Edi-Mology: Cake

Edi-mology is a new featurette on CakeSpy, designed to explore the etymology and meanings of the terminology behind the baked goods we all love so much. One thing is for sure: this hunger for knowledge can sure give you an appetite for baked goods!

Today's lesson: CAKE

Definition:

Cake: [keyk] noun a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring. (source: dictionary.com)

Etymology: 

This sweet term came to us circa the year 1230 from Old Norse kaka "cake," from the West Germanic "kokon-", from the Proto-Indo-European base "gag-" or "gog-", which meant "something round, lump of something." 

Surprise, surprise: Cake is not related to the Latin coquere ("to cook") as formerly supposed. Replaced its Olde English cognate (cognate = two words that have a common origin), coecel. 

Originally (until c.1420) it meant "a flat, round loaf of bread." (source: etymoline.com)

Of course, if you're wondering how it made the leap from referring to a flat, round loaf of bread to the delicious confection that we call cake today, here's a little excerpt from Foodtimeline.org:

According to the food historians, the precursors of modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid-17th century. This is due to primarily to advances in technology (more reliable ovens, manufacture/availability of food molds) and ingredient availability (refined sugar)....The first icing were usually a boiled composition of the finest available sugar, egg whites and [sometimes] flavorings...It was not until the middle of the 19th century that cake as we know it today (made with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast) arrived on the scene...Butter-cream frostings (using butter, cream, confectioners [powdered] sugar and flavorings) began replacing traditional boiled icings in first few decades 20th century. In France, Antonin Careme [1784-1833] is considered THE premier historic chef of the modern pastry/cake world. You will find references to him in French culinary history books.

(Note: if you're interested in more Cake Lore, you might also want to check out Leslie F. Miller's book Let Me Eat Cake) 

First known publication: 

"What man, I trow ye raue, Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake?" ["The Proverbs & Epigrams of John Heywood," 1562] (source: etymonline.com)

Idioms: 

A piece of cake: something easily done: She thought her first solo flight was a piece of cake.
Take the cake: a. to surpass all others, esp. in some undesirable quality; be extraordinary or unusual: His arrogance takes the cake.
b. to win first prize.

Let them eat cake: this is from Rousseau's "Confessions," in reference to an incident c.1740, when it was already proverbial, long before Marie Antoinette. The "cake" in question was not a confection, but a poor man's food. (source for these idioms: etymonline.com)

(CakeSpy Tip: If you're into idioms, bet you'll love Chocolate & Zucchini's "Edible Idiom" series!)

Taking the Cake: Trophy Cupcakes Announces New Bellevue Location!

It's official, friends: Trophy Cupcakes is expanding! They just announced the upcoming opening of their third location which will be in Bellevue. Here are the details from their Facebook page:

we had not planned on expanding this quickly but when the Bravern in Bellevue invited us to be a part of their amazing collection of shops, it was an offer we couldn’t refuse! With so many die-hard, commuting for Trophy Cupcakes, Eastside customers, how could we say no?!

The new Trophy Cupcakes location will be part of The Shops at the Bravern, an upscale shopping center which is scheduled to open in September. The new Trophy location is tentatively scheduled to open on September 12. Read more on the Trophy Cupcakes Facebook page!

Tweet All About It: CakeSpy Featured in Seattle Magazine!

Sweet treats and sweet tweets collide in this month's issue of Seattle Magazine, where CakeSpy gets a mention in Rebekah Denn's article about Seattle's food scene and Twitter!

Rebekah, who also writes the incredibly informative (and witty) site Eat All About It, has put together a very interesting article which ponders the phenomenon that is twitter, and how it is being used by foodies in Seattle (and beyond, really). 

And so what is twitter? A place to talk about the newest restaurant dishes? A place to dish about restaurants? Or is the appeal that "Unlike other forms of social media—or, ahem, real life—Twitter offers a six-degrees-of-separation equality between amateurs, professionals and celebrities"?

While the dust may have yet to settle, one thing is pretty clear: it's prompted many readers to tweet all about it! There's even a handy list of some of the coolest Seattle foodies to follow--CakeSpy is on the list (!) along with a seriously talented and entertaining crew including Shauna Ahern, Brian Canlis, Dana Cree, Maggie Dutton, Whitney Ricketts (who just became acquisitions editor at Sasquatch Books!), Traca Savadogo, Seattle Bon Vivant, Becky Selengut, Surly Gourmand, Lorna Yee, and of course, the grande dame of foodery everywhere, Ruth Reichl.

Check out the article here; or, to go right to the list of Seattle foodies that you should mos' def be following, click here! Of course, you should most definitely be following Rebekah via twitter and her site too.

What a Turon-On: A Delicious Find at Delite Bakery

Nope: this is not an eggroll. It's even better, because it's dessert.

Say hello to the turon, my most recent discovery at Delite Bakery in Seattle's Beacon Hill. What is a turon (or turrón, as I've seen it elsewhere), exactly? Well, according to Wikipedia,

Though many varieties exist, a typical turrón is plantain and jackfruit wrapped in a springroll wrapper, dipped in brown sugar, then fried. This somewhat resembles banana spring rolls. These are also known as banana fritters.

Oh, and these little confections (which cost only $1.45 each! a steal!) are also exceedingly delicious. Delite's version was made with banana, and had the most delicious slightly crackly, carmelly-sticky crust which gave way to the sweet taste of banana. The banana's texture was perfect: yielding, but not too mushy. A satisfying treat, and surprisingly for something fried, not too heavy--all in all, perfect for a hot day and definitely worth seeking out if you find yourself in the Beacon Hill area (especially easy now, thanks to the light rail).

Delite Bakery, 2701 15th Ave S., Seattle. Read more online here!

Of course, if you're not in the Seattle area, you might want to investigate making your own turon--this recipe looks pretty delicious! If you've got another to share, please leave a comment!