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Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. Cake is often served as a celebratory dish on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. The term “cake” has a long history. The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word “kaka”. It was baked using flour mixed with eggs, milk, nuts, and honey. They also had a cake called “satura”, which was a flat heavy cake.
During the Roman period, the name for cake became “placenta” which was derived from the Greek term. A placenta was baked on a pastry base or inside a pastry case. The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat’s milk. Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the most obvious differences between a “cake” and “bread” were the round, flat shape of the cakes, and the cooking method, which turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left upright throughout the baking process.
Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. During the Great Depression, there was a surplus of molasses and the need to provide easily made food to millions of economically depressed people in the United States. One company patented a cake-bread mix to deal with this economic situation, and thereby established the first line of cake in a box. When sales dropped heavily in the 1950s, marketers discovered that baking cakes, once a task at which housewives could exercise skill and creativity, had become dispiriting. Ever since cake in a box has become a staple of supermarkets and is complemented with frosting in a can. Cakes are broadly divided into several categories, based primarily on ingredients and mixing techniques.
Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive. Butter cakes are made from creamed butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. They rely on the combination of butter and sugar beaten for an extended time to incorporate air into the batter. A classic pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Baking powder is in many butter cakes, such as Victoria sponge. The ingredients are sometimes mixed without creaming the butter, using recipes for simple and quick cakes.
Traditional sponge cakes are leavened only with eggs. Angel food cake is a white cake that uses only the whites of the eggs and is traditionally baked in a tube pan. The French Génoise is a sponge cake that includes clarified butter. Chocolate cakes are butter cakes, sponge cakes, or other cakes flavored with melted chocolate or cocoa powder. German chocolate cake is a variety of chocolate cake.
Coffee cake is generally thought of as a cake to serve with coffee or tea at breakfast or a coffee break. Some types use yeast as a leavening agent while others use baking soda or baking powder. These cakes often have a crumb topping called streusel or a light glaze drizzle. Baked flourless cakes include baked cheesecakes and flourless chocolate cakes. Layer cakes are cakes made with layers of sponge or butter cake, filled with cream, jam or other filling to hold the layers together. One egg cakes are made with one egg.