Easter cake

Easter cakes are cakes prepared and served during the Easter season. Sharing a cake with family for Easter is an Easter tradition in many denominations and countries.

Background

Often what is meant by traditional Easter cakes are sweet yeasted doughs, enriched with eggs and butter. These holiday breads have been made for centuries before the invention of modern baking powder. They were sometimes shaped like animals - in Germany the cakes were shaped like hares, a symbol of Ēostre, and a precursor of the modern Easter bunny. In Italy the preferred shape was the dove, symbolic of Christ's innocence and ascension. These holiday cakes often include candied fruits, a luxury reserved for special occasions.[1]

By the 1950s baking powder cakes had become household staples. In Germany, sponge cake was baked in the shape of lambs and decorated with powdered sugar. In modern times even traditional recipes like gugelhupf and babka have been adapted to be made with baking powder.[1]

Types

Babka

Easter babaka cake

Easter babka (baba wielkanocna) is a yeast cake that is part of Poland's Easter traditions.[2] Made with raisins, and other dried and candied fruits, the cake is soaked in rum syrup before it's served.[3]

Kulich

A plate of frosted Ukrainian kulich cakes

Kulich is part of the Easter traditions of several countries, including Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. Similar to Italian panettone, it's made with yeast instead of baking powder. The cake is often decorated with Christian symbols.[4]

It is a famous Russian tradition to take the cake to Holy Saturday services so it can be blessed before Easter breakfast.[5][6]

Mazurek

Egg-shaped mazurek cake

Mazurek is a Polish easter cake made with short pastry with butter cake "glued" together with a layer of marmalade.[7]

Simnel cake

Simnel cake has become associated with the Easter season, but according to Davidson it was not always traditional to Easter.[6]

Literary mentions

Anton Chekov's The Cossack is a story about a newly married couple and a blessed loaf Easter cake.

References

Brown, Catherine (2015-04-01). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. p. 300.
Sohn, Mark F. (28 October 2005). Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture and Recipes. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813137568.
"Polish Babka".
Roufs, Timothy G.; Roufs, Kathleen Smyth (2014). Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 36. ISBN 9781610692212.
Britannica (2009). The Britannica Guide to Russia. Robinson. ISBN 9781845299217.
Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford companion to food. Tom Jaine, Soun Vannithone (3rd ed.). New York, NY. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7. OCLC 890807357.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Konarzewska, Małgorzata (2011). "3.14. Mazurki". Technologia gastronomiczna z towaroznawstwem: podręcznik do nauki zawodu kucharz w technikum i szkole policealnej. Tom 2 (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne. pp. 144–146.

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[Brown-1] Brown, Catherine (2015-04-01). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. p. 300.

[2] Sohn, Mark F. (28 October 2005). Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture and Recipes. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813137568.

[3] "Polish Babka".

[Roufs-4] Roufs, Timothy G.; Roufs, Kathleen Smyth (2014). Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 36. ISBN 9781610692212.

[5] Britannica (2009). The Britannica Guide to Russia. Robinson. ISBN 9781845299217.

[:0-6] Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford companion to food. Tom Jaine, Soun Vannithone (3rd ed.). New York, NY. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7. OCLC 890807357.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[Konarzewska-7] Konarzewska, Małgorzata (2011). "3.14. Mazurki". Technologia gastronomiczna z towaroznawstwem: podręcznik do nauki zawodu kucharz w technikum i szkole policealnej. Tom 2 (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne. pp. 144–146.