National Chocolate Cake Day is blissfully celebrated each year in the United States on January 27th. That means today is the day to indulge, even if it’s not your birthday! Although cake and chocolate have both been around for thousands of years, the culinary wonder of chocolate cake is actually fairly new. It is said that the first chocolate cake was baked around the 1800s, after Dr. James Baker discovered that it was possible to grind cocoa using a mill. What a genius!

The earliest known printer version of a chocolate cake recipe is from 1847. Since then, chocolate cake has evolved, like most popular food items do, with an array of preparation styles, added flavors and artful garnishes. Now today many of us have the luxury of grabbing a box to bake a quick cake or opting for the old-fashioned method of baking from scratch. In fact, the availability of boxed cake ingredients is about 90 years old. The first company to create box cakes was Duff and Sons, back in the late 1920s. The famous Betty Crocker cake mixes were released in 1947.

Did you know?

The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word “xocotal,” which translates to “bitter water.”

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or food safety and culinary training, contact me at jdetloff@airculinaire.com. For questions about in-flight catering, contact weborders@airculinaire.com.