Christmas is just around the corner and we are pretty excited. It is that time of the year when we get to spend quality time with our friends and family members. We decorate houses with Christmas trees, and treat ourselves with wine, Christmas cake, and other tasty delights, & watch our favorite Christmas Classics with our near & dear ones.
Christmas cakes are one of the most important and integral parts of the festival celebration. It is hard to think of Christmas without yummy plum cakes. Even though most people in India celebrate Christmas and enjoy Christmas cakes, most of them are not aware of the fascinating history of Indian Christmas cakes.
The History Of Indian Christmas Cake
Christmas cakes do hold a special place in our hearts. We all look forward to cutting the cake with our family & friends and it is undoubtedly one of the best things about Christmas. Since, most of you are very fond of Christmas cakes, you would have probably wondered when was Christmas cake invented and who made the first Christmas cake .
The history of Christmas cakes can be traced back to the year 1880. Mambally Bapu was a businessman who used to ship bread, tea, and milk to the British troops stationed in Egypt. Upon returning to his home in Thalasseri in the Northern part of Kerala, Bapu decided to start a bakery on his own.
Bapu, who had just returned from Burma had become a master in the art of biscuit making. He wanted to make baked goods popular among the locals. There was only a bakery in the city at that time and they catered mainly to the British troops. However, Bapu soon set up a bakery, named it Royal Biscuit Factory, and started producing almost 40 different varieties of buns, breads, rusks, and biscuits.
What Is The Origin Of Christmas Cake
Three years later and a few days before Christmas, a British planter, Murdoch Brown walked into Bapu’s bakery with a plum cake. Murdoch had purchased the cake from England. Murdoch told Bapu to try the plum cake he brought and asked if he could bake a similar cake.
The baker was intrigued by the question, but he had no idea on how to bake a cake. Murdoch Brown decided to help the baker and he gave Bapu a ten minute demo on the basics of cake baking. Brown also handed over a few ingredients like dry fruits, raisins, dates, and cocoa to the baker. Finally, Brown also advised Bapu to use a French brandy while preparing the Christmas cake.
However, Bapu had already decided to try and experiment things in a different style. He collected spices from farms, procured mould, and decided to use a local brew instead of the brandy. He ended up selecting a local brew that was prepared with kadalipazham ( a type of banana) & cashew apple.
A year later, Bapu visited Brown with the cake that he had made. The British planter tried it and said that it was one of the best cakes that he ever had. In fact, Brown went on to order a dozen more cakes from Bapu. That is how Christmas cakes made their way into our country.
The Christmas cakes became quite popular among customers in a short span of time and Bapu’s business flourished. Thalassery still continues to be one of the prominent suppliers of Christmas cake even after 130 years. In fact, people from different parts of India, UAE, and US continue to place bulk orders from the bakeries in Thalassery even today.
Where To Find Delicious Christmas Cakes
Now that you have learned the rich and delicious history of Christmas cakes, you may be craving for one. Enjoying a thick slice of the yummy Christmas cake, along with a glass of wine, while watching your favorite Holiday movie, at the comfort of your home with your family & friends is what a happy Christmas looks like.
If you do not have time to bake a Christmas cake or if you do not know how, consider buying Christmas cakes online. You can get delicious homemade Christmas cakes delivered to your doorsteps with Masala Box. All you need to do is reach out to us, and we will take care of the rest.
