Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and 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 which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.
Cake is often served as a celebratory dish on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. There are countless cake recipes; some are bread-like, some are rich and elaborate, and many are centuries old. Cake making is no longer a complicated procedure; while at one time considerable labor went into cake making (particularly the whisking of egg foams), baking equipment and directions have been simplified so that even the most amateur of cooks may bake a cake.
History
The term "cake" has a long history. The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word "kaka".[2]
The ancient Greeks called cake πλακοῦς (plakous), which was derived from the word for "flat", πλακόεις (plakoeis). 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.[3]
The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, fryingfritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk.[4] In ancient Rome, the basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good.[5] The Latin poet Ovid refers to his and his brother's birthday party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia.[6]
Early 14th century 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.[5]
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.[8] One company patented a cake-bread mix to deal with this economic situation and thereby established the first line of cake in a box. In doing so, cake, as it is known today, became a mass-produced good rather than a home- or bakery-made specialty.
Later, during the post-war boom, other American companies (notably General Mills) developed this idea further, marketing cake mix on the principle of convenience, especially to housewives. 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. This was a period in American ideological history when women, retired from the war-time labor force, were confined to the domestic sphere while still exposed to the blossoming consumerism in the US.[9] This inspired psychologistErnest Dichter to find a solution to the cake mix problem in the frosting.[10] Since making the cake was so simple, housewives and other in-home cake makers could expend their creative energy on cake decorating inspired by, among other things, photographs in magazines of elaborately decorated cakes.
Ever since boxed cake mix has become a staple of supermarkets, it is often complemented with frosting in a can.[citation needed]
Cakes are broadly divided into several categories, based primarily on ingredients and mixing techniques. There are about hundreds of different types of cakes, but there are two broad categories, that culinary divide them into: shortened, and unshorted cakes. Unshortened cakes contain no fat while shortened cakes do. These types may be combined in baking.
Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive.[5]
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.[11] A classic pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Another type of butter cake that takes its name from the proportion of ingredients used is 1-2-3-4 cake: 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs.[12] According to Beth Tartan, this cake was one of the most common among the American pioneers who settled North Carolina.[13]
Baking powder is in many butter cakes, such as Victoria sponge.[14] The ingredients are sometimes mixed without creaming the butter, using recipes for simple and quick cakes.[citation needed]
Sponge cakes (or foam cakes) are made from whipped eggs, sugar, and flour. Traditional sponge cakes are leavened only with eggs. They rely primarily on trapped air in a protein matrix (generally beaten eggs) to provide leavening, sometimes with a bit of baking powder or other chemical leaven added. Egg-leavened sponge cakes are thought to be the oldest cakes made without yeast.
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. Highly decorated sponge cakes with lavish toppings are sometimes called gateau, the French word for cake. Chiffon cakes are sponge cakes with vegetable oil, which adds moistness.[15]
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.
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 cake
One-egg cakes are made with one egg. They can be made with butter[17] or vegetable shortening.[18] One egg cake was an economical recipe when using two eggs for each cake was too costly.[19]
Comparison with bread
Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive.[5] For example, banana bread may be properly considered either a quick bread or a cake. Yeast cakes are the oldest and are very similar to yeast bread. Such cakes are often very traditional in form and include such pastries as babka and stollen.
Special-purpose cakes
Cakes may be classified according to the occasion for which they are intended. For example, wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cakes for first communion, Christmas cakes, Halloween cakes, and Passover plava (a type of sponge cake sometimes made with matzo meal) are all identified primarily according to the celebration they are intended to accompany. The cutting of a wedding cake constitutes a social ceremony in some cultures. The Ancient Roman marriage ritual of confarreatio originated in the sharing of a cake.
Particular types of cake may be associated with particular festivals, such as stollen or chocolate log (at Christmas), babka and simnel cake (at Easter), or mooncake. There has been a long tradition of decorating an iced cake at Christmas time; other cakes associated with Christmas include chocolate log and mince pies.
A Lancashire Courting Cake is a fruit-filled cake baked by a fiancée for her betrothed. The cake has been described as "somewhere between a firm sponge – with a greater proportion of flour to fat and eggs than a Victoria sponge cake – and a shortbread base and was proof of the bride-to-be's baking skills". Traditionally it is a two-layer cake filled and topped with strawberries or raspberries and whipped cream.[20]
Cakes are frequently described according to their physical form. Cakes may be small and intended for individual consumption. Larger cakes may be made to be sliced and served as part of a meal or social function. Common shapes include:
Special cake flour with a high starch-to-gluten ratio is made from fine-textured, soft, low-protein wheat. It is strongly bleached and compared to all-purpose flour, cake flour tends to result in cakes with a lighter, less dense texture.[21] Therefore, it is frequently specified or preferred in cakes meant to be soft, light or bright white, such as angel food cake. However, if cake flour is called for, a substitute can be made by replacing a small percentage of all-purpose flour with cornstarch or removing two tablespoons from each cup of all-purpose flour.[22][23][24] Some recipes explicitly specify or permit all-purpose flour, notably where a firmer or denser cake texture is desired.
Cooking
Baking a basic yellow cake
A cake can fail to bake properly, which is called "falling". In a cake that "falls", parts may sink or flatten, because it was baked at a temperature that is too low or too hot,[25][26] when it has been underbaked[26] and when placed in an oven that is too hot at the beginning of the baking process.[27] The use of excessive amounts of sugar, flour, fat or leavening can also cause a cake to fall.[27][28] A cake can also fall when subjected to cool air that enters an oven when the oven door is opened during the cooking process.[29]
A finished cake is often enhanced by covering it with icing, or frosting, and toppings such as sprinkles, which are also known as "jimmies" in certain parts of the United States and "hundreds and thousands" in the United Kingdom. The frosting is usually made from powdered (icing) sugar, sometimes a fat of some sort, milk or cream, and often flavorings such as a vanilla extract or cocoa powder. Some decorators use a rolled fondant icing. Commercial bakeries tend to use lard for the fat, and often whip the lard to introduce air bubbles. This makes the icing light and spreadable. Home bakers either use lard, butter, margarine, or some combination thereof. Sprinkles are small firm pieces of sugar and oils that are colored with food coloring. In the late 20th century, new cake decorating products became available to the public. These include several specialized sprinkles and even methods to print pictures and transfer the image onto a cake.
Special tools are needed for more complex cake decorating, such as piping bags and various piping tips, syringes and embossing mats. To use a piping bag or syringe, a piping tip is attached to the bag or syringe using a coupler. The bag or syringe is partially filled with icing which is sometimes colored. Using different piping tips and various techniques, a cake decorator can make many different designs. Basic decorating tips include open star, closed star, basketweave, round, drop flower, leaf, multi, petal, and specialty tips. An embossing mat is used to create embossed effects. A cake turntable that cakes are spun upon may be used in cake decoration.
Royal icing, marzipan (or a less sweet version, known as almond paste), fondant icing (also known as sugar paste), and buttercream are used as covering icings and to create decorations. Floral sugarcraft or wired sugar flowers are an important part of cake decoration. Cakes for special occasions, such as wedding cakes, are traditionally rich fruit cakes or occasionally Madeira cakes, that are covered with marzipan and iced using royal icing or sugar-paste. They are finished with piped borders (made with royal icing) and adorned with a piped message, wired sugar flowers, hand-formed fondant flowers, marzipan fruit, piped flowers, or crystallized fruits or flowers such as grapes or violets.
The shelf life of cakes packages for commercial sale depends on several factors. Cakes are intermediate moisture products prone to mold growth. Commercial cakes are frequently and commonly exposed to different mold varieties before they are packaged for sale, including Aspergillus flavus and various penicillins, and Aspergillus niger. Preservatives and oxygen absorbents are currently used to control and inhibit mold growth.
The CDC has recommended not to eat raw cake batter because it can contain pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli. Cake batter uses raw flour which can contain live bacteria and present a hazard if consumed.[30]
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods. It works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid–base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. The first single-acting baking powder was developed by food manufacturer Alfred Bird in England in 1843. The first double-acting baking powder, which releases some carbon dioxide when dampened and later releases more of the gas when heated by baking, was developed by Eben Norton Horsford in the U.S. in the 1860s.
Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening agents, as well as ingredients such as fats or flavourings.
Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or with a coat of icing.
A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but at a time following the ceremony on the same day. In modern Western culture, the cake is usually on display and served to guests at the reception. Traditionally, wedding cakes were made to bring good luck to all guests and the couple. Nowadays, however, they are more of a centerpiece to the wedding and are not always even served to the guests. Some cakes are built with only a single edible tier for the bride and groom to share, but this is rare since the cost difference between fake and real tiers is minimal.
Icing, or frosting, is a sweet, often creamy glaze made of sugar with a liquid, such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, cream cheese, or flavorings. It is used to coat or decorate baked goods, such as cakes. When it is used between layers of cake it is known as a filling.
Fruitcake or fruit cake 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.
Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly scone-like texture. There are multiple variations of shortcake, most of which are served with fruit and cream. One of the most popular is strawberry shortcake, which is typically served with whipped cream. Other variations common in the UK are blackberry and clotted cream shortcake and lemon berry shortcake, which is served with lemon curd in place of cream.
Quick bread is any bread leavened with a chemical leavening agent rather than a biological one like yeast or sourdough starter. An advantage of quick breads is their ability to be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring the time-consuming skilled labor and the climate control needed for traditional yeast breads.
Hot milk cake is a butter sponge cake from American cuisine. It can be made as a sheet cake or a layer cake, or baked in a tube pan. The hot milk and butter give the cake a distinctive fine-grained texture, similar to pound cake.
A butter cake is a cake in which one of the main ingredients is butter. Butter cake is baked with basic ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda. It is considered one of the quintessential cakes in American baking. Butter cake originated from the English pound cake, which traditionally used equal amounts of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs to bake a heavy, rich cake.
A génoise, also known as Genoese cake or Genovese cake, is a French sponge cake named after the city of Genoa and associated with French cuisine. It was created by François Massialot in the late 17th century. Instead of using chemical leavening, air is suspended in the batter during mixing to provide volume.
A chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings.
Coffee cake or coffeecake is a sweet bread common in the United States, so called because it is typically served with coffee. Leavenings can include yeast, baking soda, or baking powder. The modern dish typically contains no coffee. Outside the US, the term is generally understood to mean a cake flavored with coffee.
Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing or butter frosting, is used for either filling, coating or decorating cakes. The main ingredients are butter and some type of sugar.
Cake decorating is the art of decorating a cake for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, baby showers, national or religious holidays, or as a promotional item.
Sponge cake is a light cake made with eggs, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the British poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognised today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by British food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in many flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.
Bumpy cake was created by Sanders Confectionery, of Detroit, Michigan, in the early 1900s and was known as "The Sanders Devil's Food Buttercream Cake" when it was first introduced. It is made of chocolate devil's food cake that is topped with rich buttercream bumps, and then draped in a chocolate ganache. Now more than a century old, this is a classic confection.
Chestnut cake is a cake prepared using chestnuts. Chestnut flour prepared from cooked, ground chestnuts is used in its preparation, along with additional typical cake ingredients. It is sometimes prepared as a chocolate cake. Chestnuts are sometimes used in a frosting or glaze atop the cake, and it may be garnished with cooked or candied chestnuts. It can be prepared as a gluten-free dish.
White cake is a type of cake that is made without egg yolks. White cakes were also once known as silver cakes.
↑ Cloake, Felicity (16 May 2013). "How to make the perfect Victoria sponge cake". Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2015. [Victoria sponge] is a misnomer, because a true sponge, of the kind used in Swiss rolls, is made from a whisked mixture of eggs, sugar and flour.
↑ Medrich, Alice (1997). Joy of Cooking. New York: Scribner. p.949. ISBN0-684-81870-1.
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