When did people first realized cakes were missing a little something, a little...frosting? What about whipped cream itself? Is there a difference between frosting and icing? Let's dive in to the history and culture of cake decorating and whipped cream!
History of Cake Decorating
Centuries ago, cakes and confectioneries were quite expensive and therefore traditionally reserved for special celebrations. Decorations varied according to culture and cuisine, but the earliest ones included nuts, seeds, and preserved/candied fruits. Later, sweet, colored marzipan (a paste made of almonds and sugar) traveled with the Crusaders from Arab cuisine to European banquet tables, with dragees, edible gold/silver leaf, and comfits following right after. Contemporary icings and frostings of sugar surfaced a bit later (more below).
Comfits, candies consisting of a nut, seed, or other center coated in sugar became a part of festivities for those who could afford them. The habit of making festive marchpanes - a large flat cake of marzipan - with comfits developed. Shortly afterwards, in the English kitchen, this became the topping for fruit cakes, giving the familiar form which distinguishes Christmas and wedding cakes - important symbols of sweetness and status. Like so many sweets, it became mostly for children, and may be the origin of the habit of decorating party buns with icing.
Icing is one thing, but now we have additions of color and other kinds of decoration on the icing. Early on, when making iced plumb cake was already a costly and labor-intensive process, further decoration was not really considered. In the 19th century, coats of arms and other embellishments were often put on cakes. Here, the icing was allowed to harden, then patterns were drawn with a pencil dipped in gum water and gold/silver leaf or Dutch metal. The icing was sometimes colored with the extract of cochineal, lake, or carmine by taking a little of the color and some sugar syrup, pounding them in a small marble/glass mortar, and mixing it with the icing. Cakes were ornamented with gum paste which could also be colored in shapes of flowers, festoons, trophies, etc.
In 1845, a Venetian cake was often iced on top and highly decorated with pistachios, grains of colored sugar, or wreaths of almond-paste leaves. It was sometimes formed of many layers of puff or fine crust in gradually smaller sizes, so there was a border that could be covered with colored icing, preserved fruits, tinted almonds, white/pink sugar candy, or anything else.
Fast forward to modern times, baking was popularized by the introduction of the temperature-controlled oven, promoting dessert presentations and ornamentation. Decorated cakes became prominent at important banquets and celebrations, a tradition that continues today. With the abundance of cake decorating shows on television, easily accessible cookbooks and youtube videos, the industry has continued to grow as it's no longer limited to professional chefs. A much larger group of amateur cake decorators and baking enthusiasts can decorate cakes, as the tools required are also more readily available. It's now a pastime anyone can pursue!
Early Beginnings of Icing
The name icing comes from 18th century England because the finished product, a glaze (glacé), was supposed to look like ice and the original sugar granules looked like ice pellets. The term frosting came about around the same time, and is the preferred word in American English (more below). Along with its name, the history of this sugary cake topper goes back centuries. According to "Wedding Cakes and Cultural History,” marchpanes were served at celebrations. At that time, sugar paste and marzipan were sometimes used to decorate elaborate cakes. These frosted marchpanes were the first instance of frosting a dessert.
In Medieval times, icing - a sprinkling of sugar - was added onto savory as well as sweet foods, such as fish pies. What about cakes? In the 16th century, a French chef baked the first frosted, multi-layered cake, and this popular use for icing was born. This first multi-layered cake needed icing to hold each layer and the entire cake together, so icing seemed to be used for a functional use rather than taste or pleasure. Later in 1655, Rebecca Price instructed her cook to "frost" a freshly-baked cake with a mix of beaten egg whites, rosewater, and sugar. Back then, sugar was applied either directly, or onto a layer of beaten egg whites, before the cake was returned to the oven so the icing could harden. These beaten egg whites have proven invaluable in the development of icing and are still used today in many recipes.
In general, the first icings were usually a boiled composition of the finest available sugar, egg whites, and sometimes flavorings beaten together in a mortar. This icing was poured on the cake, which was then returned to the oven under low heat for a while. When removed the icing cooled quickly to form a hard, glossy "ice-like" covering like a simple glaze. In the mid 1800s, frosting replaced the glazed icings. Frosting now generally has two specific and equally important functions: to embellish the cake with decorations, and to add an additional creamy, rich texture to the soft and sometimes spongy cakes. Butter-cream frostings (using butter, cream, confectioners, sugar, and flavorings) began replacing traditional boiled icings in first few decades 20th century.
In 1925, the first instance of ready-to-spread packaged icings were developed. They were sold in powder form, and only water was needed to be added before it was ready to spread.
Fun Fact: In 1840 Queen Victoria of England designed the multi-layered white icing wedding cakes still seen today. Originally, the whiteness of the icing revealed the amount and quality of sugar used, which also signaled wealth.
Frosting vs. Icing
So is there a difference between frosting and icing? Icing is generally a preparation of confectioner's sugar to coat sweet goods, with traditional glacé (made of icing sugar and water) and royal icing, and is considered a somewhat lighter glaze with a glossy sheen. Icing is generally a whisked mixture of egg whites and sugar syrup (sometimes with lemon juice) prepared over hot water that hardens when cooled. Frosting, on the other hand, is usually a cream of butter based topping with a fluffy, soft texture. It's generally much thicker and more buttery than the sugary, thin glaze of icing on cakes and pastries. Frosting is applied as a cake covering and filling and is known as "American frosting" outside the US. In America it is normal to used "icing" (and the verb "to ice") to describe either form of the confection. Thus, these two terms are generally only interchangeable in the US!
Whipped Cream Frosting
Whipped cream frostings are rich and sweet, made from whipping cream, sugar and flavoring. Whipped cream itself has been around since the 16th century in recipes that date back to 1549 in Italy and 1604 in France. It used to be called "milk snow." Up until the 19th century, recipes for whipped cream called for whipping the naturally separated cream with a willow or rush branch in place of the modern whisk.
However, the discovery itself is unknown - the process of whipping cream is easy enough to have been discovered by accident in many different places. One likely scenario is that while making butter, someone was in a hurry and whipped the cream rather than churned it. A folk tale also tells of a fast horse ride with a half filled container of cream that became "whipped" through all the jostling. The first well known reference to whipped cream was when the French chef Vatel created a variation with sugar to serve in honor of King Louis the XIV in 1661. Sugar and vanilla were commonly added then, while other popular flavorings included brandies or liqueurs and orange.
By the end of the 19th century, the industrial revolution had produced centrifuge-separated, high-fat cream. Now, cooks could buy the cream and whip it directly, without spending hours skimming milk. Pastry chefs used this to their advantage and created a variety of whipped cream desserts, shaped in molds, flavored with chocolate, coffee, fruits, and liqueurs. Whipped cream is commonly added to many desserts and drinks, such as brownies, apple pie, sundaes, hot chocolate, and - of course - cakes.
Fun Fact: The world record for the tallest dollop of whipped cream on a mug of hot chocolate is 7 1/4 inches.
Modern Twists
Cakes and cupcakes are now decorated in so many different ways. Some of the many ingredients of modern frostings include: fruit butters, custard, meringue powder, lemon curd, coconut, strawberry and raspberry puree, and many other exotic flavors past the plain chocolate or vanilla frostings of the past (although these classics are still popular as well). Butterscotch and caramel often top cakes as well. Professional bakers use rolled fondant, with its doughy consistency, and modelling chocolate for additional touches (which I hope to talk about in a later post!). From simple decorative patterns in the 19th century, modern-day cakes can stand ten feet tall, resemble animals/people/objects, have intricate painted designs, and even feature moving parts! Wedding and birthday cakes can be especially fancy, but now any home baker can attempt such decorations with accessible tools and information on the internet.
Next time you decorate "a cake's best friend," try a classic glaze icing versus a buttercream frosting and see which one you like better - or just use whipped cream frosting, you can't go wrong there!
Link to my chocolate ganache frosting recipe.
Link to my post on the chemistry & science behind whipped cream frosting.
Want to Learn More? (always cite your sources, kids)
Kommentare