What makes a Birthday Cake so delightful? Is it the shine of the candles in a darkened room? The complementary theme song? The Birthday wish? Yes, all that together makes the Birthday cake so special. But along with all these, what makes a perfect Birthday is the flavor and emergence of the Birthday cake. Cake has varied names in western countries. Gateaux is a French word for cake and the Germans label cake as Torte.
Birthday cakes usually depend on the theme of the Birthday party. A Birthday cake in Western countries is usually a pastry or a dessert or anything sweet which is decked with lighted candles and the person's name followed by a little wish is served to the honored person.
Cutting of the Birthday cake is a custom followed by people all over the world. It is traditionally performed at the beginning of the party and adds a glee to the entire ceremony as well as makes the honored person happy. A belief is there in the cutting of the cake rite. The birthday boy or the Birthday girl makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles decorated on the cake. If all the candles can be blown out with one breath then it is believed that the desired wish will come true but in some cases when the honored person fails to perform the act, he never quits expecting that his wish will be fulfilled.
Sponge cakes are one of the most favored food on Birthdays and Chocolate is the popular flavor. Sponge cake is basically a soft cake made of wheat flour, sugar, baking powder and eggs. It is made by beating the egg yolk with castor sugar until they are light and creamy, then carefully separating and folding the flour and raising agent into the mix. Finally the egg whites are whipped in a separate bowl until firm and then carefully folded into the yolk mixture. Alternatively, the whole eggs are whisked together with the sugar either in an electric mixture or over a pan of simmering water. When the mixture has thickened sufficiently the flour is folded in. The combined mixture then poured into the chosen cake tin and baked.
Chocolate is the most popular and most wanted essence and it is available in many types. Some of them are: Unsweetened Chocolate which is also known as bitter chocolate- it is pure chocolate liquor, Dark Chocolate- it has no milk in it, sometimes it is called as plain chocolate, Milk Chocolate- it is made up of milk powder or condensed milk, Semisweet Chocolate- it is dark chocolate with high sugar content and usually used for cooking purposes, Bittersweet Chocolate- a chocolate liquor consists of sugar, more cocoa butter, lecithin and vanilla. It tastes less sweet than semisweet chocolate, Couverture- this is very rich in cocoa butter and often used by the professional pastry chefs, White Chocolate- confection based on cocoa butter without cocoa solids. These are some of the well known chocolate varieties typically used on sponge cakes to add to its spice.
Flavors such as mint, orange or strawberry are sometimes added to the cake. The birthday cake should be prepared in accordance with the age of the birthday boy or birthday girl and the invitees. It should be fused with the theme of the party. Commensurate the shape and essence of the cake applying the listed flavors and watch your party mood beaming with joy.
