By Niveditha Kalyanaraman
November 15th, 2023
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Cakes are a universally favourite dessert. There are countless methods for grouping the world’s many cakes. Professional bakers generally categorize cake using two factors: ingredients and method. Here are 10 different types of cakes.
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Any cake recipe that begins with the step of creaming butter and sugar is a butter cake. Other components include eggs to aerate the batter, flour for structure, milk or another liquid for moisture, and baking powder or baking soda to ensure it rises in the oven.
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Oil cakes follow the same principles as butter cakes, but use oil as the source of fat. Because oil is liquid at room temperature, oil cake recipes skip the step of creaming the fat and sugar; usually the oil is incorporated into the wet ingredients, which are whisked or folded into the dry ingredients.
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Pound cake gets its name from the original ratio of ingredients used to make it: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of flour.
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The versatile sponge can be baked in a round cake pan and simply frosted, but it’s pliable enough to be baked in a jelly roll pan and formed into a roulade. It is frequently brushed with a bold syrup after baking, which also provides extra moisture.
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Chiffon cake recipes usually include both whipped eggs and baking powder: The egg yolks are mixed into the wet ingredients with oil while the whites are beaten to soft peaks and folded into the batter. The result is a hybrid cake that has a tender crumb.
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Angel food cake is made with whipped egg whites, no yolks or other leaveners. The whites are whipped with sugar (a lot of it) until firm before the flour is gently folded in, resulting in a snow-white, airy, and delicate cake, often served with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
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Biscuit cakes contain both egg whites and yolks, which are whipped separately, then folded together.
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Classically made with a cream cheese base and graham cracker crust, cheesecake is often baked in a water bath to insulate the delicate, creamy cake from the oven’s strong bottom heat and help it cook evenly.
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Often enjoyed during Christmas, fruitcake is a preserved cake loaded with an assortment of dried fruits, such as raisins, currants, and cherries. After baking (typically low and slow), it’s often drizzled with rum or brandy.
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It’s just as versatile, yet much simpler to make than some of its sponge cake cousins. Simply bring the milk and butter to a boil, slowly pour the mixture into whole whipped eggs, fold in the dry ingredients, and bake.
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