Cakes
Varieties:
Cakes
are broadly divided into several categories, based primarily on ingredients and
mixing techniques.
Ĝ Butter cakes are made from creamed
butter, sugar, eggs, and four. They rely on the combination of butter and sugar
beaten for an extended time to incorporate air into the batter. A
classic pound cake is made with a pound each
of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Baking powder is in many butter
cakes, such as Victoria sponge. The ingredients are
sometimes mixed without creaming the butter, using recipes for simple and quick
cakes.
Ĝ Sponge cakes (or foam cakes) are made
from whipped eggs, sugar, and flour. They rely primarily on trapped air in a
protein matrix (generally of beaten eggs) to provide leavening, sometimes with a bit of baking powder or other chemical
leaven added as insurance. Sponge cakes are thought to be the oldest cakes made
without yeast. An angel food cake is
a white sponge cake that uses only the whites of the eggs and is traditionally
baked in a tube pan. The French Génoise
Ĝ Chocolate cakes are
butter cakes, sponge cakes, or other cakes flavored with melted chocolate or cocoa powder. German chocolate cake is
a variety of chocolate cake. Fudge cakes are chocolate cakes that
contains fudge.
Ĝ Coffee cake is generally thought of
as a cake to serve with coffee or tea at breakfast or at a coffee break. Some types use yeast as a
leavening agent while others use baking soda and/or baking powder. These cakes
often have a crumb topping called streusel and/or a light glaze drizzle.
