Later, during the post-war boom, other American companies (notably General Mills) developed this idea further, marketing cake mix on the principle of convenience, especially to housewives. In so doing, cake, as it is known today, became a mass-produced good rather than a home- or bakery-made specialty. One company patented a cake-bread mix to deal with this economic situation, and thereby established the first line of cake in a box. Cake mixesĭuring the Great Depression, there was a surplus of molasses and the need to provide easily made food to millions of economically depressed people in the United States.

Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. Įarly 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. Latin poet Ovid refers to his and his brother's birthday party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia. In ancient Rome, the basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good. The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk. A placenta was baked on a pastry base or inside a pastry case. During the Roman period, the name for cake became 'placenta' which was derived from the Greek term. They also had a cake called 'satura', which was a flat heavy cake. It was baked using flour mixed with eggs, milk, nuts, and honey. The ancient Greeks called cake πλακοῦς ( plakous), which was derived from the word for 'flat', πλακόεις ( plakoeis). The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word 'kaka'. Cake making is no longer a complicated procedure while at one time considerable labor went into cake making (particularly the whisking of egg foams), baking equipment and directions have been simplified so that even the most amateur of cooks may bake a cake. There are countless cake recipes some are bread-like, some are rich and elaborate, and many are centuries old. Cakes can also be filled with fruit preserves, nuts or dessert sauces (like custard, jelly, cooked fruit, whipped cream or syrups), iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorated with marzipan, piped borders, or candied fruit.Ĭake is often served as a celebratory dish on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays.

Common additional ingredients include dried, candied, or fresh fruit, nuts, cocoa, and extracts such as vanilla, with numerous substitutions for the primary ingredients. The most common ingredients include flour, sugar, eggs, fat (such as butter, oil or margarine), a liquid, and a leavening agent, such as baking soda or baking powder.

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 which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies. Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked.

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