1. The original Christmas cake

The original Christmas cake was the ‘Twelfth Cake’, which people ate during the late 19th century. They ate it when the Christmas season neared its end with the feast of Epiphany. Today, these cake have been replaced by the fruity and iced cake that we enjoy around Christmas time. Today’s Christmas cake that you find on the festive dessert table is a fairly modern addition.

2. The first tiered wedding cake

Queen Victoria’s wedding cake was three yards wide and weighed 300 pounds. Despite this staggering size, it was only one tier. The first tiered wedding cake was made for her eldest daughter in 1858. She also carried the name Victoria. Queen Victoria became the first person to use pure white icing on her wedding cake. This is why it’s popular today as ‘royal icing’.

3. The first cake

It was not until the early 18th century that the closest resemblance to the modern cake appeared. The earliest versions of cake were compact, flat discs of grain. They were dried and then compacted together. Before the 18th century, the cakes were similar in appearance to the bread because of the use of yeast.

4. Fruit cake’s history

The Roman crusaders used to eat fruit cakes to keep themselves energized and full. Later, the ones filled with fruits that were soaked with brandy or rum became popular. This helped to preserve these cakes for a longer period. The older a fruit cake is, the richer its flavor becomes.

This is one of the reasons why fruit cake is an option for a traditional wedding cake. As refrigeration didn’t exist during those times, this made sure that the cake lasted well.

5. Germany was not where the German chocolate cake originated

German chocolate cake is among the world’s most famous desserts. It will surprise you, therefore, that it didn’t originate in Germany. It actually came from an American whose name was Samuel German. He had created a dark baking chocolate in the mid-19th century. More than a hundred years later, it was used in a recipe published in 1957 under the title “German’s Chocolate Cake”.

6. Refrigeration makes cakes go stale faster

Cakes can become hard from the crystallization of starch. It is the addition of sugar and fat that keeps a cake from going hard. You can see an opposite effect on it with refrigeration. So, if you have leftover cakes or cookies, keep them at room temperature. Most of the other foods remain fresh if you refrigerate them, but this is not the case with cakes.

7. Most candles on a cake

A world record was created in 2016 for the largest number of candles on a birthday cake. Ashrita Furman and the Sri Chinmoy Center in New York were behind this world record. The cake was created to celebrate the birthday of Sri Chinmoy, who was a meditation teacher. The number of candles lit on his 85th birthday was 72,585. The center’s 100 members came together to achieve this world record.

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You might be aware of the type of cookies that are popularly eaten in the place where you stay. Now, let’s see some of the popular cookies around the world:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies that make a delicious combination with a steaming cup of tea or coffee. They’re among the most popular cookies in the United States. These cookies were discovered by accident. A renowned baker named Ruth Wakefield ran out of chocolate. She then added some small, broken pieces of chocolate that was given by her friend, Andrew Nestle.

However, the chocolate didn’t melt as she had expected them to. As a result, the chocolate chip cookies were born. These cookies maintain an appropriate balance and have small mounds of semi-sweet chips of chocolate. They just melt in the mouth and would surely pamper your taste buds.

2. Snickerdoodles

The name of these cookies comes from the German word Schneckennudeln, which means cinnamon-sprinkled sweet rolls. They’re a type of drop cookie. The baking process involves dropping the batter directly to the baking sheet by using a ladle. The baker coats the baking sheet with cinnamon and sugar.

Snickerdoodles are usually prepared for holidays and eaten warm or at room temperature with a glass of milk. They have a crispy exterior with buttery and sweet taste.

3. Macarons

Macarons are sweet cookies with their middle portion having a chewy filling. These cookies have a crunchy exterior. They got this name from ‘maccherone’ which is an Italian word for fine dough. Macarons without the filling were first made in Italy during the 16th century. Their present form came from Paris, where they were light, colorful, and creamy.

Macarons were first made during the wedding ceremony of the Duke of Orleans. He later became King Henry II of France. Historians credit Pierre Desfontaines with adding a creamy filling in the middle portion of these cookies. He did this so that the cookies could stick properly.

4. Gingersnaps

Gingersnaps are usually baked during the holiday season. They’re made using nutmeg, molasses, cinnamon, and ginger. Today, these deliciously spicy cookies have gained popularity across the world. Gingersnaps are a perfect combination of spiciness and sweetness. These cookies also carry great health benefits. Every year, the United Kingdom celebrates Gingersnap Day on July 1.

5. Alfajore

The name of this cookie comes from the word ‘al hasu’. It is an Arabic word, which means ‘stuffed’ or ‘filled’. These sandwich-type cookies first became popular in Argentina and were later available throughout Latin America. The preparation involves attaching two crispy cookies with a filling of milk jam.

The baker then covers these cookies with chocolate and sprinkles sugar in powder form on them. The Alfajore were originally from Andalusia in Spain. When the Spanish came to America, they brought these delectable cookies with them.

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Butter

Salted and unsalted butter are the two common types of butter that the bakers use. This is a type of fat that adds texture and flavor to the baked products. Butter is undoubtedly a crucial ingredient in baking. The addition of butter to a recipe can preserve the life of the baked product. It keeps all the baked goods moist for a longer period.

Eggs

Eggs are commonly available in farmers markets, but a baker can get them from a local farmer in the neighborhood. They’re of great importance in baking as they add structure and texture to the baked products. The best eggs are the ones harvested from free range chickens that are given organic diet.

Such eggs are free of dangerous additives and hormones commonly found in eggs harvested from factories or chicken farms. They’re often used as a binding agent while baking. Eggs hold a mixture together and prevent it from crumbling or falling apart after baking.

Flour

Flour is mostly categorized according to the fineness and type of grind. The lighter and more heavily ground flours are useful in making fluffy baked goods. Bakers use all-purpose flour to make baked goods of different varieties. Flour is usually prepared from milled and ground grain.

It is the basic building block for almost all the products found in a bakery. Whether it is light cookies or dense pound cakes, flour is always an essential item. Whole grain flour is coarser and denser when compared to the regular flour. This type of flour offers several health benefits and this is why most of the bakers prefer using it.

Sugar

Bakers use different types of sugars for sweetening their baked products and adding flavor. Powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar is white in color. It goes through pulverization in order to obtain a texture that’s superfine. Bakers use this sugar in most of the baked products.

The bakers commonly use it for dusting cookies and cakes and to make frostings. Brown sugar is a combination of molasses and white sugar. It is used for creating flavorful and rich delicacies. The common white sugar is useful for sweetening dough and batter. The bakers then use this dough and batter for baking cookies, muffins, and cakes.

Leavening agents

A professional bakery always requires some type of leavening agent, such as baking soda, yeast, or baking powder. Bakers add any of these leavening agents to the dough according to the recipe’s requirement. The addition of leavening agent releases gas during the process of baking. This lends a light and fluffy texture to cakes, breads, muffins, and cookies.

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All sorts of cakes have been created over a period of time. Amid such varieties of cakes, there are some that were able to stand the test of time. Let’s go through some of these cakes that still enjoy tremendous popularity:

1. Molten Chocolate

This cake was created by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He had pulled out his chocolate sponge cake out of the oven mistakenly ahead of time. It proved to be a blessing in disguise. When he cracked the outer spongy part, he found liquid chocolate oozing out.

Vongerichten got the credit of creating the molten chocolate cake, popularly called the ‘lava cake’. After becoming immensely popular in the United States, this cake gained worldwide fame. It soon became a must-have on the menus of many global high-end restaurants.

Many individuals usually enjoy this cake as a dessert. It combines the elements of a flourless cake and a soufflé along with other ingredients. While creating this cake, timing is of great importance. You need to get the right moment when it can be inverted onto the plate from its single-portion ramekin.

2. Pavlova

Pavlova was the name of a famous ballerina. This is a quintessential summer dessert and is as delicate as the ballerina that it has been named after. While preparing this cake, whipped cream is laid on top of a meringue. A pop of color in the form of a fruit follows. The tart varieties are preferred more for contrasting the flavor of the meringue. Many consider this cake as a descendant of the German torte.

It was invented when Anna Pavlova toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. The exact inventor of the cake is under debate even to this day. In 1926, the first recipe appeared in print. It was more of a multi-colored gelatin dish than a dessert.

The preparation of the base is just like any meringue. It involves beating the egg whites stiffly and then adding sugar, cornstarch, and vinegar. The dessert is generally made during Christmas with traditional toppings that include lemon curd or whipped cream.

3. Sachertorte

A classic, layered chocolate sponge cake, the Sachertorte is a famous Austrian cake. It includes a thin coating of high-quality apricot jam with an icing of chocolate on the top. This cake tastes the best when it is eaten with a small cloud of unsweetened whipped cream. Franz Sacher invented this cake in 1832 when he was a chef for Prince Clemens Lothar Wensel Metternich.

At the time, the prince was the State Chancellor of Austria. Sacher was only 16 years old when the prince demanded a new cake. Obliging to the prince’s demand, he took the ingredients that were available in the kitchen and created something new.

The cake became a big hit and Eduard, the son of Franz, opened a hotel called Sacher in 1876. The hotel serves this immensely popular cake even today. You’ll get a version of this cake in almost every coffee house of Vienna.

4. Kasutera

Also known as Castella, Kasutera is a traditional sponge cake of Japan. The ingredients for its preparation include sugar, starchy syrup, flour, and eggs. This specialty is originally from the Japanese city, Nagasaki. It has a soft, spongy, and moist texture. The egg foam slowly raises the cake with no addition of oil or butter. It came to Japan in the 16th century through the merchants arriving from Portugal.

The name ‘Kasutera’ comes from the phrase ‘pao de Castela’, which means ‘bread from Castille’. You’ll come across many variations of the Nagasaki kasutera today. They’re available in several flavors, such as chocolate, brown sugar, and honey. Tourists visiting Japan can purchase the cake as a gift for their friends or family members. The Japanese also prepare a small version of this cake traditionally during some festivals.

5. Pound

This is a British dessert that dates back to the early 18th century. In those times, many people were illiterate. Pound cake, therefore, had a simple convention that helped people remember its recipe quite easily. One pound of the ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, and eggs was used for creating the dessert. There’s no leavening agent involved in its preparation. The only exception is that they whip the air into the batter.

By the 19th century, the recipes began to differ from the original considerably. Smaller quantities of ingredients were used, which resulted in smaller and lighter cake. The original cake was quite big and could feed a significant number of people. In recent times, the bakers use leaveners in this cake to make it less dense. Some cooks even add orange zest or chocolate for the enhancement of its flavor.

6. Bublanina

This is a traditional cake of the Czechs and the name means ‘bubble cake’. It is aptly named so, as the batter bubbles up while baking around the fruit in the cake. The choice of fruit changes according to the season. So, the Czechs can choose any of the available ones. The popular choices are tart cherries, apricots, sweet cherries, plums, strawberries, and blueberries.

Bublanina is somewhat similar to a coffee cake with regards to texture. The Czechs sometimes use it as a breakfast pastry. They prepare it using eggs, sugar, butter, flour, and a variety of fruits. The sponge is flavored with lemon or vanilla zest.

7. Buche de Noel

Traditionally, the French use sugar of confectioners to decorate this French cake. This is to give it a resemblance to the snow on a Yule log. Buche de Noel is a flourless chocolate cake. It is rolled with chocolate whipped cream. As an offering to the Sun, the Celts used to burn a log. This tradition has been lost as the home stoves have replaced the logs. As this Christmas cake has the shape of a log, it reminds many of their long-lost tradition.

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