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Transcribed

The Story of the Christmas Cake

THE STORY OF THE Chistnas depositphotoo THe Christmas Cake as we know it today comes from two customs which became one around 1870 in Victorian England. Originally there was a porridge, the origins of which go back to the beginnings of Christianity. Then there was a fine cake made with the finest milled wheatflour, this was baked only in the Great Houses, as not many people had ovens back in the 14th century. PLUM PORRIDGE Originally the Plum porridge that people ate on Christmas Eve after a day's fasting was gradually changed into Christmas Pudding. Gradually they began to put spices, dried fruits, honey etc that made it so stiff that they would dunk it in boiling water and boil it for many hours. This turned into Christmas Pudding. te PLUMCAKE 16th century, it became Later, around the popular to add butter, replace the oatmeal with wheatflour, add eggs to hold it together better. This became boiled plumcake. In the big houses, during the Easter, a rich fruitcake recipe was made with a topping of what we now call marzipan or almond paste. A similar cake was baked for the Christmas festivities, but whereas the Easter one was a plain cake with almonds, the Christmas one had dried fruits in season and spices. Did You Know? Such things were first brought to Europe and Britain particularly, by the Crusaders coming back from the wars in the Holy Land in the 12th Century. TWELFTH NIGHT CAKE Telfth night on the Oh January. Twelfth night is on the the traditional last day of the Christmas season.. These cakes were slightly different in different countries, and also at different social levels. and has been for centuries Great Houses Smaller Houses In the Great Houses, into the cake was baked a dried Bean and Pea. Among the guests whoever got the Bean became King of the Revels for the night. The lady who got the Pea was his Queen for the evening. In smaller homes, the cake was a simple fruitcake, with a bean in it, which was given to guests during the twelve days of Christmas. Whoever got the bean was supposed to be a kind of guardian angel for that family for the year. Did You Know? This was observed until recently in Poland in fact. In Britain the cake was baked as part of the refreshments offered to the priest and his entourage who would visit on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, to bless each house in the parish. Did You Know? In Mallorca, the main island of the Spanish Balearics Islands, they have a similar custom which takes place at Easter. THE ARRIVAL OF THE CHRISTMAS CAKE Confectioners were left with figurines and models for Twelfth cake and also lost revenue after the feast was banned. So they began to bake a fruitcake snowy scenes, or even flower gardens and Italian romantic ruins. These they sold not for the 5th January, but for December Christmas parties. And it was thus that we developed the Christmas cake. BOILED PLUM CAKE FOR THE COLONIES. People in Britain began to send boiled fruitcakes to their families Boiled cakes lasted more than who had gone to the new world colonies - Australia, Canada etc. baked cakes, so it was easier to send the boiled ones; as in 19th century it took days to reach a country. Did You Know? These cakes were usually sent as part of a Christmas Hamper of food and presents, and this way the tradition of Christmas cake, often eaten with a piece of cheese or apple |pie, became known all over the world. In the 1890's a German immigrant opened a cake bakery in a small town, and began to bake cakes. This cake was based on a traditional Christmas cake, but contained many of the fruits which were grown in the Americas. Did You Know? This cake is now sent out to countries all over the world by the bakery, and is probably the most popular Christmas Cake today! Source : http://www.christmasarchives.com/christmascake.html Designed by: Info Graphic DESIGN TEAM

The Story of the Christmas Cake

shared by infographicdesi... on Dec 23
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From the ancient Palm Pudding to the Rich Fruit Cake now, Christmas Cake has evolved since the ages. This Infographic created by InfoGraphic Design Team will tell you the story of Christmas Cake. Enjoy !

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