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Home , Gugelhupf, King cake, Lardy cake, The English Huswife

Digesting the complexities of in Australian society - after a long and textured British-European history

The how and why of cake consumption in contemporary Australia

~ A Research Project by Jessica Graieg-Morrison a1641657 ~

1. Introduction

Answering the questions of how and why people choose and consume particular foods is a complex undertaking. This essay will attempt to examine the historical development of cake to determine its role on the plates and in the minds of Australian consumers. Cake is, some argue, an unnecessary food; however, there are many cultural and social events that, seemingly, cannot occur without it present. Why has this mixture of ‘special’ ingredients so long enchanted humans and become central to numerous celebrations and cultural rituals? From ancient times sweet creations have been developed using available resources, with technological development and world travel contributing to the significant development of cake offerings available today. Whatever the age, it is cake that is used to bring people together in celebration as communities mark important cultural and personal events. As time passed and people moved around the globe, cake recipes were enriched with new meanings, ideas and symbolism. As a relatively young country, Australia was taught to bake and eat cake by European immigrants, particularly the British. Our lack of a unique cultural cuisine has seen the adoption of eating patterns from a range of international sources. Sifting through stories about cake from Great Britain, mainland Europe, America and, finally, Australia, this essay will seek to examine the cultural phenomenon of cake, particularly in contemporary Australian society.

2. What is cake?

The word ‘cake’ has two slightly different, albeit related, definitions. It can be used appropriately to describe “a comparatively small flattened sort of , round, oval, or otherwise regularly shaped, and usually baked hard on both sides by being turned during the process”, with Scottish as a suitable example (ODE, 2014). However, a cake in modern “Anglo-American cookery” (Weaver 2003, 288) is understood to be “a web of , eggs, and (or shortening), a delicate structure that readily disintegrates in the mouth and fills it with easeful flavour … they serve as a base for even sweeter and richer , creams, icings, jams, syrups, , and liqueurs … [and are] often elaborately shaped and decorated” (McGee 2004, 554). As is apparent from the first definition, the concept of cake has always been closely linked to that of bread. Davidson notes that as bread is “the progenitor of [, and buns]” (1999, 123) the “frontiers between” (1999, 123) these closely linked foodstuffs have always been somewhat indistinct. As far back as the Ancient Egyptians we have records of honey-sweetened bread (Davidson 1999, 123), with bakers from the classical period adding both “eggs and butter … to basic bread to give a consistency we would recognize as cake-like, and this was [also] frequently sweetened with honey” (Ayto, 2012). The first English cakes “were [also] virtually bread” (Ayto, 2012), and had in common with their ancient relatives their shape; all were “cake[s] also in form” (ODE, 2014). Today, the English word cake has evolved “to cover a number of [flour or meal based] preparations also generally categorized as sweet and normally considered dessert or special occasion foods” (Weaver 2003, 288). Although their history and evolution is somewhat different (Humble 2010, 10); today’s French gateau, old Austro-Hungarian (now perhaps German Torten) also fit this broader category.

3. How did (Australian) cake evolve? a) From the Ancients (from Bread)

It appears that humankind have been bread, of sorts, almost as long as they have been involved in agriculture (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 201). The very “staff of life” (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 207, Mintz 1985, 75, Burnett in Minzt 1985, 127), in a world where “hunger has always existed” (Jacob 1944, 141), it is interesting to note how readily, in times or situations of plenty, bread was enriched for use in celebration and sacred occasions. We have records that the Ancient Sumerians shaped and baked enriched with dried fruit, nuts, oil, honey and spices – of which “the most exquisite ones were reserved for the kings and gods” (Krondl 2011, 85). Similarly, the Greeks had their “‘plakon’, usually translated simply as ‘cake’, … made of oat flour, cream cheese and honey [and a large variety of other delicacies] … sweetened with honey and spiced” (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 203). These were often “made to be eaten on particular occasions: [such as] at the theatre (stolytes and artocras, cakes rich with ), or during religious festivities” (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 203). Several of these were used in worship and offered to Demeter and Persephone, Iris and Artemis (Toussaint- Samat 2009, 203). While the Romans initially took less interest in baking than the Greeks (Toussaint- Samat 2009, 204), they did however use “sacrificial cake[s called] … the libum, made with cheese and eggs” (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 204) in worship of the gods, given as an offering. Beyond symbolic or religious purposes, “[m]ost [cakes in the classical era] were regarded as a luxurious delicacy, to be eaten with fruit after the main course at a special meal” (Hornblower & Spawforth, 2005). In both classical cultures cakes played an important role in wedding rituals. In Greece they were “made by the bride’s own fair hands” (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 206) and given as a gift to her new husband. In Roman weddings, a cake of spelt wheat flour was “offered [by the couple] to Jupiter Capitoline … [and it was burned to] … mark[] the fact that the woman was placed under the manus (jurisdiction) of the man, and was evidence that the marriage was legal and sacred” (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 206). Another interesting ancient precursor to the modern cake, especially light sponge-style cakes that began to emerge around the time of the Italian Renaissance, is the humble . Humble suggests that “[t]he ancient batter of eggs, milk and flour, particularly when fried in a shallow pan rather than on a griddle, is not so different from later raised battercakes” (2010, 20).

b) From the Middle Ages (from , Porridge and Yeasted Bread)

As time passed the compacted patty-like cakes of the Ancient world evolved into an early version of today’s gingerbread. Medieval British ‘ginger-bread’ “was usually made by mixing breadcrumbs to a stiff with honey and spices such as pepper, saffron, cinnamon and ginger, and then shaped by pressing it into a square” (Humble 2010, 14). These expensive scented sweetmeats continued in a similar form “into the seventeenth century” (Humble 2010, 14). and the Netherlands also had thriving gingerbread industries and began exporting to during the 1300s and 1400s respectively (Krondl 2011, 278). Using “[i]ntricately carved wooden moulds” (Krondl 2011, 279) bakers produced gingerbread in a variety of different shapes. These shapes often took on “totemic significance … [with] saints [popular choices] … [and] hearts represent[ing] love” (Krondl 2011, 279).

Another, somewhat unexpected, forerunner to cake from the Middle Ages is porridge (Humble 2010, 19). One of the more luxurious forms “was an enriched version in which the oats or wheat were accompanied by dried fruits, suet, butter, honey and spices” (Humble 2010, 19) and was often served at celebrations, such as . It became so thick with luxury ingredients that “cooks began to boil it in a cloth, developing the glossy, round plum pudding that was later to play so central a role in the Victorian Christmas” (Humble 2010, 19). Baking the mixture instead (adding some ale barm as a raising agent), cooks developed the ‘plum pudding cake’ – a scarcer product to due the relative lack of bread ovens in the period. Both recipes bear the name ‘plum’ as it was “the generic medieval term for dried fruits” (Humble 2010, 19).

Meanwhile, some of “the first written evidence [for the beginnings of modern cake] dates from the 1300s” (Humble 2010, 15). At this stage “the term cake … seems to refer most specifically to forms of bread that are enriched and flat, with flatness being the key distinguishing characteristic” (Humble 2010, 15). The cakes of the Middle Ages tended to be categorised as either large or small. Small cakes were often inferred by the use of “the Latin pastillus, meaning little cake or pie” (Humble 2010, 16) and were likely made of enriched bread – similar to modern ‘buns’ (Humble 2010, 16). Over on the European mainland, the Medieval French oubloier (waferer) matched these with their own “sugared ” (Krondl 2011, 177). Chaucer provides a contrast in the Reeve’s tale where “a cake which takes half a bushel (13kg) of flour” (Humble 2010, 16) is baked. These much “large[r] cakes flavoured with spices and sugar or honey, raised with ale barm [yeast], and enriched with cream, butter and eggs were served as centerpieces at grand occasions” (Humble 2010, 16). Other recipes of the time included currents, spices and honey. Already cakes were a symbol of pleasure and belonged “to the category of entertainment” (Humble 2010, 16) and excess – perceived to be either appropriate celebration food or perhaps ‘too much of a good thing’ (Humble 2010, 16).

An important contributory factor should be noted as we consider the early emergence of cakes; great and small. It was not until the 16th century “that the walls of [English] cottages began to be sturdy enough to safely incorporate an oven” (Humble 2010, 19). This meant that “the ‘great’ (or large) cake[s were restricted] to the inhabitants of great houses – and even then, the expense of their ingredients made them strictly feast–day foods” (Humble 2010, 19).

c) Throughout the 1500s: murmurs of cake

Despite a lack of written recipes during the late Middle Ages (Leach et al. 2011, 22), it seems that the demand for and development of enriched bread recipes increased throughout this period. By the end of the century “the Lord Clerk of the Markets issued a decree forbidding bakers … [from making and selling] … spice cakes, buns, biscuits, or other spice bread’; the only occasions excepted from this rule were funerals, Christmas and Good Friday” (Humble 2010, 16). His ruling indicates the prevalence and popularity of these baked goods. Further puritanical restrictions were put in place around the time of James I, however they “proved impossible to reinforce, and a wide range of local variations of … enriched cake-breads continued to be made for centuries … Chelsea buns, Bath buns, Cornish splits, the rarer plum heavies, and larger cakes such as Bath’s famous Sally Lunn, Northumberland and Cornish saffron cake” (Humble 2010, 16).

Abroad, culinary advances, particularly in Italy, saw the development of techniques and technology integral to the establishment of modern baking. One of the foremost chefs of the era, Bartolomeo Scappi included “illustrations of … straight sided cake pans … intended for baking [early forms of] torte” (Krondl 2011, 281) in his . Italian chefs of the Renaissance also discovered the possibility of whisking egg whites – a technique necessary for emergence of sponge cakes. Soon cooks “across Europe” (Humble 2010, 32) were utilising this method, and the possibility of also became a reality.

Similarly to England, ovens in Medieval Italy remained expensive to make and operate – “[a]s a result they were often owned by the nobility or a town at large. [They were usually] … tightly regulated by authorities … [which] encouraged the formation of professional guilds of bakers and cooks” (Krondl 2011, 130). A similar pattern emerged in France with the guilds of the ancien régime (Krondl 2011, 174). There, in 1440, provision of professionally baked cake became the unique responsibility of the pastry cooks (Toussaint-Samat 2009, 218) who were required to “join the pastry makers guild and abide by its regulations” (Krondl 2011, 174).

d) Throughout the 1600s: sweetened, yeasted bread

It seems that despite some discouragement from the Puritan movement, the English trajectory from sweetened, yeasted bread to cake continued throughout this era. Sir Kenelm Digby provides us with several fruit cake recipes flavoured with cinnamon, rosewater, sweet sherry, currants, saffron, cloves, mace and nutmeg (Leach et al. 2011, 32). These were popular ingredients at the time; with other cake recipes of the era including the flavours of ginger, paste, butter and cream for richness (Leach et al. 2011, 38) and a mix of dried fruit and spices similar to Digby’s recipes (Leach et al. 2011, 26-31). He and his contemporaries, such as authors of The Compleat Cook and The Gentlewoman’s Cabinet Unlocked – both of which include early fruit cake recipes, continued to raise their cakes using ale barm (yeast)(Leach et al. 2011, 35). The proliferation of egg whisking throughout greater Europe saw it eventually incorporated into English cooking as well. One of the earliest to incorporate this technique, ’s recipe published in the in 1615 was “essentially a modern ” (Humble 2010, 20). Another innovation appeared towards the end of the century as cake hoops began to be used – these were “made of wood, tin or paper, and, placed on a flat baking tray” (Humble 2010, 23). The result was a significant change in cake shape - from ‘shallow domes’ to “flattish straight-sided cylinders” (Humble 2010, 23) with a less developed crust on their sides.

Around this period people gradually began building “[c]upboards with iron doors … into chimney walls close to the fire to provide small baking ovens in which bread, cakes and pies could be cooked” (Humble 2010, 23). Ready access to ovens made domestic baking a reality for increasingly larger portions of society, despite many of the ingredients remaining quite expensive (Leach et al. 2011, 29). Increasing demand for sugar had seen the “development of the sugar colonies in the Mediterranean and then the Atlantic …” (Krondl 2011, 143) in the late 1500s. Although at first only the very wealthy could afford it, sugar gradually became more widely available throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Mintz 1985, 87, 94). Without a steady (and increasing) supply of sugar, the ongoing refinement of cake recipes would have been much more limited.

While Italian sweets and cakes had previously had a strong influence in the French courts, by the early 1600s “the centre of culinary advancement had shifted to France” (Humble 2010, 32). As sugar became more readily available, “[s]weet dishes migrated to a separate course [(as opposed to being used in, or served alongside, the main dishes), so] there was an increasing need to expand the repertoire” (Krondl 2011, 192). Court chefs developed distinctive new recipes and techniques for making them; at Versailles “dessert was no mere afterthought [with a groundbreaking] … one-third of the meal devoted to [sweet] creations” (Krondl 2011, 198). One member of the court reflected that dessert was “the reveille of the meal … without which we would sink into melancholy and deep reverie; it dissipates most pleasantly our sorrow and relieves us of that dull numbness into which we seem so often to be plunged by our affairs; with the raised glasses and toasts it sends us into a more joyous state” (Krondl 2011, 198). There would be some today who would argue that little has changed!

Despite the growing attention being paid to dessert dishes; mainland Europe had also been steadily producing a range of yeasted sweet breads since the Middle Ages (Krondl 2011, 171). Along the French-German border the kouglof (or kougelhopf) was widespread by the 1600s, shaped “like [a] towering medieval crown” (Krondl 2011, 171). Pastry shops in “[n]orthern Italy … [still bake a range of] yeast-leavened cakes, or sweet breads” (Krondl 2011, 121) with recipes chosen appropriate to the time of year as ordained by the church calendar (Krondl 2011, 120). It appears that there was an almost “Europe-wide tradition of baking enriched yeast breads for weddings and baptisms, and especially for Easter” (Krondl 2011, 171) established by this period.

Austria’s torte seems to have evolved into it’s modern form around the seventeenth century too. While the eponymous straight-sided cake pans of Scappi’s were initially used to bake pastry shells, in time “anything baked (or presented) in one of these round cake pans came to be called a Torte” (Krondl 2011, 281). During the seventeenth century it appears that the piecrust gradually became less integral to the dish and “the meaning of Torte migrated to a cake cooked in a round pan and typically iced with a sugar glaze. The batter was usually made with eggs and ground nuts, though a sponge cake wasn’t out of the question” (Krondl 2011, 281).

It seems that perhaps the early Italian pan di Spagna, “sponge cake based on whole eggs [that]… the French would come to know it as de Piedmont or biscuit de Savoie” (Krondl 2011, 155), may have originally come from Spain in the very late 1500s. In time, the French “enriched the recipe by adding as much butter as sugar and eggs, resulting in a gâteau closer to poundcake in consistency. In later years, this became known as the ” (Krondl 2011, 155).

e) Throughout the 1700s: sweetened, yeasted cakes

It was during the eighteenth century that British cakes began to be raised, not with yeast, but with beaten eggs. Then, when cooks learnt the technique of creaming the butter as well, they found that “aeration by yeast [became] unnecessary” (Leach et al. 2011, 44). Despite this, authors have found it difficult to pinpoint the exact transition from yeast-raised cake to egg-raised cake. The novel method emerged “in the early years of the eighteenth century … [with t]he two forms of cake existing side-by- side in cookery books throughout the eighteenth and into the nineteenth century” (Humble 2010, 23). Despite the newfound freedom from yeast “it took a lot of eggs to replace the raising power of yeast” (Humble 2010, 24). This meant that “[t]he commonest form of the new cake was a , so called because the recipe required a pound each of butter, sugar and flour, and roughly the equivalent weight in eggs (usually eight)” (Humble 2010, 24). The eggs required a somewhat prohibitive lengthy beating to provide the raising power needed – especially for “cakes rich in fruit” (Humble 2010, 24). The technique of separating the eggs and whisking eggs whites alone seems not to have been utilised until the late 1700s in England (Leach et al. 2011, 53), around the time that the first of the chemical raising agents appeared on the American market; “‘pearl ash’ – potassium carbonate prepared from wood ash” (Humble 2010, 24).

Recipes from this period include variations on the pound cake – some were flavoured with rosewater (Leach et al. 2011, 44) and others, seeds (Leach et al. 2011, 45) – perhaps caraway. A “particularly popular recipe book … [of the time included] forty-one recipes for large cakes, small cakes, buns, gingerbread, enriched breads, and biscuits, as well as two recipes for icing” (Leach et al. 2011, 43). Despite growing numbers of diverse cake recipes; the was increasingly popular and used to celebrate “numerous occasions – from weddings to funerals, for Twefth Night festivities and even for Christmas supper in an Oxford college and Christmas entertaining in a Norfolk village” (Leach et al. 2011, 53). Changes to recipes in this century meant that these were likely smaller than those baked in the previous century, “but they would have been denser, higher in kilocalories and much longer-lasting” (Leach et al. 2011, 53). Davidson explains that, at this point in history “most of the ingredients important to modern cake making had become known in Europe. Spices and dried fruits had been imported since the Middle Ages” (1999, 123) and citrus could be readily sourced from the Mediterranean. Chocolate and had been made available through The Columbian Exchange and “colonialisation of the West Indies and the development of sugar plantations meant that sugar was cheaper and easier to obtain” (Davidson 1999, 123).

In France in the 1700s Nicholas Stohrer’s was developed. In the “delightfully implausible story” (Krondl 2011, 171) of its naming, the long standing French dessert is said to be the namesake of Ali Baba from “the recently translated Thousands and One Nights” (Krondl 2011, 171). It became popular in the patisserie Stohrer opened in Paris after the revolution. Some of his peers, the Julien brothers, expressed “the French penchant for associating dishes with famous men” (Krondl 2011, 172) when they set about to develop what is now known as the Savarin – another popular French yeasted cake dessert of the period (Krondl 2011, 173). The fall of the ancien régime meant that many skilled chefs and bakers now worked either for themselves, opening patisseries, or for wealthy nouveau-rich members of society (Krondl 2011, 218). There was also much more freedom and the elaborate pièces montées constructed of cake, pastry, “biscuits, , creams and icings” (Humble 2010, 34) that made Marie-Antoine Carême famous would have been “practically illegal under the [rigid] old regime” (Krondl 2011, 212).

Coffee also arrived in France in the early 1700s and quickly “became an occasion to eat out” (Krondl 2011, 200). From early on “cafés served to go along with their beverages … [as it was] suggested that the French should follow the oriental example and eat biscuits or other patisserie with their coffee” (Krondl 2011, 204). Attending “soirees once or twice a week where tea and pastry were served” (Krondl 2011, 220) also became fashionable in the late 1700s.

The chocolate torte of emerged in the same period, then called ‘Dorten’, and although “the dense nut-torte never entirely went out of style” (Krondl 2011, 283) sponge-style cakes were also added to the menu during the eighteenth century. With reference to pretty Rococo styling, these were iced with “a painter’s palette of colourings … gleaming with silver and gold and stacked with jewel- like disks of pink, red, green and brown hiding cakes flavoured with lemon, almond, and the increasingly popular chocolate and vanilla” (Krondl 2011, 278). With the contributions of these diverse European developments, “[s]lowly, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the ‘modern’ cake began to emerge” (Humble 2010, 22).

4. Modern Cake Arrives Down under a) Throughout the 1800s: the modern cake unfurls (even in Australia!)

The nineteenth century saw the end of yeast used to raise traditional English cakes. Chemical raising agents, baking soda and baking powder, were quickly recognised as reliable in their raising ability and much more economical – recipes required far less eggs with their addition (Leach et al. 2011, 76). They were readily incorporated into self-raising flour (made available in the 1850s in Australia), another convenient product that helped make baking more popular (Santich 2012, 186). The late 1700s had brought “the invention of the kitchen range … allow[ing] for the control of baking temperature and ma[king] possible lighter and more delicate cakes” (Humble 2010, 23). More widely available; “sugar surrendered its place as a luxury and rarity and became the first mass-produced exotic necessity of a proletarian working class” (Mintz 1985, 46). The explosion of published cake recipes throughout Western civilization in the mid-nineteenth century (Bannerman 2004, 108) was dependent on ready access to sugar. Mintz notes the connection between the increased availability of sugar and the rising numbers of recipes for sweet foods, “[th]e , hasty puddings, jam-smeared breads, treacle puddings, biscuits, tarts, buns and candy that turned up more and more in the English diet after 1750, and in a deluge after 1850, offered almost unlimited ways in which the could be locked onto complex carbohydrates in flour form …” (1985, 133). It appears that sugar’s luxurious history continued to “embod[y] the social position of the wealthy and powerful … [despite its] multiplied and redifferentiated … uses” (Mintz 1985, 140) at the hands of commoners. Gradually “sugars came to be viewed as everyday necessities for larger and larger segments of the national population, they were progressively incorporated into innovative contexts [and] ritualised by their new consumers” (Mintz 1985, 140). It is interesting to reflect on the traditions of cake and tea enjoyed by middle-class ladies socialising with friends in Britain (Humble 2010, 60), France (Krondl 2011, 235), the Old Austro-Hungarian Empire (Krondl 2011, 246) and even Australia (Bannerman 1996, 73), with this in mind. The institution of afternoon tea gave further importance to cake baking as a hostess was judged on the content of her afternoon tea spread (Krondl 2011, 272).

Although fruitcakes remained popular, and became increasingly linked to the celebration of Christmas as the century passed (Leach et al. 2011, 476), access to printing technology encouraged the recording of creative baking exploits (Bannerman 2004, 108). Gradually variations in cake flavours began to increase – particularly in Australia where freedom in experimentation was embraced (Bannerman 1996, 70). Several authors have noted the remarkably “large proportion of recipes for sweet dishes [in the Australian context, including] … cakes large and small, biscuits and slices, puddings hot and cold, tarts and pies” (Santich 2012, 184). In some cases there were “[d]ouble the number of recipes in similar volumes produced in England!” (Santich 2012, 184). Bannerman suggests that it is not uncommon to find at least third of Australian recipe books dedicated to “desserts and … sweet things for tea” (1996, 72). It appears that here, “an abundance of the necessary ingredients” (Santich 2012, 184) (helped by a rapidly developing local sugar industry (Santich 2012, 184)) allowed Australian cooks to enthusiastically embrace and embellish their British baking heritage. The availability of gas cookers in the latter part of the century would also have made the idea of home baking in the hot Australian weather much more agreeable (Santich 2012, 187).

With these technological encouragements and the opportunity for creative expression baking offered, cooking cakes seemed to flourish in the antipodes! Bannerman suggests that The Presbyterian Cookery book (1895) is “a good place to look for a general appreciation of the Federation cook’s approach to this important kitchen activity” (Bannerman 1996, 70). Here we find that “[o]n the whole, cakes and biscuits were fairly plain … [with only] subtleties of texture and flavour, the presence or absence of additions such as or glacé cherries and the proportion of dried fruits … [to] distinguish[] a cake for occasions from the every-day family items” (Bannerman 1996, 70). Despite this general trend; the cookbook does include a variety of cake recipes; the Durham cake (a sponge with stewed apple filling), ‘cocoanut’ cake, the egg rich Irish cake, several versions of pound cake, gingerbread, soda cake, sponge cake and the Victoria or jam it is used to produce. There are also day and night cakes, the snow or silver cake (with its egg whites) and the corresponding gold cake (that utilised the left over egg yolks from the former), marble cakes, rainbow cakes (these included a pink portion marbled into the white and chocolate of the ) and finally the pink coloured and coconut decorated Nantwich cake (Bannerman 1996, 70-1). Bannerman feels that “the number of recipes given in most books [suggests] that small cakes … were [not just for special occasions, but were] also daily fare” (Bannerman 1996, 70-1). With Australians known to use far more sugar than the English around the turn of the eighteenth century, it is not surprising that providing “an ample sufficiency of baked treats for the family” (Santich 2012, 186) was a priority!

Far away from the ‘British’ citizens learning to make their own way in the southern hemisphere (Bannerman 2008, 52), on mainland Europe cake continued to evolve. In the tradition of Carême’s elaborate center-pieces, “[s]erving lavish desserts [became] a way of demonstrating the taste and discernment that now substituted for an aristocratic bloodline as a sign of breeding” (Krondl 2011, 221) among the upper-middle classes. Krondl suggests that “[i]n France, the tastemakers were decidedly bourgeois – and often female, at least when it came to such things as … dessert” (Krondl 2011, 222). Cake and patisserie goods were (and remain) “‘affordable luxury goods’” (Krondl 2011, 224), and purchasing “your gâteau or tarte or tarte aux fraises or savarin aux fruits … from … [a] celebrated pâtissier” (David 1960, 434) remains a marker of good taste in France. This was especially true as sugar became more widely available – no longer was the presence of sweet food enough – it had to be both “artistically made [and] au courant” (Krondl 2011, 226). French women also enjoyed cakes and other baked fancies from pâtissiers and in tearooms as part of their outings to the newly fashionable department stores (Krondl 2011, 232). During this period “the gateaux Saint-Honoré was ‘the emperor of cakes’”(Krondl 2011, 229) while another French recipe, the layered gâteau moka, had the “greatest influence beyond the boarders of its birthplace” (Krondl 2011, 229).

In the nineteenth century in Austria the “old guild system [was] still alive and well, and duly regulated by the government” (Krondl 2011, 272). The confectioners and pastry chefs (Zuckerbäcker) were largely supported by ladies purchasing baked items for afternoon tea and coffee drinkers in cafes around the city seeking a sweet (Krondl 2011, 276). The decorative Torten became an important table centerpiece for entertaining in the 1800s – with regional variations such as the Linzer torte (not surprisingly, from Linz) (Krondl 2011, 277) and the Sacher torte (from Vienna) well loved by locals (Krondl 2011, 286). By the end of the century gradual social changes gave the bourgeoisie political advantage; however their “deep-seated inferiority complex … [saw them flock to the latest cookbooks, which] not only [provided] instructions on how to make the latest cookies and cakes but also implicitly promised to reveal the recipe for climbing a rung or two up the social ladder” (Krondl 2011, 296).

Although beautifully crafted cakes and Torten were treasured in the homes of the well to do and middle classes, it is important to reflect on the role of cakes and other flour-based treats in the everyday domestic domain. Here we find “ () … served for breakfast, or as an accompaniment to … coffee” (Krondl 2011, 11) among a range of “jause, or snacks” (Krondl 2011, 265) enjoyed either midmorning or afternoon. It was not peculiar in Austria to enjoy “crescent rolls … tube- shaped wafers … chocolate nut slices … candied fruit, [or] a Dobostorte” (Krondl 2011, 273) for breakfast or as jause. Neither was it unusual to serve mehlepeise or ‘flour food’ such as “, , Gugelhupfs, baked apples, and donuts” (Krondl 2011, 262) as part of a supper meal.

b) Throughout the 1900s till today: the establishment of cake in Australia (and beyond)

Laudan suggests that “the cake … took its present form in the 1920s and 1930s … when all the elements necessary to make it were in place: enclosed home ovens, metal pans, readily available and inexpensive fine white flour and sugar, butter or margarine, eggs, and baking powder” (2013, 336 italics added). She also acknowledges the nations connected by English colonialism who have made the strongest contributions to contemporary cake baking, the “United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand all had their own specialties” (Laudan 2013, 336).

Well into the 1900s, Australian people continued to consider themselves British citizens living away from home (Bannerman 2008, 52) and as such; this attitude was reflected in their cooking (Bannerman 1996, 88). However; despite being “still essentially British … [they also began to understand] the necessity of becoming Australian … adapt[ing] their traditional foods ever so slightly to local conditions” (Bannerman 1996, 88). The Goulburn Cookery Book of 1917 offered readers an Australianised version of Eliza Action’s English tome published “more than half a century earlier” (Bannerman 1996, 88) and included a range of cake recipes. She includes instructions for baking the rich Gidleigh cake (made with both dark sugar and treacle, and filled with citrus peel, almonds and nutmeg), along with other well loved cakes of the age - “caraway, ginger, marble, pound, rainbow, sandwich, sponge and so on, as well as several ” (Bannerman 1996, 91). Despite an on going measuring of Australian life against the British standard (Bannerman 2004, 109), Bannerman suggests that “‘being English’ was not as monotonous then as twentieth-century stereotypes would later suggest … [and, due in part to the] British influence, Australian society was surprisingly multicultural in composition, outlook and taste” (Bannerman 2008, 52). From early in the 1900s, “the British cuisine that marked the Australian food landscape at the time was open to the idea of incorporating recipes from foreign countries, particularly France and Italy” (Bannerman 1996, 158) (however inaccurately the original character of the dish may have been preserved). Indeed, it was the ““French or continental styles … [that quickly] established [themselves] as the preferred modes of fine dining” (Bannerman 2008, 67) in Australian – with their influence and presence in our food culture long standing. There is also early evidence of the “German yeast cookery … [tradition] to be found in Australian cookery books” (Bannerman et al. 1998, 55), with German and Jewish dishes introduced to the Australian public in the early twentieth century by Zara Aronson (Bannerman et al. 1998, 56). Traditional German cakes include “nuts and seeds … [particularly] walnuts and poppy seeds” (Humble 2010, 42) – perhaps their inclusion in cakes baked and consumed here is a sign of Germanic influence. In the late ninetieth and early twentieth century another important influence on Australian culture and cooking was that of North America. Bannerman explains “many [early] recipes were copied from American and Canadian journals and cookery books, which made a lot of sense at the time, since these countries had much more to teach about the practicalities of pioneering than did Old England” (Bannerman 2008, 53). The commonalities of language and colonial heritage allowed these other English-speaking nations to shape Australian cookery from an early stage (Bannerman 2008, 53).

Despite the readiness of Australians at the beginning of the 1900s to accept “new ideas arriving directly from overseas” (Bannerman et al. 1998, 55), World War I brought a resurgence in “imperial sentiments: it was time to cook British … [with] many old-fashioned recipes … dug up from memories of ‘what grandmother did’” (Bannerman et al. 1998, 56). This revival of British cookery is interesting in light of Bannerman’s suggestion that “home cake-making was at its most popular in the two decades between the wars” (Bannerman et al. 1998, 69). It was at this point in history, the early to mid twentieth century, that “[t]he ability to bake a good cake was a prized skill among housewives” (Davidson 1999, 124). Afternoon tea gatherings continued to provide women with the opportunity to demonstrate “loving care, attention to detail … [and] creativity” (Santich 2012, 193) through preparation of home-baked cakes and the provision of an appealingly dainty afternoon tea table (Symons 2007, 159). The universality of morning and afternoon tea meant that even plain cakes were (Bannerman 1996, 165) an important part of a housewife’s repertoire, as these were convenient snacks for both children and workmen (Symons 2007, 164). More elaborate and decorative creations were prepared for occasions such as Sunday teatime, gatherings that included guests (Porter in Santich 2012, 199) or special occasions such as weddings (Symons 2007, 164). Santich explains that “Michael Symons has identified 32 cake and biscuit innovations in Australia and New Zealand in the half-century from about 1890 to 1940, ‘the golden age of antipodean baking’ … [but] surprisingly, … few of these innovations survived into the second half of the century” (Santich 2012, 198). Although home baking gradually faded from fashion during the remainder of the twentieth century, she suggests that “many of th[ose recipes] have since become classics and still feature at Australian country shows in the 21st century … the tried-and-tested faithfuls, the standards passed from generation to generation, the cakes and biscuits that could be prepared almost with the eyes shut” (Santich 2012, 198) have persisted and remain an important part of our Australian food heritage. On a side note, the Scandinavian culture has its own tradition of home-baking (Humble 2010, 43) so the “significant migration[]”(1998, 56) to Australia of Scandinavian families noted by Bannerman et al. may also have contributed to this movement in Australia.

The increasing involvement of large corporations in food production is one of the important factors in the demise of home baking in Australia. Both packet cake mixes (Symons 2007, 225) and affordable frozen cakes (Symons 2007, 243) became available in Australia the 1970s. Access to these labour saving products and to “[s]hops selling cakes and pastry [that] had been around longer than anyone remembered” (Bannerman et al. 1998, 69) meant that “there [was] little need to bake at home at all” (1998, 69) anymore. Today cake is often purchased fresh and ready made from within supermarkets or from specialist artisanal bakeries (Langley 2014). With our increasing inclination to mimic the French as we meet at cafes (Symons 2007, 324), many of the cakes enjoyed by modern Australians are both purchased and consumed out of the home. The long term influence of French and continental dinning experiences seem to have contributed to our modern Australian participation in the culture of stopping to have ‘coffee and cake’. Although today even in France, many modern cafes are moving towards the style of the “Seattle coffee lounge … [with] menus typically list[ing] such things as cake aux carottes and à la banana …” (Krondl 2011, 364-5).

Despite a seemingly global movement towards large-scale pre-preparation of factory-made food – there remains a market for beautifully crafted patisserie products both in Europe and beyond (Krondl 2011, 365). In Austria, the elaborate torten produced by the Zuckerbäcker of the early 1900s towered with layers of sponge cake, “[m]ousses, jams, icings, and even ice cream” (Krondl 2011, 298). Butter cream, a German invention of the late nineteenth century (Humble 2010, 24), was a regular feature in the “showy, complex” (Krondl 2011, 297) creations of the era and became particularly famous after the invention of the Dobostorte. Lajos Dobos’ invention consisted of “five or more svelte sheets of sponge cake, each nestled between layers of chocolate buttercream, the whole finished with a mirrorlike finish of caramel … [and was] very clearly based on the multilayered French gâteau moka” (Krondl 2011, 297) of the previous century. In time, the demise of the Old Austro Hungarian empire and the social movement away from entertaining at home have resulted in Viennese patisserie shops offering a smaller range of items (Krondl 2011, 365). However, even today, “on a Sunday afternoon Vienna’s Zuckerbäcker are still packed with locals – [and] the demand for birthday cakes and wedding cakes [has not] disappeared” (Krondl 2011, 365). Both the manner in which people choose to socialise and “the role of cakes in the diet have … changed during the 20th century[. Yet despite this] cakes remain almost ubiquitous in the western world and have kept their image as ‘treats’” (Davidson 1999, 124). Today, “there is less pressure on the confectioners to innovate than there was a hundred years back[; however, w]hen people go to the local pastry shop, they expect to find their favourites to always be there” (Krondl 2011, 365). It appears that where Australians have learnt to purchase beautifully made cakes and desserts from patisserie shops (Bannerman et al. 1998, 69), we are following the French (Humble 2010, 39) and Austrian predilection for professionally baked delicacies (Krondl 2011, 365). The recent delight in the modern, glamourized version of the (Humble 2010,78) reiterates the continued American influence on our cake eating habits – with the United States continuing as a significant cultural guide in Australia since the end of World War II (Bannerman 2008, 53).

While we may have learnt most of our modern cake consumption culture from a somewhat contradictory combination of globalized food companies and continental European sophistication, there remains another factor at play. The continued influence of American (Bannerman et al. 1998, 56), and British culture on Australia (Santich 2012, 1) makes it safe to assume that the modern revival of home baking in both these countries has had some affect on our own culture. Martha Stewart is given partial credit for this renewed “interest in traditional modes of baking” (Humble 2010, 109), with help from her British counterpart, – a popular ‘celebrity chef’ in Australia (Bannerman 2008, 62). Stewart helped to “transform[] the arena of the domestic into something that the educated middle-class woman could allow herself to value … creat[ing] a powerful nostalgia for a past of warm, cosy kitchens and the smell of grandma’s baking” (Humble 2010, 111). The growing number of cookbooks along a similar vein available here, ably lead by publications from our own Australian Woman’s Weekly (Bannerman 2008, 27), seems to indicate that there are at least some Australians also happy embrace the idea of cake and the warm domestic scenes it evokes (Humble 2010, 115).

5. Why do we like cake? a) ‘Good to Think’

After examining the historical development of cake, with a particular focus on how it came to be in Australia, further probing is necessary to understand the ‘why’ of cake. What symbolic meanings, physiological preferences and cultural rituals have augmented our perception of it as a foodstuff and seen it embedded in all manner of social interactions and cultural celebrations?

Both Bannerman and Mintz acknowledge the truth behind Strauss’ oft quoted acknowledgment that in order for food to be good to eat, it must first be ‘good to think’ (Mintz 1985, 8). Beyond situations of famine and starvation, “most people take pleasure in [food and in] … choosing what they will eat. They associate particular dishes or foods with significant psychological states and often turn them into favourites – foods that reinforce happy or contented feelings” (Bannerman 2008, 40). Our earliest experiences of eating are “intertwined … [with the] experience of close human contact with the provider of [our] food …” (Lupton 1996, 7). Food is never consumed in a vacuum as fuel alone, the “thick layer of meaning … accreted around every food substance” (Lupton 1996, 8) is embedded firmly in our unconsciousness.

To our personal food experiences are added that of the surrounding community and culture. We gradually learn the morality of food; ‘good’ foods are not just “nutritious and … healthy, [but they are also associated with] purity, … asceticism, moral righteousness, … work, self-control and discipline, the everyday … [and] slimness” (Lupton 1996, 154). The ‘bad’ foods pollute, weigh down and fatten our bodies, and make us feel “pleasure, happiness and nostalgia, but also regret, anxiety and guilt” (Lupton 1996, 154). On first glance at these well-learnt Western categories it appears that cake would necessarily belong in the second. In the US the science of nutrition has a history “[e]mbedded … in the … spirituality of the Enlightenment … [with its strong links to] ethical (ascetic) principles of living” (Coveney 2000, 78). In Australia we share this Protestant heritage – choosing ‘good’ foods remains a question of morality (Coveney 2000, 77) and cake seems very suspect. However, Lupton also acknowledges some other interesting features of food perceived to be ‘good’. It has strong links with “the sacred and the spiritual … [the] bourgeois and refined; it has strong feminine associations; it is solid, but also light; it is associated with … maternal love … the emotions of pride, comfort and love and with the feelings of warmth, contentment and security” (Lupton 1996, 154). Studies have shown that, while in America, the idea of readily invokes guilt, in France; it is strongly associated with birthdays (Chemin 2014). The American influence on our Australian food consciousness is strong (Bannerman 2008, 53) and the fight to shape our attitudes towards food, particularly luxurious food like cake, will likely continue into the future.

Mintz suggests that living “[t]he good life, the rich life, the full life” (1985, 208) involved consumption of sugar. An appreciation for the variety of different private and public traditions that involve cake indicates that, perhaps, ‘the good life’ is not complete if some of that sugar has not been baked! Although Krondle admits that “[w]e don’t require cream puffs and in the same way we do bread and salt” (Krondl 2011, 14), he suggests that they have a cultural value similar to that of music. In studying desserts, cake included, “maybe we can learn just a little more about what makes humans human” (Krondl 2011, 14).

b) Sweet & Fatty

Drewnowski suggests that “the appetite for sugar and fat appears to be a universal human trait” (1999, 198) with both children and adults tending “to select foods that are sweet, rich in fat, or both” (Drewnowski 1999, 197). Other authors including Mintz (1985, 15), Krondl (2011, 8), Rozin (1996, 238), Lupton (1996, 7) and Veronon (2009, 185) acknowledge that, sweet tastes at least, are one of the humankind’s special favourites. Rozin argues from a biological point of view (1996, 328), while Mintz (1985, 37) and Lupton understand there to be social factors at play as well (1996, 7). The reality is that since sugar has been available in larger amounts, it has also been consumed in larger amounts (Mintz 1985, 95). On this account cake, both sweet and rich (with a high fat content), should appeal to large portions of the general public. The history would indicate that it does just this in Australia and around the globe (Andrews 2000, 52).

6. What does cake signify - why eat it?

a) To participate in embodied celebration: Religious Worship and Rites of Passage

Humble may be right when she suggests that there is commonality between “the ancient use of cake as a compound religious offering, good, luxurious things crammed together – and the later function of cake as a symbolic offering at celebrations of birthdays or weddings” (Humble 2010, 14). It would appear that this is indeed what we have done. Choosing delicious ingredients we have combined them to create food to celebrate (and to celebrate with) (Andrews 2000, 52).

Andrews suggests that “the tradition of eating cake on ceremonial occasions has its basis in ancient ritual[, so many] cakes in the ancient world had ties with the annual cycle, and people used them as offerings to the gods and spirits who exercised their power at particular times of the year” (2000, 52). Humble suggests that the predominant round shape of cakes comes from this history; the circular shape “particularly linked to annual festivals marking the cycle of the year” (Humble 2010, 72). Although the nature of celebrations and religious practice has evolved over time, people still gather to share and to celebrate, to mark times and seasons (Lee 2007, 19). Food has been central to these gatherings throughout history (Sexton 2002, 138-9), “supremely embodied” (Lupton 1996, 154) it allows for full participation and communion with the others gathered (Fenichel 1945, 63).

Perhaps it is in light of its ability to so tangibly symbolise both participation and extravagance, cake has a long religious history. In Ancient Mesopotamia the deities received the best of the enriched sweet breads made by Sumerian bakers, with “[o]ne frequently mentioned sweetmeat worthy of the gods … called giri.lam, made of dates and sometimes figs, bound with a honey and a little flour” (Krondl 2011, 85). In Rome, Cato the Elder “gave precise instructions for baking the flat cakes of flour, eggs, cheese and honey to be used in the sacrifice” (Laudan 2013, 77). A common Christian heritage has seen bread become “[t]he most symbolic foodstuff” (Krondl 2011, 125) across the European continent. Its use in the Eucharist representing Jesus sacrificed, his life given for the life of the world, only added to earlier pagan ideas about rebirth and fertility already imbued in bread (Krondl 2011, 125). The popularity of both phallic and religiously shaped sweetened breads continued and “with the waning of the Middle Ages, sugar slowly replaced honey … and the dough became so rich with eggs and butter that it was hard to know whether to call [them] bread or cake” (Krondl 2011, 125). Even today “numerous pastries [like breads before them] take the form of anthropomorphic fetishes consumed with more or less pious devotion” (Krondle 2011, 6). It is this concept of consumption that seems crucial; “presumably, as you consume [the bread or cake], you absorb its symbolic qualities … If eating the body of Christ at mass made you a better Catholic, could you not also imbibe a little holiness by crunching your way through a gingerbread St Nicholas, or nibbling at ‘apostle’s fingers’, or gobbling up the ‘breasts of St Agatha’? [Better not to ponder that last example too long!]” (Krondl 2011, 126-7) These “[e]dible symbols still exist even when an ecclesiastic connection has become very tenuous or non-existent” (Krondl 2011, 126-7) as evidenced by the rich tradition of sweets inspired by Catholic holidays still enjoyed today. Consider “the French… buche de Noel and des rois (‘king’s cake’ for )” (Krondl 2011, 123) – known as the Cake in England, a tradition that gave way to our modern (Leach et al. 2011, 59). The sweet breads of Germany and Italy, and respectively, are enjoyed at Christmas too (Humble 2010, 18). Delicious, rich and tasty; cake has been perceived an appropriate offering and celebratory food in religious practice both around the globe (Krondle 2011, 6) and throughout history.

Our own Protestant English heritage has gifted us with the tradition of Christmas. In Australia Christmas has increasingly become a “celebration … of another year of hard work past, and an occasion for looking back on what had been achieved and making plans for the coming year” (Bannerman 1999, 17). Gradually shifting from its religious roots, some cultural trappings of English Christmas’ remain entrenched in our own celebrations and many in Australia still enjoy a Christmas cake – either bought or homemade - come December (Santich 2012, 209). The English practice of similar fruitcakes for christenings and weddings (Swinburne & Mason 2002, 77) also continues where families value the tradition (ABC 2014) – although mud cake is becoming a popular alternative (Cakes Plus 2008).

Today we “serve cakes at holidays, birthdays, weddings, funerals, and baptisms – in short, at all significant times in the cycle of life” (Andrews 2000, 52). In earlier eras these events “were … matters for entire communities, in which most members could expect to participate somehow, often receiving some edible token in the process” (Mason 2002, 14). Sexton suggests that the “shared food and drink served to preserve social bonds and strengthen the internal workings of a closely knit group” (2002, 139). Toussaint-Samat outlines a tradition where pieces of cake shared at funerals were “distributed to neighbours and then taken to people who had been unable to attend” (2009, 209) – including those dispersed over a large area in the same ritual and event. Despite a general social movement towards individualization and privatization in Western societies like our own (Symons 1993, 11), “the fundamental importance of birth, marriage and death, [and] rituals associated with them continue” (Mason 2002, 14). Cakes in these modern rituals still “function as an object to be cut or broken or shared” (Humble 2010, 73) connecting the eaters symbolically. They also, perhaps, take on an element of the showy centerpieces of bygone eras – intended to impress the guests (Cherkasky 2003, 213).

Despite its ancient precedent, the celebration of birthdays is relatively modern, beginning “[i]n the second half of the nineteenth century … an age when measuring progress gained particular significance” (Bannerman 1999, 15-6). With birthday celebrations firmly entrenched in Australia (and other Western cultures such as America and England), birthday cakes are an important symbol of this event (Krondle 2011, 6). During the 1970s and 1980s children’s birthday cakes became highly decorative – imaginatively shaped concoctions designed to imitate cartoon characters, trains, favourite toys and even landscapes (Humble 2010, 24). Here in Australia, the Women’s Weekly Children’s Book was the stuff of childhood dreams – with many fondly remembering their parents’ attempts to replicate these modern child-friendly versions of Careme’s pièces montées for our special day (Holroyd 2013).

b) As a pleasant part of daily rhythms and rituals

Although far more mundane, the practice of stopping mid morning or afternoon is a cultural ritual itself. Many continue to follow in the Germanic, Austrian and English traditions (Krondle 2011, 273 & Humble 2010, 60) and take a break from the work of the day to make themselves either a tea or coffee. Either at home or out, munching on something sweet at the same time is not unusual (O’Brien 2010). Despite evolution in form, today the concept of meeting up at a café for ‘coffee and cake’ is not an unfamiliar one in the Australian context (Symons 2007, 324). With sugar’s long association with “happy sociability [and] decent joy” (Roche 2002, 245), it seems appropriate to use it both in cakes for celebration and every day rituals.

c) To extend friendship and hospitality

Making something delicious to share is recognized as a universal act of kindness and the preparation of food, taking time and effort, is often a marker of both “love and duty” (1996, 47). Today, many “women … [, in particular, continue] to use the food they cook to show love, to seek approval, [and] to win respect” (Cline 1990, 35). Steinberg recalls the way her friend Janie would bake Steinberg’s favourite cake whenever they met up; it “was her way of saying she liked me – the cake was her perpetual friendship offering” (2011, 150). Comforting and sweet, cake is also an appropriate gift and expression of love in times of transition or sadness (Lee 2007, 19). Cakes can equally be used to “[w]elcom[e] a new neighbour” or “bak[ed] … in a crisis” (Cline 1990, 35), as in the Jewish community. Although Lee, Steinberg and Cline write from the American context; with our own strong baking heritage (influenced by both the US and Jewish cultures), a similar attitude seems very plausible in Australia – especially among tightknit religious and local communities.

d) To identify with a national culture

To gather and share a common dish brings people into communion (Sexton 2002, 139) and where the dish consumed is also symbolic of a shared culture, that sense of community can only be heightened. Both the Austrian Sacher Torte and Italian pantone have become symbols of national identity (Krondl 2011, 165 & 286). Within our multicultural Australian society expatriate communities are able to access a wide variety of familiar foodstuffs (Bannerman 2008, 67), enabling to them to reinforce traditions important to them. As for the wider Australian culture – there is always the , that product of the turn-of-the-twentieth-century coconut craze (Santich 2012, 202). , described as “the patron cake of Australia” (2010, 54), feature readily in the Australian cultural food discourse. And if, as Vernon puts it, “you are what you eat” (2009, 185), then consuming culturally symbolic cakes is an important way of identifying with the national culture – whatever it might be in our ethnically diverse nation.

e) To identify oneself as a person of ‘good taste’

The converging layers of meaning that have accumulated around the use of sweet foods discussed by Mintz (1985, 140) help to make sense of the variety of ceremonial purposes that involve cake. Like sugar; cake too can be symbolic of “providing hospitality, meeting ceremonial obligations, and validating social links” (Mintz 1985, 173). An affordable luxury (Krondl 2011, 224), a beautifully made cake can impart “an aura of privilege to those who serve[] it and to whom it [is] served” (Mintz 1985, 173). Recent data indicates that modern Australians feel “a sweet indulgence should be fresh and high quality … [and are] increasingly turning to artisanal bakeries for fresh, innovative baked goods” (Langley 2014). It appears that the long-term French inclination to “demonstrate[] … taste and discernment” (Krondl 2011, 221) through carefully selected baked goods has begun to influence Australian food culture.

f) To identify as a woman

While Krondle highlights the, almost unconscious, association between cakes and femininity (Krondl 2011, 7, 8, 225 and Brillat-Savarin in Krondl 2011, 226), Lupton extrapolates the connection in detail. Drawing on the work of Mintz, Visser and Symons, she articulates the strong societal association of food “described as light, sweet, milky, soft-textured, refined and delicate” (Lupton 1996, 106) – cake – with women. Although other authors have outlined the ambivalence between women and energy dense ‘treat’ foods such as cake (Knapp 2003, 22, 26 and Cline 1990, 202), others acknowledge the aesthetical similarities between the feminine and desserts (Symons 1984, 139) – evoking, once more, idea that what you consume can, in some ways, define you (Fenichel 1945, 63).

Like England and the United States, our Australian baking heritage belongs to the women (Santich 2012, 187). At a time when society dictated their role as a homemaker, baking offered Australian women a way to “find … creativity [within] … their social roles” (Allison 1991, 203). Like the Japanese mothers Allison observed, their creations became “a representation and product of the woman herself” (1991, 203). Baking cakes and other sweets allowed a woman to establish a reputation as a good cook (Bannerman 1996, 73), to “demonstrate creativity and skill, affirm status, and gain respect and admiration among their peers” (Santich 2012, 191). The vast number of recipes both in published cookbooks and supplied by home cooks for community and charity ventures seems to indicate it was an opportunity Australian women relished with enthusiasm (Santich 2012, 191). Under the influence of the likes of Martha and Nigella (Bannerman 2008, 62), and with their sisters abroad, some Australian women continue to bake to define, express and nourish both themselves and others (Humble 2010, 115).

7. The final crumbs

In Australia our culture continues to be shaped by the history and attitudes of Britain, mainland Europe and America. Our own short history leaves room for the influence of others, and today much of our ‘cake’ consumption culture continues to imitate models provided by the English, American and Europeans. Like all material artifacts, the more closely examined, the more complex cake - it’s story and symbolism - becomes. Although physical nourishment is important, food nourishes a person on a variety of different levels, its symbolic meanings often ‘feeding the soul’ just as much as the body (Lupton 1996, 7). It would appear that human kind has been baking and sharing cake for a very long time, with largely common goals in mind – the strengthening of community and participation in celebration. Despite changes in form, ingredients and availability, here in Australia cake is still shared to mark seasons, to enliven festivities and to imbue ‘specialness’ amid the ordinary.

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