History of cakes. Types of cakes and decoration. cream cakes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The history of cakes began more than two thousand years ago, and today not a single celebration takes place without this delicacy. Wedding cakes, cakes for anniversaries, but most importantly - for children's parties. Not a single child can imagine his birthday without a cake, blowing out candles, which are necessarily located in this delicacy. Historians are still arguing about the origin of the first cakes. We offer today to get acquainted with the assumptions of scientists, with the types of decorations, and with the history of the most popular desserts.

The story of the origin of cakes

Today, no one can definitely name the country in which this delicacy first appeared. Each part of the world is famous for its culinary masterpieces, and people have always treated sweets with special trepidation. There is an assumption that the first cakes appeared thanks to the gourmets of the East, and these were well-known oriental sweets that are made from honey, milk and sesame seeds. Many centuries ago, their shape resembled exactly those cakes and pastries that are known now. Their taste and aroma were capable ofdrive even the most capricious gourmet crazy.

Others argue with this opinion, and present the history of the origin of cakes from their point of view. They say that the word itself has Italian roots, and in translation it means something refined, ornate, beautiful. Linguists associate this meaning of the word precisely with cake decorations in the form of numerous flowers, ornaments and inscriptions.

But, one cannot but agree with the opinion that France is a trendsetter for desserts. It is on the territory of this country that there is a huge number of coffee houses where you can taste a delicious dessert. Perhaps the French chefs and confectioners once prepared the first cake. It was from France that many recipes came to most countries, which are still popular today. There are many dishes in Russia that are considered native Russian, but they were once prepared by chefs from France working for we althy Russian families.

Russian desserts

If you look at the cuisine of Russia, which was several centuries ago, you can be surprised to note that we did not have such a variety of dishes that exists now. We drew on the experience of foreign chefs, modernized, and compiled our own recipes based on the knowledge gained. The same goes for sweet desserts. The history of cakes in Russia began with the preparation of loaves for weddings. These were not full-fledged cakes, but they were still baked for the occasion, and were the most delicious and elegant of all types of pies. The loaf for the bride has always had a round shape, whichsymbolized the sun, which means fertility, well-being and he alth. They decorated the cake with curlicues, patterns, and figurines of the "bride and groom" were placed in the center.

Record breakers

Telling the history of cakes, I don't want to miss the moments when confectionery masterpieces made it to the pages of the Guinness Book of Records.

The heaviest cake was baked by American chefs in Alabama. The giant weighed more than fifty tons, had many layers, one of the main ingredients was ice cream. The form of the culinary miracle was unusual - the state was depicted as it is on the map.

The US has also prepared a record holder for growth. This cake was made by chefs from Michigan. The cake towered thirty meters above the table, consisted of a hundred layers.

In Peru, they managed to create a dessert that was 246 meters long. And this masterpiece became the longest cake in history. After it was put on public display, it was cut into small pieces and served to the children of Peru, who celebrated their birthday this month.

Russia also managed to show off its talent, and the chefs were able to prepare the biggest birthday cake for GUM, Moscow's most famous department store. The giant was three meters high and weighed three tons.

Tiered cakes

But would it be possible to make desserts of this size if not for the many layers? The history of multi-tiered cakes began in London, from there the recipe came to America, and from the USA to Russia. Historians claim that the many layers made it possible to create huge desserts for celebrations where a huge number of people gathered. They were brought into the hall on special carts, which further emphasized the moment of solemnity. Soon these culinary delights became very popular. Delicacies, consisting of several layers, are made for various celebrations, and decorate them in different ways. What types of cake decorations have become the most popular?

Cream

From the cream you can create real masterpieces. By the way, cream cakes were first made in France, because the confectioners of this country were able to create meringue, protein cream, creme brulee, caramel and other delicious fillings. For the first time, they began to use cream to decorate all kinds of cakes. Today, France dictates the fashion for the design of cakes, and their larger brothers.

Chocolate petals

Cream cakes can be decorated with just grated chocolate, or you can create unique details. For example, more and more housewives, baking cakes on their own, decorate them with chocolate petals. You don't need to be a master to make them. You just need to melt a bar of chocolate in a water bath, dip real rose petals or other leaves you like into it. After hardening, the chocolate will well move away from the sheet, it will ideally repeat the shape and have all the veins.

Glaze

This is exactly the ingredient that in most cases was used to decorate cakes before the advent of creams. You can leave it whitethe dessert will turn out to look very tender, ideal for a wedding. But if you decide to make a cake for a child, then you should make it festive, colorful. You can use food coloring, or you can make your own. Orange juice will recolor the icing yellow, beetroot - pink. At the same time, the taste of the glaze will change, it will become even tastier and he althier. And to make it easier to work with the glaze, and it lay more evenly on the cakes, you need to add softened butter to it.

A little trick

If you want the cake to retain its beauty after cutting, all kinds of roses and petals do not break, the pattern does not crack, you can first cut the cake and then decorate it. Before taking the treat to the hall, put the pieces together and you get a complete meal.

If you do not have a special culinary syringe, and you want to create cream roses or chocolate ruffles, take a regular plastic bag, put cream or melted chocolate in it. Before decorating, cut off a corner and work.

Now it remains to choose a recipe. We offer to consider the history of cakes that conquered the whole world with their taste. Perhaps you will choose exactly one of them.

The history of the sponge cake

Surely today there is not a single person left who has not tried a biscuit at least once. From it create cakes, pastries, rolls, cookies. Biscuit goes well with all known creams, is a favorite delicacychildren. Served at five o'clock in the evening a cup of tea with a biscuit cake is a symbol of the English tea party. It was from England that the biscuit came to France, and from France it spread throughout the world. But where did it all begin?

The word "biscuit" is French and means "twice baked". But it appeared in England, and this should not bother anyone, because in the Middle Ages the English spoke French better than their native language, and this was due to fashion. So, back to the biscuit. It appeared a very, very long time ago, no one can exactly name the date of its origin, because this delicacy was originally the main food on long-distance ships, and only sailors ate a biscuit. Why a biscuit? Yes, because butter is not added to the dough for it, and this is a protection against the appearance of mold on the product, which was almost the main culprit of food spoilage for sailors. Going on a long journey by sea or around the world, which often happened in the Middle Ages, and was associated with the study of the world, all team members knew what to eat for a long time. This happened until the court of Queen Elizabeth decided to try the food of the sailors. He was amazed by the taste of the biscuit, and from that time the delicacy began to fall on the tables of the nobility. Soon, the biscuit ceased to be the food of ordinary people, and the recipe for its preparation quickly spread around the world.

In the seventeenth century, the recipe came to France, and from there to other countries. From the biscuit began to create cakes and pastries immediately after the expansion of the colonies of England.

Franz Sacher and the King of Austria

It was these people who became the founders of the history of the Sacher chocolate cake, which is now familiar to almost everyone. Its recipe is so simple, and the delicacy is so impressive in its taste, that this dessert is as popular as new types of cakes.

"Sacher" was first served at the table of the king of Austria. And this thing happened like this: the prince was supposed to receive guests, and told his cooks that this evening a unique dish should be served that no one had ever tried before. The chefs were frightened, because the chief baker of the palace was very ill that day, and could not help. Only the young Franz Sacher decided to try his luck, and was not afraid of the possible wrath of the king. He baked the cakes, adding chocolate to them, and prepared the glaze - also on a chocolate basis. The cake turned out to be completely chocolate, fragrant, and orange jam became a special highlight of the masterpiece.

The cake became famous because of the chef, or did the chef become famous because of his chocolate creation? It does not matter, because since then "Sacher" has become a favorite delicacy not only of the Austrian king, but also of many people around the world. Today, even the most sophisticated sweet tooth will give preference to "Sacher", choosing from a variety of sweet desserts.

Napoleon

There are several assumptions about the origin of this delicacy. The first story of the Napoleon cake claims that itprepared in Naples, which is why it bears such a name. But we tend to trust the second version, thanks to which the cake is considered a symbol of the victory of Russian troops over the mighty Napoleon.

The history of the "Napoleon" cake is as follows: the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the defeat of the Napoleonic army near Moscow was approaching. The best chefs were invited to compose the menu. The most famous confectioners working in the homes of noble people worked on the cake recipe. As a result, "Napoleon" was baked, consisting of many cakes soaked in the most delicate cream. The shape was given a triangular one, so that associations with the famous Napoleonic cocked hat appeared. However, after the revolution, the masterpiece turned into an easy-to-prepare snack served in cheap taverns. His appearance became careless, and many housewives, when baking a cake, tried to cut it into pieces away from the eyes of the guests.

Now "Napoleon" is considered an ordinary cake, which is easy to prepare for home tea drinking. Each family has its own recipe for how to cook a delicious, tender "Napoleon".

This is such a complicated story of cakes. Today it seems to us that it is easy to bake them, but once the best minds worked on the recipes!