Tiered for Celebrations

Inspired by the spire of a church and triggered by a baker's urgent need to express love, tiered cakes have gained currency over the years as they add extravaganza to an occasion

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'Love' is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient.

While, using 'love' into a food ingredient appears to be too far-fetched an idea, cakes, if not most bakery items, are many a time synonymous with celebration, festivities, and camaraderie. For, hardly anyone cuts a cake to mark a sad event. But cutting a cake is a ritual in birthday celebrations, weddings, marriage anniversaries, or in every occasion you want to remember fondly.

In fact, it is believed that it was love that triggered the imagination of the tiered cake by a baker in Britain, in the late 18th century.  The story goes that William Rich set up as an apprentice in Ludgate hill and fell in love with. his boss's daughter. When he asked her to marry him he wanted to impress her with a large, beautiful cake and his inspiration came from the spire of St Bride's church. However, there are no surviving records of this cake.

The popularity of the tiered cake shot after the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840. They became less common during the wars that followed in the next century, but after the Second World War ended and when economies of most countries returned to normal, the tiered cake came into vogue once again. And ever since, it has not seen much of a slide in popularity.

Every individual wishes to feel special and treated in an exclusive way on her/ his special day. Thus, to communicate this special feeling, cakes are designed in a tiered fashion to add extravaganza to the event. The cakes were given an additional dimension to boost their aesthetic appearance and add value to the celebrations like marriage anniversaries, birthdays.