The History of the Creation and Development of Everyone's Favorite Dessert - Cake
Have you ever been to a birthday party and eaten cake? Have you ever thought about the history of the cake and how it was invented? There are many different types of cakes and even many different ways to bake cakes. In this paper you will find out the long and complex history and background of different cakes.
The history of cake dates all the way back to the 13th century. Ancient Egyptians thrived in modern baking category. The Egyptians were the first to be found using yeast in their bread and baking around 2600 BC, but before that they had used yeast in the brewing of their beer. The dough that they used to make a cake was made out of flour, but instead of sugar they used honey, dates, or fruit juice to add sweetness into their cakes. The ancient Egyptians also made other treats like baklava, which is a type of pastry that has nuts and is soaked in honey or a kind of sugary syrup.
The word cake is believed to have originated in the Viking age. In old Norse times the original word was “kaka”. In ancient Greece it was called “plakous” which is a variation of the word “plakoeis” which means flat. It was made with flour, eggs, milk, nuts, and honey. The ancient Greeks also made cheesecake with goats milk. In ancient Rome they made cakes using their normal bread recipe but added honey, eggs, and butter. Modern cake recipes have flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, oil, and baking soda or powder.
Scotland is known as “Land of Cakes” because of it’s famous oatmeal cakes. There are many different types of cakes in the world. One type of cake is carrot cake, this has carrots mixed into the batter. Sponge cake, which is a light cake that is made out of eggs, sugar, flour, and is leavened with beaten eggs, which is believed to have originated in the Renaissance. Marble cake is a cake thats swirled with chocolate and vanilla, they achieve this effect by lightly mixing two different batters together, it originated in Germany. Ice cream cake has layers of cake but also some ice cream in between layers, after it has been shaped it has to be frozen. Coffee cake has butter, eggs, baking soda, sour cream, flour, and salt, it is meant to be eaten with coffee. All of this means that there are a bunch of different types of cake and that’s just naming a few.
Cake is such a popular dessert that it even has a couple of days celebrating it. For example on Mobile-Cuisine.com it says, “January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day. March 29th is National Lemon Chiffon Day. April 7th is National Coffee Cake Day. May 19th is National Devil’s Food Cake Day. June 11th is National German Chocolate Cake Day. November 26th is National Cake Day.” This shows how many national holidays have been created for cakes.We all know that birthday cake is the most popular dessert at birthday parties and weddings. Not only is it served at birthday parties but pretty much any other event as well. Cake is an easy dessert to make and bring to an event with many people.
The first cupcake was invented in 1776. Originally they were called “number cakes”. Cupcakes are small cakes that are cooked in cups. Hostess came out with their first cakes in 1919 it was called the “Hostess Cupcake”. Some people like cupcakes better than actual cakes because they are more convenient. Instead of eating them like they come, some people like to eat them like a sandwich, take off the bottom and put it on top of the frosting. Cupcakes are so popular that Food Network made a baking competition surrounding cupcake baking and named it Cupcake Wars.
Cakes cannot only be made from scratch, they can also be made from boxed cake mix. Cake mix is a very popular solution to making cakes because it’s a quick and efficient alternative to baking a cake. The most popular cake mix brands consist of Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and Bakers Corner. The first time that boxed cake mix was introduced was in the 1940s by Betty Crocker. Prior to the boxed cake mix coming out, Bisquick came out with boxed biscuit mix. With most boxed cake mixes all that needs to be added is eggs, butter, and milk.
Cake pops are another way to eat cake. Cake pops are balls of cake that are put on a stick and dipped in frosting. Cake pops are one of the newest forms of cake and was created in 2008. A blogger who’s name is Angie Dudley AKA Bakerella posted about them on her blog. The way that you make cake pops is first you bake a cake normally, then mix the cake with icing, lastly roll them into balls. Most cake pops are put on sticks, dipped in frosting, and sometimes covered in sprinkles.
Frosting, or icing, is the most popular cake decoration. Most recipes for frosting call for sugar, cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Frosting is used on the tops and sides of cakes, as a dollop on top of a cupcake, and cake pops are dipped in frosting. Since the 17th century various different sweet coverings, such as powdered sugar. Buttercream frosting is the most popular type of icing in America because it is smooth and easy to work with.There are many different types of icing such as Butter Cream Frosting(which is made with butter and powdered sugar), Cream Cheese Frosting, French meringue buttercream, Ganache, Whipped Cream, and Royal Icing. Those are just to name some.
In the 16th century fondant was invented. There are four different types of fondant used in baking. The first kind of fondant is probably the most popular type, it’s called rolled fondant. Rolled fondant is used is smooth and is used to make little decorations on the cake and is laid over the cake. The next type of fondant is called poured fondant, this is used “as either a filling or coating”, as stated on The Facts About Fondant by Escoffier, and can go on or in cakes. Another type is called sculpting fondant, this is used sculptures. Gumpaste is the last type of fondant, it’s used to build edible flowers and sculptures.
In conclusion cakes were invented long ago. Many people and countries have contributed to baking and cake making. Cake has a long history and there are an infinite number of different cakes. Cakes can be very complex and can have many steps. There are even different ways to eat it. There are also many different ways to decorate a cake such as frosting, fondant, and sprinkles. Baking cakes can be a great way to express yourself and create something to share with others.
