Cake Business

Don’t we all love to eat and enjoy the delicious, sugary treat of cake? Cakes are known to be one of life’s simple pleasures that bring joy to any person’s life. Whether there is a birthday party or any other celebration to consuming it as a comforting snack on a rainy day, cakes have somehow managed to become a staple treat in our lives.

But ever wondered how cakes came to our lives? Well, the history of cake dates back to very old times. You would be surprised to know that the cakes you eat today are very different from what old people used to eat. These cakes were more bread-like and sweetened with honey. Some people also loved to add nuts and dried fruits. The ancient Egyptians according to the food historians were known to be the first culture that depicted evidence of advanced baking skills. As per the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word cake is traced back to the 13th century. Cake is a derivation of “Kaka” which is an Old Norse word.

As listed by the food historians, round cakes with incing also known as the modern cakes were baked for the first time in Europe in the mid of 17th century. This was due to the advances in technology and the availability of refined ingredients like sugar. At that time the only instrument used to shape cakes and deemed popular were cake hoops also known as round moulds. They were place on flat baking trays and made of metal, wood, or paper. Some were adjustable and used along with cake pans at times.

Next comes how the ancient people used to make icing. Just like the cakes were simple, so was the case of icing. In old times, the icing was usually a boiled composition of what we call the finest available sugar along with egg whites. Flavourings were also added some times to make it more appealing. This icing was then poured on the cake and then the cake is put back into the oven for the cake to settle down with the icing. As soon as it was removed from the oven, the icing cooled down very quickly to form a hard, glossy covering. The majority of the cakes with icing made in the 17th century still had dried fruits like currants, raisins, and citrons.

So this was how cakes were made. The ingredients were limited, the instruments were limited, still people used to make a lot of cakes and were eaten by with great joy. Soon in the Middle Ages, cakes started to take on their modern form. Now how did this happen? Well, this happened when sugar became more affordable. In old times, sugar was quite expensive and that is why only a specific class of people could afford it. As soon as sugar became readily available, people started using it in abundance to sweeten their cakes. Next ingredient that became frequently used by people was butter and then eggs. Use of these ingredients made the cake richer and more delicious than ever before.

Finally, the most modern form or the cake as we know it today arrived in the middle of the 19th century. These types of cakes were made with extra refined while flour and baking powder and yeast was excluded from the list. All this happened because of the invention of baking powder. It really revolutionised cake-making as now the cakes were not only light to eat but fluffy in appearance. This then led to the invention of layer cake that became the start dessert for special occasions. So, my dear readers, this is the story of how the cakes that we eat today came to the scene. Before ending our discussion, let us take a look at some fascinating yet informative facts about cakes.

Fun facts

  • The National Cake Day is celebrated on the November 26th every year.
  • The older the fruit cake is the richer it will be in flavour.
  • The UK spends around £368 million every year just on cakes.
  • The entire population eats between 50 and 100 million birthday cakes every single day.
  • Chocolate is the most popular cake flavour for most people.
  • The very first tiered wedding cake was created in the year 1858 for the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. The Queen’s own wedding cake was a staggering three yards wide. It weighed 300lbs.
  • In 2016, a world record to set the most candles on a birthday cake was set by Ashrita Furman and the Sri Chinmoy Centre in New York. They lit 72,585 candles on the cake.
  • German chocolate cake never originated in Germany despite the title. Rather an American named Samuel German created a dark baking chocolate which was used in 1957 in a recipe which was then published under the title German’s Chocolate Cake.
  • Red Velvet Cake Recipe was not just an ordinary recipe, but it was an act of revenge. That’s right!! This recipe was known to the public for revenge. Now the story behind this is that a lady once went to a restaurant where she ate a red velvet cake and liked it a lot. So, she asked for the recipe for which she was charged $100. She got very furious and thus circulated the recipe as an act of revenge.

That is all for today from Bake Boost. We hope after reading this article, our readers have now a good clue of how cakes came to our lives. See you all next time with a new CAKEY topic. Till then Happy Baking.