Cake is a form of sweet food made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, that is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and that share features with other desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.
A muffin is an individual-sized, baked product. It can refer to two distinct items, a part-raised flatbread that is baked and then cooked on a griddle and a cupcake-like quickbread that is chemically leavened and then baked in a mold. While quickbread muffins are often sweetened, there are savory varieties made with ingredients such as corn and cheese. The flatbread is of British or European derivation, and dates from at least the early 18th century, while the quickbread originated in North America during the 19th century. Both are common worldwide today.
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, South Asia, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Caribbean.
Malay cuisine is the cooking tradition of ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as in Cocos Islands, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Different Malay regions are all known for their unique or signature dishes—Pattani, Terengganu and Kelantan for their nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and keropok lekor; Pahang and Perak for its durian-based cuisine, gulai tempoyak; Kedah and Penang for their northern-style asam laksa and rojak; Satun and Perlis for its bunga kuda dessert; Negeri Sembilan for its lemak-based dishes; Malacca for their spicy cincalok; Singapore for their rojak bandung and roti prata; Riau for its ikan patin dishes, gulai ikan patin and asam pedas ikan patin; the Riau Islands for their sup ikan; West Sumatra for its rendang and lemang; Deli Malays of North Sumatra for their nasi goreng teri medan and gulai ketam; Jambi for its ikan mas panggang and tempoyak; Palembangese Malays of South Sumatra for their pempek, mi celor and nasi minyak; Bangka Belitung for its siput gonggong and terang bulan; West Kalimantan and Sarawak for its bubur pedas and ayam pansuh; Brunei for their nasi katok and unique ambuyat dish; Sri Lankan Malays of Sri Lanka for its kalu dodol and watalappam; and Cape Malays of South Africa for their bobotie, boeber and koe'sister.
Fruitcake is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated.
A crumpet is a small griddle cake made from an unsweetened batter of water or milk, flour, and yeast, eaten in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.
Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine is the typical and traditional fare of the Pennsylvania Dutch. According to one writer, "If you had to make a short list of regions in the United States where regional food is actually consumed on a daily basis, the land of the Pennsylvania Dutch - in and around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - would be at or near the top of that list," mainly because the area is a cultural enclave of Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine reflects influences of the Pennsylvania Dutch's German heritage, agrarian society, and rejection of rapid change.
A Bundt cake is a cake that is baked in a Bundt pan, shaping it into a distinctive doughnut shape. The shape is inspired by a traditional European cake known as Gugelhupf, but Bundt cakes are not generally associated with any single recipe. The style of mold in North America was popularized in the 1950s and 1960s, after cookware manufacturer Nordic Ware trademarked the name "Bundt" and began producing Bundt pans from cast aluminum. Publicity from Pillsbury saw the cakes gain widespread popularity.
Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is an ubiquitous plant throughout the country. Seafood also plays a significant role in the cuisine, be it fresh fish or preserved fish. As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road, contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. Influences from Indian, Indonesian and Dutch cuisines are most evident with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties to other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.
Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake. The dish is mostly associated with the north midlands, north Connacht and southern Ulster, in particular the counties of Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Fermanagh, Longford, and Cavan. There are many recipes but all contain finely grated, raw potatoes and all are served fried.
An ontbijtkoek or peperkoek is a Dutch and Flemish spiced cake. Rye is its most important ingredient, coloring the cake light brown. It is often spiced with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, succade and nutmeg. Several parts of the Netherlands have their own local recipe, of which the most famous is oudewijvenkoek, which is mostly eaten in the northern regions, and is flavored with aniseed. Ontbijtkoek is traditionally served at breakfast with a thick layer of butter on top, as a replacement for bread, however, due to its sweet taste it is also served as a snack. It is best eaten the day after it is baked. Ontbijtkoek is also found in Indonesia due to its historical colonial ties with The Netherlands.
Appam is a South Indian pancake dish, made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, common in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka as well as in Sri Lanka. It can be made and served in both sweet and savoury varieties, with the centre of the appam having either a creamy, coconut milk layer or a sunnyside up-style fried egg. Appam is usually served for breakfast or dinner.
In many European countries, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holidays. Traditionally the practice of eating Easter bread or sweetened "communion" bread traces its origin back to Byzantium and the Orthodox Christian church. The recipe for sweetened or "honey-leavened" bread may date back as far as the Homeric Greek period based on anecdotal evidence from classical texts that mention this type of special food. It is also widely known that sweetened bread desserts similar to panettone were a Roman favorite.
Coffee cake is any cake flavored with or intended to be eaten with coffee. British coffee cake is typically a sponge cake flavored with coffee, typically baked in a circular shape with two layers separated by coffee butter icing, which also covers the top of the cake. Walnuts are a common addition, to make coffee and walnut cake. In the United States, coffee cake generally refers to a sweet cake intended to be eaten with coffee or tea. The American variety is presented in a single layer, flavoured with either fruit or cinnamon, and leavened with either baking soda, which results in a more cake-like texture, or yeast, which results in a more bread-like texture. They may be loaf-shaped, for easy slicing or baked in a Bundt or tube pan.
Lardy cake, also known as lardy bread, lardy Johns, dough cake and fourses cake is a traditional rich spiced form of bread found in several southern counties of England, each claiming to provide the original recipe. It remains a popular weekend tea cake in the southern counties of England, including Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and Gloucestershire.
Lamprais (English: Lumprice) is a Sri Lankan dish that was introduced by the country's Dutch Burgher population. Lamprais is derived from the Dutch word lomprijst, which loosely translated means a packet of food.
An ijzerkoekje is a soft cookie, traditionally eaten by Dutch fishermen, especially in Vlaardingen, one of the main harbours of the Netherlands during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is an oval cookie around 0.6-0.7 cm thick with a cinnamon 'creamy' taste. The cookies were invented in the city of Vlaardingen and are baked on a checkered iron plate, creating a characteristic pattern.
Love cake is a traditional semolina cake served in Sri Lanka on special occasions. They are often baked for cultural celebrations such as Christmas, birthdays and weddings, served wrapped in gold paper for guests to eat or take home.
Bibikkan is a traditional Sri Lankan coconut cake. It is a dark moist cake made of shredded coconut, jaggery and semolina combined with a mixture of spices. Bibikkan is commonly prepared and consumed in celebration of festive and religious occasions, including Christmas, New Year's Eve, Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
