Cakes from the year you were born

If you’re as mad about cakes as we are, have you ever wondered what cake was most popular when you were born?

1948-1956: Chiffon Cake

A light, spongy cake made with eggs and fruit juice. Orange and lemon chiffon cake was the most popular for many home cooks. Better Crocker bought the recipe in 1948 from Mr Harry Baker and it became the new trend in the 1950s.

1966: Tunnel of Fudge Cake

The story of this cake goes back to World War II, a soldier created the bake wear company Nordic Ware. They manufactured a cake tin for a Zionist group which was trademarked as the Bundt. Ella Hilfrich used this tin to create her Tunnel of Fudge Cake for a Pillsbury Bake Off competition. The cake became so popular, the Nordic Ware company were making 30,000 bundt tins as day to keep up with demand.

1970-1975: Carrot Cake 

People became more health conscious in the 1970s. The carrot cake
had vegetables, nuts and raisins so it was… em… healthy? Also with the creation of cream cheese icing in the late 1960s, it was a match made in heaven.

1977: Rum cake

“Where has all the rum gone?”. Rum has been around since the 1800s. It really took off in the 70s, when the president of Bacardi and his team created a recipe that included 180ml of rum!

1978-1983: Humming Bird Cake

The Humming Bird Cake is light and is made with banana, cinnamon and pineapple. It was originally called the Dr. Bird Cake, a marketing scheme to get people to visit Jamaica in 1969. It became an extremely popular cake in Southern Living in February 1978.

1984-1987: Tiramisu

It’s not entirely clear how the tiramisu craze kicked off but in the 1980s the spongy, chocolately, espresso cake became very popular. By 1987, there were hundreds of variations of this desert.

1990: Chocolate Lava Cake 

A oozey chocolate cake with slowly erupting chocolate center. The chocolate lava cake was invented in France in the 1980s, but became extremely popular in America thanks to Jean- Georges Vongerichten in 1987.

1993-1995: Barbie Birthday Cake

We all remember how popular Barbie dolls were! In the 90s, the Barbie dress cake was THE cake to have at your birthday party. This style of cake is still popular today.

1995: Viennetta

This is a serious throwback cake! This classic ice cream cake was the one to have if you wanted to be ‘classy’. I remember it being the go-to cake in Leisure Plex, served to you by Plexi the dinosaur…

1996-1999: Red Velvet

This light, red, chocolate cake was a marketing gimmick to see more food colouring. In 1989, the cake had a cameo in Steel Magnolias. In New York, The Magnolia Bakery opened in 1996 brining their infamous red velvet. Made correctly with loads of cream cheese icing… oh yeah!

2000: Cupcakes

Cupcakes have been around forever, but the cupcake craze really took off in 2000. The Magnolia Bakery in NYC became famous for their cupcakes when they were featured in an episode of Sex and the City. Cupcakes come in a huge range of flavours now but I still find myself reaching for a good classic chocolate cupcake.

What cake was most popular when you were born? A lady never divulges her age but maybe her cake?