Summer Citrus Series: Berry Citrus Shortcake History
- Oct 12, 2017
- 3 min read
Bread is the predecessor to modern cake. In every ancient civilization, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Norse it was all the same. Granted these,” breads”, were more similar to a modern quick bread or a yeasted baked good, far more interesting than anything that you could pick up at your typical supermarket. They were made with yeast, nuts, honey, dried fruits and eggs. It wasn’t until the 1500’s that Chaucer shared that cakes made with flour, eggs, cream, butter, spices, nuts, fruit and honey were made for special occasions. Cake molds a.k.a. pans have been used to shape cakes since the 17th century. Often these cakes were purely for decoration, but by the 19th century the French were including a dessert course at the end of the meal. Sometimes cake was offered for the dessert course. This was also when the modern cake was born with the assistance of ingredients (refined wheat flour, refined sugar and chemical leaveners) and technology (better ovens and cake pans). As it always seems cakes were first only enjoyed by the upper echelons as a luxury but as its popularity grew it became available to the masses. Fast forward to the 21th century where although cake is for everyone, really elaborate cakes or cakes for special occasions are once again somewhat of a luxury item.
Many believe meringue was first used to cover a freshly baked cake in 1655 when a lady of means told her cook to cover the cake with a meringue made from egg whites and rose water with a little sugar and then bake the cake again to set the meringue. Although I have found no written account, I imagine that as technology improved (refrigeration, electric mixers and stovetops) and ingredients (refined sugars and flavorings) became more readily available pastry cooks were able to improve upon the meringue shell by adding in butter/cream and using other cooking methods. This is the only way that European buttercreams could have been invented. How else could a buttercream made with flavorings, butter, cream and powdered sugar have begun to replace meringue coatings on cakes in the 1900’s.
Since the beginning of time berries have been valued for their amazing flavor but also (and surprisingly) for health and medicinal purposes. The first strawberry was discovered in 234 B.C. in Rome. The strawberry isn’t actually a fruit but a part of the reproductive system of the flower. The “fruits” only function is to hold the ovaries (seeds) of the flower. Strawberry plants were found in North America and Europe. It was the combination of the American and European strawberry that created the garden/common strawberry. The raspberry originated in Eastern Asia. It been discovered that cave men ate raspberries. There are two main types of raspberries the Red (European) and the Black (American). They can be grown just about anywhere from the tropics to the arctic. The blueberry is 100 percent American. The Native Americans used the blueberry for everything food, medicine and fabric dye are a few examples. The blueberry most popular today was cultivated in the 20th century to be bigger, have a stronger color and be more prolific. Even with these improvements the wild blueberry still has a stronger/better flavor. Blackberries can be found in the Northern Europe and throughout the northern regions of North America. In fact the cultivated blackberry first appeared in North America as the Loganberry in 1880. The cultivated blackberry is a combination of the Loganberry, Youngberry and Boysenberry. Fun fact blackberries are unique because they are enjoyed by humans and wildlife equally.
Strawberry shortcake traditionally consists of a short dough biscuit layered with macerated berries and whipped cream. The first strawberry shortcake appeared in 1588 in an English cookbook called The Good Huswifes Handmaid for Cookerie in her Kitchen. Today berry shortcakes can range from a more traditional interpretation to simply a cake with berries incorporated into it.
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