Let Us Eat Cake

Cake, such a delicious treat that has been loved and drooled over for many centuries. Do you see the play on words there, the most famous line that was accused to have come from Marie-Antoinette was "Let them eat cake". Although there is not actual written documentation that she ever said those words. So let's talk a bit about cake!

Ancient Greeks called cake "plakous" which meant flat, their cakes were mainly made up of eggs, milk, nuts and honey. Eventually cakes became a thing in England but they were more of a bread then what we consider a cake, the difference between actual bread and a cake then was they would turn the cake over during the baking process to give it the flat shape on top and also it had a round shape.

History suggests that a sponge cake which is more traditional now and not as dense originated during the Renaissance possibly in Spain. I really love looking up the origins and history of beloved foods and treats that we have today. In my mind it is crazy to think that people decided to throw all those things together and bam you have something edible. I also really love the evolution of cake over time, the traditions that come with certain types of cakes. 

For example wedding cakes, the original tradition of having a "cake" at a wedding was in ancient Rome, where a sweeter bread was broken over the brides head and symbolized good luck. In the Medieval times a cake made from wheat was thrown at the bride to represent fertility (a waste of cake in my opinion... I wonder if they still ate it?). In the 1750's a man named William Rich wanted to impress his guests at his daughters wedding that he was the first person to start the tiered cake. In the 18th century is when saving the top tier became a tradition, the goal was to save it until the first year anniversary so that it would prevent them from marriage problems in the future. Cakes in the 18th century were made from fruits, nuts, flour and wine so that it could be preserved. 

I love looking at our wedding photos, but man I wish someone fixed that one piece of hair! It got really windy when we were taking pictures so my hair was a bit of a mess at the reception. We had a smaller cake for tradition and then cupcakes, which less face it are just mini cakes!

I have had a lot of fun over the last however many years making fun cakes, my skills have grown over time and I am always learning new things. I have had the pleasure to make a few cakes for events. The last few weeks have been busy for that and then in March I am making a wedding cake for friends at their wedding. That wedding will be fun because I am making a grooms cake and a brides cake, then a little one in the middle for them to cut into and take home to freeze for their 1 year anniversary. 

I am more of a buttercream, or "naked" cake kind of girl, I find fondant to be a real pain in the butt, but I have attempted it a few times. One of my favorites was a cake I did for Matt's (my husband) 30th bday, it was a combined cake because I was turning 30 as well. It was a chocolate cake that I cut into a 3 and a 0 and then covered the outside with Kit Kats and then filled it with candy on top. My son wanted a Mario cake for his 2nd birthday, that was fun to do as well and turned out pretty great. 

For Valentines day I made a peanut butter cheesecake layered cake, it was seriously heaven on a plate. I made a really nice spice apple cake for Thanksgiving time this year, that was a traditional cake in my family but I tweaked it a bit. 

I just love how cake can take so many forms, flavours and textures. It really is an amazing dessert and can be catered to any tastes and diet restrictions. 
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My sisters brother in law hired me to do their cake and cupcakes for their wedding 2 years ago. It was fun to do but man was it hot, it was August in the Okanagan where it can be stinking hot, that summer was not exception. I was so worried the icing would start melting. Thankfully they turned out great and I was pretty happy with it.
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Most recently I did a nice little pink cake for a baby girl baby shower. The funny thing with that cake is, I tried this one recipe that really was terrible, I was so mad and frustrated so I threw it out and started over at 10pm the night before. Then got up at 6am to finish it. What my husband keeps telling me....and I really should listen, is to stick to the good ones that I know will turn out when I am making them for events. I can experiment on my own at home and when I know it is right then go for it. So again...learning all the time!

This weekend I did a cake for my friends bridal shower, again this is cake attempt number two, not because the recipe was terrible but I was NOT happy with the way the decorations were turning out so I did it over, again at 10pm the night before. I am so grateful I did though because I was very happy with how it turned out and so was the gorgeous bride to be.

Well that is all I have to say today is just all about cake! Some of my pictures are quite a bit older, so I have learned better food photography skills over the years, but a good looking cake is still a good looking cake!

Have a happy Monday!
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