Q 01/05

The English word 'cake' comes from kaka, a word in which language?

A) Old High German

B) Old French

C) Old Norse

D) Latin

Answer · why

C) Old Norse

The oldest cakes were basically breads with sweet ingredients added, and the Greeks used beer as a leavener.

Q 02/05

Which ancient people are credited with first using beer as a leavening agent for cake?

A) Persians

B) Greeks

C) Egyptians

D) Romans

Answer · why

B) Greeks

Their plakous, from the word for 'flat', was baked with flour, milk, nuts and honey.

Q 03/05

A famous early record of a birthday cake with one candle per year comes from a 1746 party in which country?

A) England

B) Italy

C) Germany

D) France

Answer · why

C) Germany

Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf's cake was said to be as big as an oven could make it.

Q 04/05

By tradition, a birthday wish comes true only if what happens?

A) All candles go out in one breath

B) The candles are lit twice

C) The cake is eaten in one sitting

D) The wish is spoken aloud

Answer · why

A) All candles go out in one breath

A second superstition says the wish must be kept secret or it will not come true.

Q 05/05

What new name did the white topping on Queen Victoria's wedding cake acquire?

A) Fondant

B) Royal icing

C) Bridal icing

D) Windsor glaze

Answer · why

B) Royal icing

White had long been used on bride cakes as a sign of purity, but the queen's cake made it fashionable.