Backe, backe Kuchen facts for kids

Backe, backe Kuchen is a very popular children's rhyme from Germany. It's sung in German. This rhyme first appeared in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia around the year 1840. There were a few different versions of the words back then.

The Rhyme's Words and Meaning

This rhyme is about baking a cake. It lists the ingredients you need. It also mentions a baker calling out.

Here are the words of the rhyme in German and what they mean in English:

The rhyme lists seven things you need for a good cake:

• Eggs
• Lard (a type of fat)
• Sugar
• Salt
• Milk
• Flour
• Saffron

Why "Saffron Makes it Yellow"?

The rhyme says "Safran macht den Kuchen gehl". This means "saffron makes the cake yellow". Saffron is a spice that gives food a bright yellow color. It's interesting that the rhyme points this out.

The word "gehl" is an older way of saying "gelb," which means "yellow" in German. It was used to rhyme with "Mehl" (flour). Some old German dialects used "gehl" or "geel" for yellow.

Old Baking Traditions

The rhyme talks about "the baker has called." This part of the rhyme tells us about an old tradition. Long ago, bakers would bake bread in big ovens. After the bread was done, the oven would still be very hot.

Bakers would often use a horn to signal to people in the neighborhood. This signal meant that the oven was ready for them to bake their own cakes. People could use the leftover heat to cook their cakes without needing their own hot oven.

In some villages, there was a shared oven. When the bread was taken out, a signal would let everyone know they could now use the oven's remaining heat for their cakes.

Sometimes, the line "sugar and salt" is changed to "butter and salt" in different versions of the rhyme. Also, the last line, "Schieb ihn in den Ofen rein" (Push it into the oven), is only added in some versions of the song.

Images for kids

• 

  A picture of the "Backe, backe Kuchen" rhyme.

• 

  A baker blowing a horn, from a painting around 1681 by Job Adriaenszoon Berckheyde. This shows how bakers might have called out to people.