Cake

is a form of sweet food made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, that is usually. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and that share features with other such as , , , and.

The most commonly used cake ingredients include, , s, butter or or , a liquid, and a , such as  or. Common additional ingredients and flavourings include, , or fresh fruit, , , and such as vanilla, with numerous substitutions for the primary ingredients. Cakes can also be filled with, nuts or dessert sauces (like , , cooked , or ), iced with  or other , and decorated with , piped borders, or candied fruit.

Cake is often served as a celebratory dish on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings,, 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 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 origin, from the  word “kaka”.

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.

The Greeks invented beer as a,  in , and  using. In, the basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good. poet refers to his and his brother's birthday party and cake in his first book of exile, .

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.

, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during, possibly in.

Varieties
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 cake
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 is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Another type of butter cake that takes its names from the proportion of ingredients used is : 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs. According to Beth Tartan, this cake was one of the most common among the who settled North Carolina.

is in many butter cakes, such as. The ingredients are sometimes mixed without creaming the butter, using recipes for simple and quick cakes.

Sponge cake
(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 of beaten eggs) to provide, sometimes with a bit of or other chemical leaven added. Egg-leavened sponge cakes are thought to be the oldest cakes made without yeast.

is a that uses only the whites of the eggs and is traditionally baked in a tube pan. The French is a sponge cake that includes. Highly decorated sponge cakes with lavish toppings are sometimes called gateau, the French word for cake. are sponge cakes with vegetable oil, which adds moistness.

Chocolate cake
are butter cakes, sponge cakes, or other cakes flavored with melted chocolate or. is a variety of chocolate cake. are that contain.

Coffee cake
is generally thought of as a cake to serve with coffee or tea at breakfast or a. Some types use yeast as a leavening agent while others use baking soda or baking powder. These cakes often have a crumb topping called or a light glaze drizzle.

Flourless cake
Baked flourless cakes include baked and. Cheesecakes, despite their name, are not cakes at all. Cheesecakes are custard s, with a filling made mostly of some form of cheese (often, , , or the like), and have very little flour added, although a flour-based or may be used. Cheesecakes are also very old, with evidence of honey-sweetened cakes dating back to ancient Greece.

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 or vegetable shortening. One egg cake was an economical recipe when using two eggs for each cake was too costly.

Comparison with bread
Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive. For example, may be properly considered either a  or a cake. cakes are the oldest and are very similar to yeast bread. Such cakes are often very traditional in form and include such pastries as and.

Special-purpose cakes
Cakes may be classified according to the occasion for which they are intended. For example,, , cakes for , Christmas cakes, cakes, and  plava (a type of sponge cake sometimes made with  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  originated in the sharing of a cake.

Particular types of cake may be associated with particular festivals, such as or  (at Christmas), [[babka (food)|babka}} and  (at Easter), or . There has been a long tradition of decorating an iced cake at Christmas time; other cakes associated with Christmas include chocolate log and.

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.

Shapes
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:
 * , such as the
 * and, which are both sized for a single person
 * , frequently baked in a and decorated
 * , simple, flat, rectangular cakes baked in
 * and, which are both sized for a single person
 * , frequently baked in a and decorated
 * , simple, flat, rectangular cakes baked in

Cake flour
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. Therefore, it is frequently specified or preferred in cakes meant to be soft, light, and/or bright white, such as. 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. Some recipes explicitly specify or permit all-purpose flour, notably where a firmer or denser cake texture is desired.

Cooking
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, when it has been underbaked and when placed in an oven that is too hot at the beginning of the baking process. The use of excessive amounts of sugar, flour, fat or leavening can also cause a cake to fall. A cake can also fall when subjected to cool air that enters an oven when the oven door is opened during the cooking process.

Cake decorating
A finished cake is often enhanced by covering it with, or frosting, and toppings such as , 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 or. Some decorators use a rolled. Commercial bakeries tend to use 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,, or some combination thereof. Sprinkles are small firm pieces of sugar and oils that are colored with. 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, such as and various piping tips, syringes and. 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 that cakes are spun upon may be used in cake decoration.

, (or a less sweet version, known as ), fondant icing (also known as sugar paste), and buttercream are used as covering icings and to create decorations. Floral 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, 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 or.

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