Interesting history of cakes

July 9th, 2018

Celebrations these days feel incomplete without cakes. Whether if it is a birthday or a wedding event or a promotion party or any anniversary a bite from a sweet cake always makes it better.

One can order varieties of cake online and they have an option of cake delivery if you provide the delivery address. But though there are a plenty of varieties of cakes available these days, the history of cakes go pretty back and it is full of rituals and rich from different cultures and countries.

According to many food historians, the ancient Egyptians show the earliest signs of baking skills. But the cakes that they used to make looked more like bread and they used sweetened honey instead of sugar to make it sweet. Also the word ‘cake’ has a Viking origin and it comes from the Norse word ‘kaka’. Cakes mostly symbolises the importance of the person you bought it for. This is because, in old day; sugar, dry fruits and nuts were very expensive and people only used to spend this much for their loved ones. Though these ingredients are not much expensive now but the message it carries is still the same. You always buy a cake for a person you care.

Cakes also play a huge part when it comes to superstitions and ancient beliefs. In old times, people used to offer cakes to their gods and spirits all over the world. The Chinese people used to celebrate the Harvest Moon festival and used to have moon cakes to honour the moon goddess. This tradition is still continued there. Also Russians have sun cakes which are known as Blini and those are thin pan cakes to pay their respect to a deity called Maslenitsa. Ancient Celtic people also rolled cakes down a hill during their Beltane festival to imitate the solar movement. That is why; cake has become an important part in many people’s lives.

But why the cakes were used to be round shaped? Yes, it is true that every shapes of cake are available these days but cakes were/ are always traditionally round. It symbolises the cyclic nature of life like the sun and the moon. It also symbolises the beginning of a new journey and that is why people cut cakes on birthdays and weddings. Ancient breads were also round, typically fashioned into round balls and baked in shallow pans. In the 17th century, cake hoops made from metal or wood were increasingly used.

After the Industrial Revolution, baking powder and baking soda was invented and so popularity of baking cakes increased. Also cake ovens were introduced and it became easier for people to bake cakes. Also Angel food cake became very popular because of it white colour and fluffy texture. This is because; lots of egg whites were used to make it white so that it can represent the angels. But Devil cakes became popular much later in 20th century.

For cakes delivery UK one can order from the online cake shops.