THE STORY OF THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS CAKE
- 17 May 2019
Are you excited as we are?
Is the thought of the Christmas cakes making you drool?
It’s that time of the year! The season where Christmas carols echo in the air, the season where Christmas trees are dressed in bright lights, the season where the aroma of freshly baked cakes lure our taste buds, the season where the whole family comes together to celebrate the joy of giving.
Before devouring the classic Christmas cakes, have you ever wondered How the practice of baking cakes on Christmas came into existence? We can hear some of you thinking, it is because Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. That might be a reason if the practice of cutting cakes existed in that time period but there is more to cutting cakes on Christmas. Let us tell you the story.
THE STORY
500 years ago, people did not have the luxury of sugar and dried fruits. These ingredients were scarce. So the Christmas cake did not exist back then. Families wanted to do something special to share the joy on this day. So on Christmas, they added very small amounts of dried fruits and plums to the usual thick meaty porridge they had every day. It helped them fill the empty stomachs after a long day of fasting. In some households’ fruits were dried in summer and saved for the mid-winter feast.
18th century and 19th century:
As time went by, In the 18th century, sugar and dried fruits available in large quantities. Improvising is a part of human nature, isn’t it? The porridge was improvised, the usual meat, oatmeal, and vegetables were replaced by sweeter ingredients. The traditional thick meaty porridge was changed into a rich pudding, wrapped in a cloth and boiled. In upper-class houses, were ovens were a part of their luxurious kitchens, the practice of baking these puddings became common. These cakes were made on the Sunday before Christmas eve which was nicknamed as the Stir-up Sunday because of the puddings.
Quite an improvement right? Wait till you hear the next part, people started using alcohol and spices as preservatives for the puddings. This provided the cake/pudding extra time to mature and helped the spices to mend with the cake and add more flavor. In the 19th century, as the standard of living became a bit better, ovens became a piece of common equipment in all kitchens and the practice of baking flourished.
As baking became more common so did customization of the Christmas cake. The cake was a mix of the best things from the pantry
Dried fruits
Exotic spices
Well-Aged spirits
Every household has a style of customizing the cake. Some added icing while others decorated the cake with fruits. In spite of the customization and the many hands that baked, the Christmas cake added sweetness to a special day. It signified the joy of celebration as a family.
The next time before you take a bite of the delicious classic dark beauty dressed in dried fruits thinks of its rich history and the journey it has been through and remember that how matter how it changes, no matter what is added to the mixture, it symbolizes the joy of sharing and celebrating together. Like the ingredients of the cake each one of us is different in our own way but when we embrace our differences and blend with each other, life can be sweet as the classic Christmas cake! Enjoy the season of Sharing with your fellow humans!