Cakes: How It All began!

One day when i was on my way to deliver a cake to one of my clients,  the driver of the commercial cab i boarded and I engaged in a discussion. He was actually astonished at the cuteness of the cake, he presumed it to be very expensive. Upon expressing his compliments for the job, he popped a question: Cake, how did it begin? What is the history of cakes? 

The history of cake dates back to ancient times. The first cakes were very different from what we eat today. They were more bread-like and sweetened with honey. Nuts and dried fruits were often added. According to the food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills. According to the food historians, the precursors of modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid-17th century. This is primarily due to advances in technology (more reliable ovens, manufacture/availability of food molds) and ingredient availability (refined sugar). Cakes are made from various combination of refined flour, shortening, sweetening, eggs, milk, leavening agent, and flavoring.

The most primitive people in the world began making cakes shortly after they discovered flour. In medieval England, the cakes that were described in writings were not cakes in the conventional sense. They were described as flour-based sweet foods as opposed to the description of breads, which were just flour-based foods without sweetening.

The terms "bread" and "cake" became interchangeable as years went by. The words themselves are of Anglo Saxon origin, and it's probable that the term cake was used for the smaller breads. Cakes were usually baked for special occasions because they were made with the finest and most expensive ingredients available to the cook. The wealthier you were, the more likely you might consume cake on a more frequent basis.

By the middle of the 18th century, yeast had fallen into disuse as a raising agent for cakes in favor of beaten eggs. Once as much air as possible had been beaten in, the mixture would be poured into molds, often very elaborate creations, but sometimes as simple as two tin hoops, set on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. It is from these cake hoops that our modern cake pans developed.

By the early 19th century, due to the Industrial Revolution, baking ingredients became more affordable and readily available because of mass production and the railroads. Modern leavening agents, such as baking soda and baking powder were invented.