The story of the cake

The story of the cake

History says that cakes were first baked in Egypt. These cakes were soaked in honey to add to their sweetness. There are also records of Greeks making cakes as did the ancient Romans. However the cake, as we know it today, took its current shape in Europe. With the advent of modern baking, cakes became one of the most favored desert, the world over. The word “cake” is of Scandinavian origin- a Viking name. The Greeks themselves called it plakous. Be it a wedding or a birthday, Christmas or Easter, there is hardly an event of celebration, where cakes do not hold prominence.
So what are cakes? “Cake is a form of sweet food made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients that is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and that share features with other desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.” As per the description we have in an article about cakes in Wikipedia. A cake usually is a baked mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil or margarine, a liquid, and a leavening agent, such as baking soda or baking powder, mixed in suitable proportion. The earliest known leavening agent is believed to have been beer, a Greek invention.
However the cakes of today are of English origin. Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the most obvious differences between a “cake” and “bread” were the round, flat shape of the cakes, and the cooking method, which turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left upright throughout the baking process. The dried fruits like raisins, plums, and dates were soaked in rum to give it a great taste. Advent of modern baking methods have created a myriad variety of the most delectable varieties of cakes.
Cakes may be classified according to the occasion for which they are intended. For example, wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cakes for first communion, Christmas cakes, even Halloween cakes, are all identified primarily according to the celebration they are intended to accompany. The cutting of a wedding cake constitutes a part of the ceremony in most European cultures.
Cake making is a cookery art that has found a great number of takers. There are other celebratory gatherings that are closely related to cake making. The cake mixing ceremony, held on the first Sunday of November is one such.