We all have our favorite kind of cake. Whether it's red velvet, tiramisu, a thick yellow butter cake, or a soft and creamy angel food cake, we can't live without this must-have dessert.
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00:00Chances are you have your favorite go-to birthday cake, but how about enjoying the one everyone
00:05was eating on the day you were born?
00:07Let's take a walk down memory lane and look at all the biggest, best, and most popular
00:11cakes that have trended over the years.
00:14So what was the most popular cake the year you were born?
00:171948-1956 Chiffon Cake
00:20A light, dairy-free cake that looks a lot like angel food, chiffon has the same spongy
00:25texture, but this cake is made with both egg whites and yolks, along with fruit juice.
00:29Invented by a guy with the perfect name of Harry Baker, Chiffon Cake was popularized
00:34in 1948 after he sold the recipe to Betty Crocker.
00:381957-1960 German Chocolate Cake
00:41German Chocolate Cake isn't actually German, says NPR, and was instead named for Sam German,
00:46the creator of a sweet baking chocolate aptly called German's Chocolate.
00:49Even though the chocolate hit the market in 1852, it wasn't until 1957 that it became
00:54hugely popular, when a Texas baker sent her chocolate cake recipe to a Dallas newspaper.
00:59Even sweet baking chocolate was the key ingredient, and the cake was so popular, their sales rose
01:03around 73 percent.
01:061961-1965 Pink Champagne Cake
01:09Chocolate cakes made with cola have been popular across the southern U.S. for decades, but
01:13in the beginning of the 1960s, it was the West Coast Pink Champagne Cake that rose to
01:17the top.
01:18The layers of this sweet-like cake were usually separated by a layer of coconut or Bavarian
01:22cream, then covered in fondant for a delicious, unique flavor.
01:261966 Tunnel of Fudge Cake
01:29In 1966, America was all about the decadent Tunnel of Fudge Cake, which popularized Nordic
01:34Ware's Bundt baking pan.
01:35The pan was almost discontinued by the company until Houston's Ella Helfrich used it for
01:39her Pillsbury Bake Off competition cake in 1966.
01:42Her Tunnel of Fudge Cake, with its chocolate nut bundt-shaped cake and fudgy middle, came
01:46in second.
01:47But it became so popular, Nordic Ware was making 30,000 bundt pans a day to keep up
01:51with demand.
01:521967-1971 Carrot Cake
01:55Carrot Cake got a major boost in the late 1960s when the cream cheese frosting we know
01:59and love today became the go-to topping.
02:02And let's be honest here, it's the frosting that makes it.
02:04Couple that with an increasingly health-conscious country, and carrot cakes surged in popularity.
02:09It stayed near the top for years, too, because the carrots make it healthy, right?
02:13So you're getting carrot cake?
02:14Isn't that a little cliche?
02:16Rabbits?
02:17Carrots?
02:181972-1973 Sockitimmy Cake
02:22The 1970 Sockitimmy Cake was a kind of coffee cake, and it looked pretty boring from the
02:27outside.
02:28Cut into it, though, and you'll find a layer of brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecan filling.
02:32The main draw, though, seemed to be simply that the name was a pop culture reference
02:36to one of the biggest shows on television at the time, Laugh-In.
02:38Sockitimmy, Sockitimmy, Sockitimmy, Sockitimmy.
02:42Sock it to yourself!
02:45Sock it to me?
02:471974 The Watergate Cake
02:50Some events define an era, and Watergate was one of those events.
02:53It was so earth-shattering that it even spawned a dessert, a white cake colored bright green
02:57with the help of club soda and pistachio Jell-O. Sounds weird?
03:01It totally was, and it was also massively popular around the time of President Nixon's
03:05resignation.
03:06According to Atlas Obscura, it was defined as a cake hiding a ton of nuts beneath a heavy
03:10cover-up of icing, and it was timely.
03:13At least the Watergate Cake usually came with a sweet center.
03:161975-1977 Jell-O Poke Cakes
03:20Jell-O was huge in the 70s, and the invention of the Jell-O cake put it over the top.
03:24Integrating the cake in the Jell-O only requires poking some holes in the cake and pouring
03:28in the Jell-O. It's both simple and tasty, so it's no wonder this slightly psychedelic
03:32cake was so popular.
03:341978-1983 Hummingbird Cake
03:37A light cake filled with the sweet flavors of banana and pineapple, Hummingbird Cake
03:41hit the big time with the February 1978 issue of Southern Living.
03:45That's when Mrs. L.H. Wiggins' recipe was published, and for decades, it's remained
03:49their most requested recipe.
03:511984-1987 Tiramisu
03:54The origins of tiramisu are shrouded in mystery, and so is its sudden rise to fame as America's
03:59favorite cake of the 80s.
04:00The word tiramisu first appeared in print in 1982, and the first recipe for the spongy,
04:05chocolatey, espresso-infused cake was published in 1983.
04:09Within a year, tiramisu was a national craze, right up there with leg warmers and Cabbage
04:13Patch Kids, only much, much tastier.
04:161988-Chocolate Praline Layer Cake
04:19In 1988, Pillsbury Bake-Off competition introduced another star to the dessert world with the
04:24Chocolate Praline Layer Cake.
04:25Julie Bengston's recipe for a devil's food cake layered with sugary pecans and whipped
04:29cream proved that box cake mix definitely doesn't have to be boring, and that layered
04:33cakes don't have to be difficult.
04:35No wonder it was a massive hit.
04:371989-1990 Funfetti
04:40In 1989, Pillsbury did something revolutionary.
04:43They put rainbow sprinkles in the cake batter itself, instead of just on top.
04:46It's a pretty simple idea, but according to the New York Times, Funfetti kicked off a
04:50craze that defined 1990s cakes.
04:52Hey, it's got fun right in the name, so you know it's good.
04:561991-1994 Chocolate Lava Cake
04:59Hard to believe, but once upon a time, nobody had ever heard of Chocolate Lava Cake.
05:04That changed in the early 90s, when this warm, chocolate cake with a gooey center became
05:08what chef Sherry Yard calls the viral dessert of the 90s.
05:11It soon spread from coast to coast, and now just about every mid-priced restaurant in
05:15America offers it as a delicious dessert option.
05:181995-Viennetta
05:20In 1995, you couldn't turn on the television without seeing commercials for Breyer's Viennetta.
05:25Eater called it the most distinguished ice cream cake of the 90s, and it definitely was.
05:29Unfortunately, these days you have to go overseas to discover the decadence of mid-90s ice cream
05:34cake, as Viennetta is no longer widely available in America.
05:37But we think it's worth the trip.
05:391996-1999 Red Velvet
05:42According to food historian Kim Severson, Red Velvet dates back to the 19th century,
05:46with the red part just a gimmick to sell more food coloring.
05:49But the recipe took off after a cameo appearance in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias, and led
05:53to a new version of the cake being introduced by New York City's Magnolia Bakery in 1996.
05:58Red Velvet everything became the rage.
06:00Our taste buds thank you, Shirley MacLaine.
06:032000 Anything in Cupcake Form
06:05The Magnolia Bakery also helped turn cupcakes into a national obsession after the delicious
06:09treat was featured in an episode of Sex and the City.
06:12Not everyone was a fan, though, as some felt the fad drove quirkier foods out in favor
06:16of chasing the latest hot trend.
06:18But hey, cupcakes!
06:202001-2007 Bacon Cakes
06:23According to the National Pork Board, bacon sales jumped 25 percent in 2001, and we haven't
06:28looked back since.
06:29With recipes for maple bacon cakes, bacon and blueberry cakes, bourbon bacon cakes,
06:33and cakes filled with brown sugar and bacon-y goodness, bacon reigned for years in a delicious
06:37dictatorship of savory goodness.
06:402008 Anything in Cake Pop Form
06:42Thanks to social media, it's all about the trends.
06:45Cakes gave way to cupcakes, and in 2008, blogger Angie Dudley, better known to some as Bakerella,
06:50created the cake pop.
06:52After Dudley appeared on The Martha Stewart Show to demonstrate her genius invention,
06:55cake pops became a national obsession, turning her book Cake Pops, Tips, Tricks, and Recipes
07:00for more than 40 irresistible mini-treats into a New York Times bestseller.
07:04Our review?
07:05Yum!