the center of cakes. One might even draw a line more tightly, from English-speaking areas. No other language has a word that means exactly the same as the English 'cake.' The continental European gateau and torte often contain higher proportions of butter, eggs and enriching ingredients such as chocolate, and often lean towaars pastry rathern than cake. Central and East European items such as baba and the Easter kulich are likewise different.
The western tradition of cakes applies little in Asia. In some countries western-style cakes have been adopted on a small scale, for example the small sponge cakes called kasutera in Japan. But the 'cakes' which are important in Asian are quite different from anything occidental for examples, see moon cakes and rice cakes of the Philippines.
The history of cakes, goes a long way back. Among the remains found in Swiss lake villages were crude cakes make from roughly crushed gains, moistened, compacted and cooked on a hot stone. Such cakes can be regarded as a form of unleavened bread, as the precursor of all modern European baked products. Some modern survivors of these mixtures still go by the name 'cake', for instance oatcakes, although these are now considered to be more closely related to biscuits by virtue of their flat, thin shape and brittle texture.
Ancient Egypt was the first culture to show evidence of true skill in bakin, making many kinds of bread including some sweetened with hone. The Greeks had a form of cheesecake and the Romans developed early versions of fruitcakes with raisins, nuts and other fruits. These ended up in 14th century Britain. Chaucer mentions immense cakes made for special occasions. One was made with 13 kilograms of flour and contained butter, cream, eggs, spices, currants and honey.
Moulds, in the form of cake hoops or pans have been used for forming cakes since at least the mid-17th century. Most cakes were eaten accompanied by a glass of sweet wine or tea. At large banquets, elaborately decorated cakes might form part of the display, but would probably not be eaten. By the mid-19th century the French were including a separate "sweet" course at the end of the meal which might include 'gateau.'
History of Wedding Cake
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan cutting their wedding cake, 1952.
The contemporary wedding cake has grown out of several different ethnic traditions. One of the first traditions began in Ancient Rome where bread was broken over the bride’s head to bring good fortune to the couple. In Medieval England cakes were stacked as high as possible for the bride and groom to kiss over. A successful kiss meant they were guaranteed a prosperous life together.
Symbolism
Wedding cakes have been present at wedding ceremonies for centuries. They were not always the focus of the event and often came in different forms, like pies or bread. There has always been a lot of symbolism associated with the wedding cake. The earliest known sweet wedding cake is known as a Banbury cake, which became popular in 1655. During the Roman era unsweetened barley bread was used as the wedding food and the groom would break the piece of bread in half over the brides head symbolizing “breaking of the bride’s virginal state and the subsequent dominance of the groom over her." One of the most obvious symbolic traditions is the cake’s white color to symbolize virginity and purity. The white color has been attached to wedding ceremonies since the Victorian era when Queen Victoria chose to wear a white wedding dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. Queen Victoria accentuated an existing symbol, the color white is frequently associated with virginity and purity. The wedding cake was originally known as the brides cake therefore the color white became common because the cake needed to reflect the bride.
Modern adaptations
A traditional English topper in ceramic, from 1959 Wedding cake toppers are models or art pieces that sit atop the cake. The most common type of cake topper features a representation of a bride and groom in wedding attire. This custom was dominant in US weddings in the 1950s, where it represented togetherness. Wedding toppers today are often figures that indicate shared hobbies or other passions, if they are used at all. Some are humorous, or may represent the couple's hobby or occupation. Some couples use a piece of art which will be displayed in their home later, such as a statuette or Christmas ornament. Some couples skip the topper altogether or decorate the top tier with flowers.
In the United Kingdom, the traditional wedding cake is made from a rich fruitcake whose ingredients last without degrading. This allowed the top tier to be stored after the wedding, to be eaten at the christening of the first child. Many modern cakes now consist of flavors such as vanilla sponge, chocolate sponge or carrot cake.
Most cakes are between three and five tiers in height. Royal wedding cakes are among the more elaborate cakes seen in the United Kingdom.
