in #CASE You Were Curious About…Cake!
While the Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word cake back to the 13th century, it’s a derivation of 'kaka', an Old Norse Medieval European bakers often made fruitcakes and gingerbread.
According to the food historians, however, the ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills…and it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that cake as we know it today (made with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast) was created.
In Roman times, eggs and butter were often added to basic bread to give a consistency that we would recognize as cake-like, and honey was used as a sweetener. The distinction between Roman concepts of cake and bread was therefore very blurred.
What’s the difference between cake, gateau and torte? Gateaux is a French word for cake. It generally denotes items made with delicate ingredients, which are best consumed soon after the confection is made. Cakes can last much longer, some even improving with age (fruit cake). As for torte, that’s the German word for cake, with similar properties. Still, while tortes are multilayered and fancifully decorated, they are closer to gateaux EXCEPT for the fact they can keep nicely for several days.
Why are cakes round? Great question! Historians say it really depends upon time period, culture and the cuisine of the time. Considering the round cakes we know today descended from ancient bread, ancient breads and cakes were made by hand. They were typically fashioned into round balls and baked on hearthstones, griddles, or in low, shallow pans (so they naturally relax into rounds). By the 17th century, cake hoops (fashioned from metal or wood) were placed on flat pans to effect the shape. As time progressed, baking pans in various shapes and sizes, became fashionable.
The proverb ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it’ first appeared in the early 16th The phrase ‘a piece of cake’ didn’t turn up until the 20thcentury.
The first birthday cake was originally a cake given as an offering on a person’s birthday. The first reference to ‘birthday cake’ came in 1785.
More than 29% of U.S. school districts have banned bake sales due to anti-obesity regulations.
During the 17th century, in England, people believed that keeping fruitcakes under the pillow of those who are unmarried will give them sweet dreams about their fiancée
Cheesecake was a popular food in Ancient Greece.
Carrot Cake was commonly served in the UK during World War II due to rationing.
German Chocolate Cake actually has its origins in the U.S. A Texas woman created the first recipe, which was published in 1957 in a Dallas newspaper.
It wasn’t until 1996, that Boston Cream Pie was designated the official dessert of Massachusetts…what business does a pie have with cake? A Boston cream pie is a yellow butter cake, which is filled with custard or cream and topped with chocolate glaze. The dessert acquired its name when cakes and pies were cooked in the same pans, and the words were used interchangeably. In the latter part of the 19th century, this type of cake was variously called a "cream pie," a "chocolate cream pie" or a "custard cake."