Cake

Cake is a versatile confectionery prepared by bakers.

Most cakes are baked using flour, sugar, and other specific ingredients. While they began as modifications of bread, modern cakes vary greatly. They can be simple or highly elaborate. Some share characteristics with other desserts like pastries, meringues, or custards. Cakes are often served during important celebrations. People use them for weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. In some cultures, the cutting of a wedding cake is a formal social ceremony.

The process of making cake relies on specific chemical reactions. Most recipes include flour, sugar, eggs, and a fat. The fat might be butter, oil, or margarine. A liquid and a leavening agent are also essential. Leavening agents include baking soda or baking powder. These ingredients help the cake rise during baking. Bakers often add dried fruit, nuts, or cocoa for flavor. Some cakes include extracts like vanilla. Once baked, cakes can be filled with fruit preserves or syrups. They are often finished with buttercream icing or marzipan decorations.

Culinary experts divide cakes into two broad categories. These are shortened cakes and unshortened cakes. Shortened cakes contain fat, while unshortened cakes do not.

Butter cakes are a common type of shortened cake. They are made by creaming butter and sugar together. This process incorporates air into the batter. A classic pound cake uses a specific ratio. It uses one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Another variety is the 1-2-3-4 cake. This uses one cup of butter, two of sugar, three of flour, and four eggs. This recipe was common among American pioneers in North Carolina.

Sponge cakes, also called foam cakes, represent another major type. These rely on whipped eggs for leavening. They use trapped air in a protein matrix to rise.

Some sponge cakes are the oldest types made without yeast. Angel food cake is a white sponge cake. It uses only egg whites and is baked in a tube pan. Chiffon cakes are moist sponge cakes that use vegetable oil. There are also flourless cakes. These omit wheat flour entirely. They use ingredients like almond meal, dairy, or chocolate for structure.

The history of cake stretches back to ancient times. The word "cake" has Viking origins from the Old Norse "kaka."

Ancient Greeks made cakes called plakous. They mixed flour with eggs, milk, nuts, and honey. They even used beer as a leavener. The Romans called a similar cake placenta. In the 14th century, English cakes were very similar to bread. They were round and flat. Bakers would turn them over once during the cooking process. Sponge cakes likely originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain.

In the United States, cake production changed during the 20th century. In the 1920s, more women entered the labor force. This left less time for complex dessert preparation.

During the Great Depression, companies created the first cake mixes in boxes. This was done to manage a surplus of molasses. Later, companies like General Mills marketed mixes for convenience. In the 1950s, sales of these mixes dropped. People felt that baking had become too simple and uncreative. Psychologist Ernest Dichter suggested adding frosting to the mix. This allowed home bakers to express creativity through decoration.

Cakes are often defined by their physical shapes.

Layer cakes consist of stacked sponge or butter cake. They feature fillings like jam or cream between the layers. Bundt cakes have a distinct ring shape. Cupcakes and madeleines are small cakes for one person. Sheet cakes are flat and rectangular. Some cakes are even used as novelties. A cake dress is a wearable garment made of cake. There are even "pop out" cakes made from large cardboard boxes. These are used to surprise people during celebrations.