Birthday cakes make the day complete. It is believed that the trend of cutting cakes on birthdays was started in the middle ages, when the first birthday cake was made in Germany. Kinderfest was the name given to the celebration. Many theories also suggest that birthday celebrations were first invented by the ancient Egyptians. It is also believed that the very first cakes were more bread like, and sweetness was added much later. Like everything else, different ideas and innovations were incorporated to the birthday cakes; icings and frostings with piped designs etc.
Evolution and different types of birthday cakes
Starting from plain sponge cakes and ending in super decorative fondant cakes, the journey of birthday cake evolution is filled with various recipes and flavors. The most common types of birthday cakes that have always been liked by everyone include:
- Yellow butter cake: It is mostly a favorite in evening tea parties. Simple to make, it can be frosted with any flavor of choice.
- Red Velvet cake: These days we get to see red velvet lovers a lot. This has been a good choice for birthday cakes mixing buttermilk in cocoa flavor being the basic technique for color enhancement.
- Carrot cake: Many birthday cakes are ordered with carrot flavor being the preferred choice. It is like by most, frosted with classic cream cheese dressing. Oil is used as the main ingredient instead of butter.
- Chiffon cake: Takes it origin from the United States. It is found to be light and airy.
- Genoise cake: This name is used in Italy or France to represent sponge cake. The main trick is to beat egg yolks, sugar and egg whites together until mousse like consistency is reached and the flour is folded in.
- Angel food cake: It is considered to be the lightest cake as it uses only whipped egg whites for leavening sans any added fat. Its origin is believed to be the United Kingdom.
- Flourless cakes: Very popular these days are the different variety of cheese and mousse cakes.
- Fruit cake: It’s still a popular choice for birthday cake among the health-conscious lot. It is made with lots of dried fruit, nuts and spices.
- Black forest cake: One of the commonest cakes for birthday celebration takes its origin from Germany. It is seen to consist of layers of chocolate with cherries and whipped cream frosting in between those layers.
- Fondant cakes: The most popular among birthday cakes these days are the customized fondant cakes that give the advantage of adding neat figurines, shapes and decorations on the cake. Mostly kids enjoy their favorite superhero figures being made with fondant.
Tradition of using candles on birthday cakes
As we all know that blowing candles before cutting the birthday cake is considered mandatory, where did it all start from? It is believed that ancient Greeks started this tradition. Their round shaped cakes depicted the moon to honor the goddess of moon, hence, the candle lights showcased the moon’s glow.
Singing the birthday song after cutting the cake
There is no fun without singing the birthday song after cutting the cake. Originally the song was composed in 1893 by two sisters from Kentucky. The name of that song was “Good morning to all” which had the same tune as the birthday song. The wordings of this song were changed in around 1910 for birthdays.
Online learning trends
A great way to make the best use of technology has emerged, allowing cake lovers to learn and experiment with their baking skills at home. Nowadays its quite common that people are baking birthday cakes at home, with decorative accessories and baking items readily available in the market. Online classes allow you to enhance your skills and are offered worldwide.
Summary
Birthday cakes have been used since the middle ages and the trend has evolved with time. Different varieties of birthday cakes have been introduced, intermingling with various baking techniques. From plain sponge cakes to modern 3D fondant cakes, the passion of celebrating birthdays with the fanciest cakes has only increased. Having your