Haleigh Tieken

ISM- Period 7

"The Food Timeline: Cake History Notes." The Food Timeline: Cake History Notes. Food Timeline,
n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html>.

Cakes have evolved a lot since the 13th century. During this time, cakes were made with
dried fruits and berries as well as honey and nuts.
The Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word cake back to
the 13th century. It is a derivation of kaka, an Old Norse word.
Medieval European bakers often made fruitcakes and gingerbread.
These foods could last for many months.
Cakes that we are used to eating and baking didnt become prevalent till the 17th century.
This is when higher technology was invented, such as ovens, pans, and cake molds.
The reason cakes were mostly developed as a round shape often has to do with culture,
time period, and cuisine or food type. The round shape though is often associated with
ancient breads and cakes. Since the people of ancient times used to roll their dough in a
circle and lay it on heartstones, griddles, or pans heated by the fire.
"For the cakes of the seventeenth century onwards tin or iron hoops were increasingly
used and are mentioned with great frequency in the cookery books. These hoops were
similar to our modern flan rings but much deeper...The hoop was placed on an iron or tin
sheet, and a layer or two of paper, floured, was put at the bottom. The sides of the hoop
were buttered
Ancient breads and cakes were mostly used in celebrations or for religious purposes or
ceremonies. Circular shaped cakes were sometimes symbolic representing the circle of
life. However, sometimes these cakes were shaped to form that of an animal or mythical
creature.
Betty Crocker cake mix first came out around the late 1920s or early 1930s.
Other companies such as Continental Mills, the Hills Brothers Company, and Pillsbury all
started producing their own cake mix before World War II.
Dry baking mixes of all sorts were a product of the Industrial Revolution. They were
promoted by companies as convenience foods. The first dry mixes (custard powders)
were produced in England in the 1840s. Packaged mixes for gelatin (Jell-O, Royal, Knox)
were introduced in the late 19th century. Pancake mixes (Aunt Jemima) were available in
the 1890s. Our sources indicate packaged mixes for cake were introduced in 1920's.
Packaged mixes for biscuits (Bisquick/General Mills) were introduced in the 1930s.
I found this source very interesting due to the history of cakes and comparing how much
we have evolved since the ancient times of using dried fruit and nuts to the variety of
cake mixes we have now.

Haleigh Tieken
ISM- Period 7

"The Food Timeline: Cake History Notes." The Food Timeline: Cake History
Notes. Food Timeline, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html>.

The cake is the export of western European culture. It has very few connections to nonEuropean cakes.
In France, cake is described as gateau, and the origin of this word is still unknown.
Cake has become increasingly popular during the 19th century due to colonialism and
internationalization of western European countries such as the United Kingdom and
France as well as America.
Layered cakes in America are called queques and Spanish cultures
cakes are referred to as pastel.
All types of modern day cakes are derived from bread or products used
to make bread.
Distant civilizations normally used cakes for special occasions such as harvest season, a
village affair, or certain holiday celebrated by many in the community.
Cakes during the medieval days werent very sweet. Some contained the ingredients of
cheese, sausage, or herbs.
The galette or short bread is the type described above in connection with galette
bretonnaise and American sweet johnnycake.
This cake was often decorated by pressing shapes into the dough or forming it into a
certain structure.
Bread cakes and loaf cakes can be described as the savory and sweet cakes. An example
of the latter would be the common Italian foccacia covered with herbs, cheese, and sliced
tomatoes.
The first sweet cake made in the U.S is the American Moravian sugar cake. This is
sweetened yeast/bread with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.
These cakes are most liked bread because of the ingredients that make them rise in the
oven.
The Worcester loaf cake of New England, which was similarly baked in a
shaped cake pan, provided early Americans with an equivalent example. Its vernacular
name, however, indicates that originally (in the 1600s) it was baked round to resemble a
loaf of bread, and like bread, it was not made too sweet since it was served with jam or
preserves on ceremonial occasions such as funerals.
Plum pudding cake was popular in Europe during the Renaissance and Medieval times.

Haleigh Tieken
ISM- Period 7

The plum pudding cake was most commonly associated with Christmas dinners and
meals in England/ the United Kingdom.
This article had a lot of great information on the different types of cakes that were used
during the specific time periods in history.