History of Birthday Cakes

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History of Birthday Cakes Birthday Cakes date back to ancient times, however the cakes were very different then. According to food historians, ancient Egyptians were the first to show evidence of advanced baking skills. The ancient Greeks made round or moon shaped honey cakes or bread and took it to the temple of Artemis -the Goddess of Moon. A later tradition of Birthday cakes started in Germany in the middle Ages. Sweetened bread dough made in the shape of baby Jesus, in swaddling cloth, was used to commemorate his birthday. This special birthday cake later re-emerged in Germany as a Kinder Fest or birthday celebration of a young child. Germans also baked another special kind of cake, baked in layers, called Geburtstagorten. This was sweeter than the coarse and bread like cake that was usually made at that time. During medieval times in England people used to place symbolic objects like coins, rings and thimbles in the batter of the cake. It was believed that those who found the coin cake would be wealthy while the unlucky finder of the thimble would never marry. If the cake fell while baking it was considered to be a bad omen and signified bad luck for the person in the coming year. Around the middle of 17th century, Europeans had made considerable advancements in the art of making cakes. They began to make the precursor to the modern cakes of today. This was mainly due to the development of technology that made available reliable ovens, food moulds and refined sugar to make icing. Round cake hoops were developed of wood or metal to shape and mould the cakes. The first icing that was used on cakes was made from a boiled composition of finest available sugar, egg whites and flavors. In those days icing was poured on the cake, which was then put back into the oven for a while. When the cake was taken out, the icing cooled quickly to form a hard glossy ice-like covering. Molded cakes and fancy ices reached their zenith in Victorian times. The art of baking cakes kept progressing through the ages, and it was not until the middle of the 19th century that the cake we know of today developed. The taste and appearance of the cake was enhanced with extra-refined white flour and the use of baking powder instead of yeast.
	The 'World's Largest Birthday Cake' at Cashman Center in Las Vegas, Nevada May 15, 2005. The 130,000-pound cake, made as part of the City of Las Vegas' Centennial celebration, was 102-feet long, 52-feet wide and 20 inches tall, and took 500 volunteers 14 hours to construct and decorate. A Sara Lee Foods facility in Tarboro, North Carolina baked the 30,240- half-sheet cakes needed for the project.
Today many specialist areas of cake making and decorating have emerged from simple beginnings. Cakes are now required to carry so much of a wow factor. Very many different specialist skills of cake decorating have emerged.
Traditional Royal Icing	Hand Crafted Sugar Flowers
Sugar Paste Covered Cakes	Sugar Modeled Figures
	Birthday Cakes for Kids A Birthday is the most special occasion for a child and he or she looks forward to it for months in advance. Hence the preparation for such an occasion should be special too. Nowadays kids prefer theme parties and the maximum thought goes into a birthday cake. The sky is the limit when it comes to opting for a themed birthday cake with a never-ending selection of different styles available.
Why Candles? The tradition of placing candles on Birthday cakes is attributed to the early Greeks, who placed lit candles on cakes to make them glow like the moon. They believed the smoke of the candle carried their wishes and prayers to Gods. Some say the modern day use of Birthday candles originated in Germany where people used to place a large candle in the center of the cake to symbolize ‘the light of life’. Today people place candles on Birthday cakes and make a silent wish before blowing them out. It is believed that blowing out all the candles in one breath means the wish will come true and the person will enjoy good luck in the coming year. Nowadays birthday candles come in innovative and imaginative designs and styles. The range of candles available in the market is immense for children.
Where did the song “Happy Birthday to You” originate from? The very popular ‘Happy Birthday to You’ song has become an indispensable part of birthday celebrations across the world. Today, the song is over a hundred years old. The story of the song has a sweet beginning though later it was bogged by controversy. It is still not certain who wrote the lyrics of the song ‘Happy Birthday to You’. Happy Birthday song is considered to be the joint work of two American sisters, Mildred Hill, a schoolteacher in Louisville Kentucky Kindergarten and Dr Patty Hill who was a Principal in the same school. The song that was originally composed by the two sisters was entitled ‘Good Morning to All’ and bore the recognizable melody. The tune of the song was first published in 1893 in the book, ‘Song Stories for the Kindergarten’. It credited Patty Hill for the lyrics and Mildred Hill for the music. Over the years the song became extremely popular in schools across the US. The melody of this song was passed into the public domain and it is therefore safe to hum it in public without permission. It is said that forty years later, Patty Hill came up with the words, ‘Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear name, Happy Birthday to You’. The entire song was published in 1935. The second version to this story is that the ‘Good Morning to All’ song was published by Dr Patty Hill and at that time a gentleman, Robert H. Coleman published the same song, without the sisters' permission but with a second verse, the now popular ‘Happy Birthday to You’. The addition of the Birthday verse popularized the song and over the years the‘Good Morning to All’ verse composed by the Hill sisters disappeared. The Birthday Song gained it's popularity in the late 1930s when it was sung in ‘As Thousands Cheer’ - a Broadway Production. Today, the Guinness Book of World Records recognizes ‘Happy Birthday to You’ as one of the three most popular songs in English language. The other two being ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and ‘For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.’ The Birthday Song is popular all over the world and has been translated into dozens of languages. The English version of the song is more popular and is sung even where English is not a primary language. After Mildred Hill died in 1916, Dr Patty Hill took Coleman to court over the copyright issue of the song. It was proved in court that Mildred and Patty owned the melody. Therefore the family became the legal owners of the song and were entitled to royalties whenever it was sung for commercial purpose. Ownership of the song swapped hands in a multi-million dollar deal in 1989. The current copyright of the song is owned by Warner Communications. They purchased the copyright for more than $28 million dollars. The copyright of the song has been extended several times and is now not due to expire until at least 2030.It therefore follows that one cannot use the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics for profit without paying royalties. In other words unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal. It means that every time you hear the song sung on TV or radio it means the royalties are being paid to the Warner Communications.