Drake's Cakes
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food (bakery) |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Founder | Newman E. Drake |
| Headquarters | Wayne, New Jersey |
| Owner | Pure Food |
| Website | http://www.drakescake.com/www/ |
Drake's is an American baking company that produces a line of snack cakes. It was founded by Newman E. Drake in 1896, and is now owned by McKee Foods.
History
In 1888, Drake developed a pound cake recipe after visiting an English bakery. Several years later, in 1896, Drake established his company in Brooklyn as Drake Brothers, with a commercial bakery located at 1006 Wallabout Market in Brooklyn. The company's "Drake’s Cakes" sold pound cake by the slice. As the company expanded, it was renamed Drake Bakeries, Inc., and built a factory facility at 77 Clinton Avenue on the border of the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Drake Bakeries was one of the few snack cake companies to be produced under kosher guidelines, not using lard or tallow which are prohibited under kosher food laws.
In the 1960s, the Drake's brand—which involved familiar products including Ring Dings, Yodels, Devil Dogs, Yankee Doodles, Sunny Doodles, Funny Bones, and its trademark round coffee cake—was purchased by large food manufacturing companies. It was first owned by Borden until 1987 when it was sold to Ralston Purina, and operations were overseen by Ralston Purina's ITT Continental Baking Company. In 1991, it was sold to Culinar, and later Interstate Bakeries Corporation which acquired Hostess Brands and Wonder Bread. Hostess filed for bankruptcy liquidation in 2012 and shuttered its plants. On 28 January 2013, McKee Foods of Chattanooga, Tennessee (makers of Little Debbie snack cakes) was the lead bidder for the Drake's brand and equipment.[1]
Products
Current
- Devil Dogs: a sandwich-style cake featuring two layers of devil's food cake with vanilla filling inside.
- Yodels: mini Swiss cake rolls covered in chocolate.
- Ring Dings: hockey puck shaped cakes similar to the Hostess Ding Dong.
- Coffee Cakes: coffee cake cupcakes.
- Fruit Pies: apple or cherry filling inside a square pie shell, coated with sugary glaze.
- Zoinks!: yellow cream filled sponge cakes similar to Twinkies.
- Donut Delites: miniature doughnuts in either cinnamon or frosted.
- Mini Muffins: four small muffins in a pouch.
- Honey Buns: round cakes with a honey-flavored glaze.
Former
- Yankee Doodles: cream-filled Devil's food cupcakes without glaze
- Sunny Doodles: same as Yankee Doodles except with yellow cake
- Funny Bones: chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and chocolate coating
References
- ^ Choi, Candace. "Hostess picks Little Debbie maker for Drake's" in the Stamford Advocate (28 January 2013). Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ http://www.drakescake.com/www/cakes