Guam Bakery

the Wedding Cake

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:22:17 +0000

The history of wedding cakes is fascinating and dates back to the Romans. Though they did not use the type of cakes we are familiar with today. They actually used bread as the wedding cake. It also had a number of rituals associated with it down to the breaking of the bread above the couple or sometimes just above the groom.

During the middle ages wedding cakes were simple biscuits or scones. Wedding cakes did not begin to resemble the wedding cake we know today until about seventeenth century France, of course leave it to the French, when bakers started stacking wheat buns and coating them with icing.

The traditions and the histories are both fascinating and varied. Please google for more history of the wedding cake.

Yule Log…

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:38:17 +0000

It’s about that time of year and one of the special things we do here is a Yule Log. Obviously not the “traditional” or “real” log… but a replica of it… read below the excerpt from Wikipedia. The day after Thanksgiving we will be having yule logs along with some old favorites at the bakery stop on by to see our selection.

A Yule log is a large wooden log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.

Sometime in the late 18th to early 19th century, a facsimile of the Yule Log became a traditional French dessert. Usually, it is in the form of a large rectangular yellow cake spread with frosting and rolled up into a cylinder – one end is then lopped off and stood on end to indicate the rings of the “log. from Wikipedia

Fruit Cake

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:41:23 +0000

I have been told many a time that Fruit Cake is “blech”… apparently that means they don’t like it. I have been able to “remake” my fruit cake formula taken from mine, my mom’s, a couple books, and the cake bible. This formula isn’t your grandma’s fruit cake. It isn’t as heavy so you can’t exactly knock somebody out with it if you hit them on the head. This cake is lighter and moist and has a great mouthfeel and a good taste, not too sweet and not too heavy on the rum/brandy taste.

The oldest reference that can be found regarding a fruitcake dates back to Roman times. The recipe included pomegranate seeds. Pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. Honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added during the Middle Ages. Crusaders and hunters were reported to have carried this type of cake to sustain themselves over long periods of time away from home. [from Whatscookingamerica.net]

Strawberry Shortcake, is it or isn’t it?

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:59:45 +0000

We have been asked time and time again to make a strawberry shortcake; and because we need to be sure we ask do they mean a “shortcake” or a “strawberry chiffon cake”? The thing is that as time as gone on people have just come to accept the soft spongy vanilla cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries as being a “strawberry shortcake” which it is not.

A shortcake is defined by wikipedia as ”a sweet biscuit (in the American sense: that is, a crumbly, baking soda- or baking powder-leavened bread, known in British English as a scone), and a dessert made with that biscuit.” here’s a photo.

But this is what we all now accept as a strawberry shortcake. The point is whichever way you want to call it, it is by far the most popular request we have for cakes.

Brownies

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:41:45 +0000

A brownie or chocolate brownie is an American invented dessert or snack food: a semi-flat square or bar, made withchocolate and baked in a sheet pan, something like a dense chocolate cake.^[1]

Brownies’ density ranges from fudgy to cake-like. They may feature a variety of toppings and ingredients such as frosting, nuts, cream cheese, and chocolate chips.

Brownies are common lunchbox fare, typically eaten out of hand, and often accompanied by milk or coffee. They are sometimes served warm with ice cream (à la mode) or topped with whipped cream, especially in restaurants. [from wikipedia]