Was there already birthday cake in Roman empire?
In the TV show, Rome, during the battle of Philippi, there is a conversation between two rebel Roman commanders. It goes something like, is today your birthday? Oh yes, I want a birthday cake.
Please see this video clip, Battle of Philippi, starting from 00:00:36.
Was birthday cake already common back in Roman empire era? That is 42 BC.
Best Answer
Yes, there were birthday cakes in the ancient Rome.
From Wikipedia article on History of cake,
During the Roman period, the name for cake became “placenta” which was derived from the Greek term. Placenta were baked on a pastry base or inside a pastry case.
The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk. In ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good. **Latin poet Ovid refers his and his brother's birthday party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia.
Ovid is a Latin Poet from ancient Rome who is believed to live between 43 BC to 17 AD. He has referred to his and his brother's birthday cakes in one of his poems Tristia.
From his work Trisitia hosted by archive.org
11 What hast thou to do with Pontus ? Is it that Caesar's wrath
sent thee too to the remotest land of the world of cold ?
Thou awaitest, I suppose, thine honour in its wonted guise :
a white robe hanging from my shoulders,
a smoking altar garlanded with chaplets,
the grains of incense snapping in the holy fire,
and myself offering the cakes that mark my birthday
and framing kindly petitions with piousTRISTIA III, XIII. A BIRTHDAY AT TOMIS
So, it is known that there were birthday cakes made from different ingredients in the ancient Rome.
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When was the birthday cake invented?
History of the birthday cake Germany introduced a birthday cake during the 15th century at the festival Kinderfest, which was a celebration of children's birthdays. The cakes during this time were bread-like and very coarse. Sweeter cakes did not come about in this area until much later.Where did the birthday cake originate?
It is believed that the first actual birthday cake was made in Germany in the Middle Ages. The Germans would celebrate children's birthdays with cake, calling the celebration Kinderfest. Cakes originally were a coarse, bread-like product, and later became a much sweeter version, called Geburtstagorten.How old is the birthday cake tradition?
The birthday tradition dates back to the ancient Egyptians, who believed that when pharaohs were crowned, they became gods. So their coronation day was their 'birth' day. (Sounds like a sweet gig until you find out there's no desert desserts.) It was the Ancient Greeks who adopted this tradition and added cake.Who started cake cutting on birthday?
During the 15th century AD, the German bakeries introduced single-layered cakes for birthday celebrations in the market. This banished the myth that a cake can only be cut at weddings and led to the creation of the tradition of cutting a cake on birthdays.Let's celebrate Rome's birthday! 2773 years old on April 21, 2020. Why did Romulus choose this day?
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