How Did The Art Of Icing Cakes Begin?

A beautifully iced cake is now essential for celebrating those special occasions in life. The range of designs is limitless, and coming up with a theme is all part of the fun! It is amazing to see your idea transformed into an exquisite confection that looks almost too good to eat. But when did the art of cake decorating begin?

It seems that there is no definitive answer to this question. Some sources say that the first decorated cakes appeared during the reign of Elizabeth I. Icing as we know it today was not used, but a coating of almond paste, similar to a marzipan.

During the reign of Charles II, it is believed that buns were glazed with a crust of sugar to make then tastier and more attractive. This seemed to open the floodgates, and soon cake decorating was a respectable art for the greatest chefs in Europe. By the 1760s, recipes for icing as we know it today began to appear.

According to the Architectural Review, cakes and puddings have even influenced the design of the cities we live in! The French chef Marie-Antoine Carême is particularly noted for his skill at creating spun sugar temples, pyramids, and castles.

He rose from a humble kitchen boy to become a prototype celebrity chef, and his masterpieces were strictly for display rather than human consumption. He took as his inspiration the designs and drawings of architects, and elevated cake decoration to an artform.

The article even suggests the elaborate creations of elite bakers led to the development of Gothic Revival architecture, with its intricate turrets, pinnacles and curves. A famous example is Horace Walpole’s Disney-esque Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, London. Now that would certainly make a wonderful idea for a wedding cake!

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