Cake is abaker's confectionery usually made fromflour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usuallybaked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications ofbread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate and which share features withdesserts such aspastries,meringues,custards, andpies.
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 thewhisking 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 ofViking origin, from theOld 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]
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 theGreat Depression, there was a surplus ofmolasses 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 amass-produced good rather than a home- or bakery-made specialty.
Later, during thepost-war boom, other American companies (notablyGeneral 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 thedomestic sphere while still exposed to the blossoming consumerism in the US.[9] This inspiredpsychologistErnest Dichter to find a solution to the cake mix problem in thefrosting.[10] Since making the cake was so simple, housewives and other in-home cake makers could expend their creative energy oncake 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 abouthundreds of different types of cakes, but there aretwo broad categories, thatculinary divide them into:shortened, andunshorted cakes. Unshortened cakes contain no fat whileshortened cakes do. These types may be combined inbaking.
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 classicpound 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 is1-2-3-4 cake: 1 cup (~240 mL) butter, 2 cups (~480 mL) sugar, 3 cups (~720 mL) flour, and 4 eggs.[12] According to Beth Tartan, this cake was one of the most common among theAmerican pioneers who settled North Carolina.[13]
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 provideleavening, sometimes with a bit ofbaking powder or other chemical leaveners added. Egg-leavened sponge cakes are thought to be the oldest cakes made without yeast.
Angel food cake is awhite cake that uses only the whites of the eggs and is traditionally baked in a tube pan. The FrenchGénoise is a sponge cake that includesclarified butter. Highly decorated sponge cakes with lavish toppings are sometimes calledgateau, 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 acoffee break. Some types use yeast as a leavening agent, while others use baking soda or baking powder. These cakes often have a crumb topping calledstreusel or a light glaze drizzle.
Layer cakes are cakes made of stacked layers of sponge or butter cake filled with cream, jam, or other filling in between the layers to hold them 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 aquick 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 asbabka, aViennoiserie, andstollen.
Special-purpose cakes
Cakes may be classified according to the occasion for which they are intended. For example,wedding cakes,birthday cakes, cakes forfirst communion, Christmas cakes,Halloween cakes, andPassover plava (a type of sponge cake sometimes made withmatzo 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 ofconfarreatio originated in the sharing of a cake.
Particular types of cake may be associated with particular festivals, such asstollen orchocolate log (at Christmas),babka andsimnel cake (at Easter), ormooncake. There has been a long tradition of decorating an iced cake at Christmas time; other cakes associated with Christmas include chocolate log andmince 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]
Sometimes a cake is made less for its value as food, and more for its value as anovelty. That includes thepop out cake, which is usually a large cardboard box, covered with cake or at least frosting. A person hides inside the box and jumps out as a surprise. Acake dress is a wearabledress that is made mostly out of cake (e.g., cake stacked on shelves attached to acrinoline skirt).
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:
In the US, special cake flour is available, which has a high starch-to-gluten ratio that is made from fine-textured, soft, low-protein wheat. It is strongly bleached and compared to all-purpose flour, and cake flour tends to result in cakes with a lighter, less dense texture.[21] In Europe, Australia and New Zealand, cake flour is banned because it is bleached, with recipes stipulating using either plain (US:All-purpose) or self-raising flour.[22] In US recipes, cake flour is frequently specified or preferred in cakes meant to be soft, light or bright white, such asangel 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.[23][24][25] 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,[26][27] when it has been underbaked[27] and when placed in an oven that is too hot at the beginning of the baking process.[28] The use of excessive amounts of sugar, flour, fat or leavening can also cause a cake to fall.[28][29] A cake can also fall when subjected to cool air that enters an oven when the oven door is opened during the cooking process.[30]
A finished cake is often enhanced by covering it withicing, or frosting, and toppings such assprinkles, 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 avanilla extract orcocoa powder. Some decorators use a rolledfondant icing. Commercial bakeries tend to uselard 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 withfood 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 complexcake decorating, such aspiping bags and various piping tips, syringes andembossing 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. Acake turntable that cakes are spun upon may be used in cake decoration.
Royal icing,marzipan (or a less sweet version, known asalmond paste), fondant icing(also known as sugar paste), and buttercream are used as covering icings and to create decorations. Floralsugarcraft 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 occasionallyMadeira 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 asgrapes orviolets.
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, includingAspergillus flavus and variouspenicillins, andAspergillus 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 likeSalmonella andE. coli. Cake batter uses raw flour which can contain live bacteria and present a hazard if consumed.[31]
^Cloake, Felicity (16 May 2013)."How to make the perfect Victoria sponge cake".Guardian.Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved6 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.
.jpg)
.jpg)
