The Biscuit Family
In German, sponge cake is called “Biskuit.” In the 1893 book The Universal Lexicon of Culinary Arts, it was written that “Biskuit is one of the most digestible and, if simply prepared, healthiest baked goods. Therefore it is highly recommended for children and the ill and convalescing, as an accompaniment to wine for the latter.” Even if modern doctors might not give this advice, sponge cake has not lost its popularity. Maybe it’s because sponge cake is only one member of the whole biscuit family, from which there are dozens if not hundreds of different fine baked goods that can be prepared.
It wasn’t always like that. When the ancient Romans invented a twice baked (latin: bis cotus), rock hard provision for their legions, they were not thinking about taste, but about shelf life. From “bis cotus” the French made “bis cuit,” and baked it just once, which propelled the biscuit to international success in cake and cookie form.
