Wedding Cake ♥

The Wedding Cake is one of the biggest traditions involved in a wedding. They were even around before elaborate icing was invented. Wedding cakes can date back as far as roman times when it was custom for the cake to be broken over the brides head! That tradition seemed to die out though! As weddings became more of an ordeal so did the cake.
Wedding cakes differ depending on personal taste of course, but also where they are in the world.

The French believe the Wedding Cake tradition began in their country, but no one is really sure. In France, wedding cakes are sometimes in the form of a croquembouche. This style is popular in Belgium as well. A croquembouche is basically a large cone structure made of cream filled pastries, like profiteroles.
image from media.onsugar.com

Cakes and their Countries ...

There are so many different types of cake in the world that the list is endless. New recipes and ideas are constantly being created in many types of cultures, climates and societies. Here is a list of some cakes that are known to originate from these countries!

Cheesecake - Greece
Tiramisu - Italy
Pound Cake - Britain
Pavlova - New Zealand
Angel Food Cake - Pennsylvania
Black Forest Cake - Germany
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake - Hawaii
Trifle - England
Chocolate Brownies - America
Orange Cake - Spain

Recipe ♥

Victoria Sponge Cake

The Victoria Sponge Cake was named after Queen Victoria of Britain, and it is said that she enjoyed a slice of sponge cake with her afternoon tea. This cake traditionally consists of two layers of sponge with jam in the middle. A layer of whipped cream is often added as well, depending on what you like!

The Victoria Sponge first became extremely popular in Britain after hosts followed Queen Victoria's lead and served it at tea parties. It is now recognised all around the world and there have been many different takes on it. It is quite a simple recipe to follow!

Ingredients

• 200g caster sugar
• 200g softened butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 200g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk
• good quality jam, strawberry
• whipped cream
• icing sugar, to decorate

Method

1. Heat oven to 190'C (fan - 170'C). Grease and line two 20cm round baking tins.
2. Beat all of the cake ingredients together in a large bowl until the batter is smooth, creamy and soft. Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Divide the mixture evenly into the two tins and bake for about 20 minutes. (Until golden and has reached a spongy texture). Put them onto a cooling rack.
4. When the sponge has cooled spread a generous amount of the jam onto one half. On the other one spread a generous amount of the cream. Gently put the two together and sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Image from elaines-cakes.com

recipe from bbcgoodfood.com

Where it started..

The English word 'cake' can be traced back to 13th century and it comes from 'kaka', a Norse word (from the viking times). Back then bakers often made gingerbread and fruitcakes as they could last a long time.

With that said, cake has been around for a lot longer, and it is believed that the first ones date back to the Ancient Egyptians. However these were more like sweetened bread with added nuts and dried fruits.

When most of us think of cake we picture round ones with icing. This tradition started around the 17th century in Europe.

Introduction

Hey, my name is Gillian and I'm doing this blog for my environmental studies class. I have chosen to do my blog on cake and the geography behind it. (: