Spice cake

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Spice cake
Spice cake with seafoam frosting
TypeCake
Main ingredientsCake base, spices
VariationsMaple spice cake

Spice cake is a type of cake that is traditionally flavored with a mixture of spices.[1] The cake can be prepared in many varieties. Predominant flavorings include spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg.[2][3][4]

Description[edit]

In Medieval cuisine, a spice cake, also called spice bread, was a flavorful, sweetened yeast bread.[5][6] They were typically sweetened with honey, as sugar was largely unavailable in Europe until the 1600s, and cooked over an open fire.[5] By the 17th century, spice cake was something similar the modern raisin bread, usually having spices, sugar, dried fruit, eggs, and butter in the yeast dough.[6] The sizes ranged from individual buns to ordinary loaves to the great cake, which was a very large cake, sometimes weighing more than 50 pounds (25 kg) that was baked for holidays and important celebrations.[6] (Because these cakes often included both dried fruit and spices, most of them can also be classified as fruit cakes.[6])

With the development of the sugar trade, spice cakes were still popular, and were coated in white icing on special occasions.[7] French chefs hired by Charles II of England in the mid-1600s baked elaborate spice cakes coated in white icing.[7] This decoration style became popular for wedding cakes, and having a white coating over a darker cake was the first meaning of a white cake.[7][8]

The modern spice cake, a type of butter cake or layer cake, appeared in the latter part of the 19th century.[6] Brown sugar, molasses, and a generous quantity of dark-colored spices were used to produce a dark brown cake.[6] By the middle of the 20th century, various kinds of spice cake were the second most popular cake flavors in the US.[6]

Variations[edit]

A maple spice cake is an American variation that adds maple syrup or maple flavoring. The recipe was a New Hampshire specialty that started at the beginning of the 19th century. It often tastes like cinnamon or apple cider, and is a fall classic.[9][10][11]

Sometimes, spice cake is combined with layers of lighter colored cakes, to produce a multi-flavored, multi-colored cake.[12] Names for this included ribbon cake, metropolitan cake, Neapolitan cake, Prince of Wales cake, and Harlequin cake.

During times of food rationing or to keep costs down, spice cakes lent themselves towards replacing expensive ingredients, such as eggs and butter, with more economical choices, such as pureed fruit.[6]

Marble cake is sometimes made with spice cake for the darker colored batter.[6]

  • Spice cake with bananas
    Spice cake with bananas
  • Marbled spice cake
    Marbled spice cake
  • Kruidkoek
    Kruidkoek
  • Gingerbread
    Gingerbread
  • Applesauce cake
    Applesauce cake

Notable versions[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ann Vogel (2008). "Making a Cake by the Book". Kitsap Sun-The E.W. Scripps Co. Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  2. ^ Barber, Katherine, ed. (2004). "Spice cake". Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2nd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-541816-3.
  3. ^ "Pecan Spice Layer Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting". Gourmet Magazine-Epicurious-Condé Nast Digital. 2007. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  4. ^ York, Patricia S. (20 November 2023). "The Old-Fashioned Spice Cake Recipe I Make Every Fall". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  5. ^ a b Hahnemann, Trine (2015). "Scandinavia". In Goldstein, Darra; et al. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Schmidt, Stephen (2013). "Cake". In Smith, Andrew F. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
  7. ^ a b c Woloson, Wendy A. (2013). "Weddings: Wedding Cake". In Smith, Andrew F. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
  8. ^ Wilson, Carol (2015). "Wedding cake". In Goldstein, Darra (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
  9. ^ Maple Spice Cake (excerpt from The Presidents). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007. ISBN 9780787988869. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  10. ^ Vergara, Deniz (2021-07-31). "Applesauce Spice Cake With Maple Glaze Recipe". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  11. ^ Vergara, Deniz (11 April 2024). "Blender-Made Batter Equals an Effortless Spice Cake". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  12. ^ a b Reber, Patricia Bixler (2015). "Layer cake". In Goldstein, Darra; et al. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6. The Dutch-Indonesian cake Spekkock or lapis legit is made by baking very thin layers in succession to form a tall, multilayered spice cake.
    Although layer cakes of a single color were often baked, two-layer cakes could combine silver (white) and gold (yellow), or light and dark (spice and chocolate). Three layers might have a contrasting color sandwiched between two matching cakes, while four layers could feature completely different colors, as in the Harlequin Cake.
  13. ^ Everett-Heath, John (2020). "Banbury". Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names (6 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780191905636.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-190563-6.
  14. ^ a b Hudgins, Sharon (2015). "Gingerbread". In Goldstein, Darra; et al. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
  15. ^ Wallace, Emily (2015). "Cane syrup". In Goldstein, Darra; et al. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
  16. ^ a b van der Sijs, Nicoline (2015). "The Netherlands". In Goldstein, Darra; et al. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
  17. ^ Lockwood, Yvonne R.; Lockwood, William G.; Kraig, Bruce (2013). "Midwestern Regional Cookery". In Smith, Andrew F. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
  18. ^ Ayto, John (2012). "Singing hinny". The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food & Drink (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-964024-9. OCLC 796276333.


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