Let's Learn about Cake
Cake is a form of food that is usually sweet and often baked. Cakes normally combine some kind of flour (see National Flour Month), a sweetening agent (commonly sugar), a binding agent (generally egg (National Egg Month), though gluten or starch are often used by vegetarians and vegans), fats (usually butter, shortening, or margarine, although a fruit purée such as applesauce is sometimes substituted to avoid using fat), a liquid (milk, water or fruit juice), flavors and some form of leavening agent (such as yeast or baking powder), though many cakes lack these ingredients and instead rely on air bubbles in the dough to expand and cause the cake to rise. Cake is often frosted with buttercream or marzipan, and finished with piped borders and crystallized fruit.
Traditional & Ceremonial
Cake is often the dessert of choice for meals at ceremonial occasions, particularly weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. The cutting of a wedding cake constitutes a social ceremony in some cultures. The Ancient Roman marriage ritual of confarreatio originated in the sharing of a cake.
There are literally millions of cake recipes (some are bread-like and some 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 whisking of egg foams), baking equipment and directions have been simplified that even the most amateur cook may bake a cake. If you would like to see a list of the many different types of cake, visit our cake page where we give you examples of types of cakes.
Small Cakes intended for individual consumption
Cakes may be small and intended for individual consumption (for example madeleines and cupcakes). Larger cakes may be made with the intention of being sliced and served as part of a meal or social function.
National Lemon Cupcake Day -December 15
visit our cupcake section for great cupcake ideas!
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List of Popular Cakes
also see United States cakes
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
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Cake Facts
- Cake is often the dessert of choice for meals at ceremonial occasions, particularly weddings, anniversaries and birthdays.
- the term cake - usually refers to the entire finished object: the cake and its frosting (topping). However, cake also refers to the part that is typically made from flour.
- Typical ingredients are wheat flour, eggs, oil, water, baking powder, vanilla extract, and sugar.
- Cake mixes are often used at home because they are convenient. In this day both the husband and the wife usually work so it is much harder to find the time to make a cake from scratch.
- Prepackaged cake mixes were first introduced to American grocery store shelves in the 1940s by companies including Betty Crocker and General Mills.
- Did you know that sprinkles are also known as "jimmies" in certain parts of the United States.
- The world's biggest cake was made in Alabama in 1989, and weighed 58 tons, including 7.35 tons of icing.
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Growing up eating Cake
by: Pamela Price Svoboda / owner of Gone-ta-pott.com
When I was growing up, homemade cake was a must in our house. My Mother use to make all her cakes fresh from scratch and it was always my job to go up to the chicken pen to collect the fresh eggs that she needed to mix in her cake. The fresh eggs always had a real golden color compared to the yellow color of the yolks that came from the store bought eggs.
Mother's most popular cake was her "Peanutbutter & Chocolate Cake." Every family get together and Holiday, this cake was always requested for her to bake. Daddy was always happy that people would request this cake because it was his very favorite and this would mean he would get to eat it time and time again. I can still see my Daddy right now just waiting for the first slice. Yep the first slice every single time too. You see Mother spoiled him that way. Mother would cut him a really big wedge and Daddy would enjoy every moist bite with a hot cup of coffee. He would take bite after bite and grin his happy grin and say... ummmm um that's good cake. I bet Daddy said it at least 10 times before he finished the slice.
Mother's favorite cake was her "White Coconut Cake." This cake was snow white and full of coconut. My favorite cake was "German Chocolate Cake." Oh boy Mother could make the very best German Chocolate Cake around!
My second favorite cake was Mothers '"Apple Spice Cake." The wonderful smell of baking apples and cinnamon would flow all through the house and make you so hungry. This cake didn't have any fancy icing on top and it was best eaten fresh out of the oven and warm. Apple Spice Cake has to be refrigerated since it has apples in it but there was never enough left over to worry about putting in the fridge anyway.
If company was coming over, Mother would quickly mix up a "Pineapple Upside Down Cake." It always seemed the quickest to fix and it was easy to satisfy everybody with this one.
At Christmas time Mother would always bake the traditional cakes like "Carrot Cake" and "Red Velvet Cake." She would also bake the colorful Fruit Cake. I myself thought all fruit cakes tasted yuckie but my brother Eddie just loved them. I thought the colors of the cake was beautiful but that's about it for me. hahaha! I just couldn't seem to make myself like the candied fruit in it.
My Aunt Lamirl was famous for her "Caramel Cake". Wow what a cake that was! This cake was soaked in caramel and if you cook it just right the outside of the cake will crust over. Now this is perfect caramel cake and she cooked the best I ever put in my mouth. It was so fudgie!
At Easter time my Mother would make a white cake that was shaped like a bunnies head. She always used jellie beans for the eyes and mouth, and pipe cleaners for the whiskers. It was such a fun cake and as a child I really looked forward to Easter so I could have the bunnie cake again.
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Gone-ta-potts
Cherry Nut Cream Cake
recipe by: Pamela Price Svoboda
Cake Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks real butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups of walnuts(chopped)
1 jar of maraschino cherries
Directions:
Cream together 1-1/2 sticks of butter (softened), 1-1/2 cups of sugar, 1 cream cheese, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of almond extract (mix well). Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add baking powder and flour, mixing well.
Drain the cherries and chop the entire jar and set aside.
In a separate bowl mix a small amount of flour with the cherries and fold into the cake mixture being careful not to crush. Add the nuts and pour the entire mixture into a bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Take the cake out of the oven and immediately turn upside down on a dish. This cake cake can also be made as a layer cake.
Icing
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup to 1 cup -powdered sugar
1 jar of maraschino cherries
1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts
Icing Directions:
After the cake has cooled, glaze the top with a equal mixture of confectioners sugar, 1 softened cream cheese, chopped jar of cherries and chopped nuts. Add a few drops of water as needed in order to mix. Make your icing as thick or thin as you like. Spread over the top of the cake like a thick icing or allowing it to drip down the sides like a thin icing.
Decorate with cherries and walnuts along the top.
Refrigerate after cutting
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