Cake is a bread-like dessert food, often baked in an oven, topped with icing , glaze or eaten plain.
So Cake is Cake right? Well Yes & No!
Cake comes in a variety of ways, however we can categorize cakes into 3 forms depending on the fat content.
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Foam cakes (popularly called sponge cakes) let me mention here that all cakes are basically sponges, though the density varies.
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Butter cakes
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Oil cakes
Foam Cakes: Aka “sponge cakes” are typically very light and fluffy cakes because they contain very little fat and a lot of eggs. The eggs are whipped with sugar till it is very foamy and then combined with flour. This results in a very light and springy texture just like a sponge and this is why it can absorb syrups just like a literal sponge….And so how does it taste? When you say you want a “melt in the mouth” cake, this is it. This type of cake has a plain taste so it depends mostly on flavored syrups e.g fruit and milk syrup and cream frosting to amplify the taste. This is the kind of cake you want to have for a snack, afternoon tea or just to enjoy after dinner. They are mostly small, you cannot make a wedding cake out of this kind of cake, it will end in tears. The cakes in this category are, angel cake, chiffon cake, black forest cake etc.
Butter Cakes: As the name suggests, it is made out of butter and of course eggs, flour and sugar. The butter gives it a rich flavor. The texture is dense and this makes it perfect for decorated cakes e.g. fondant and buttercream cakes. This is the perfect cake for events and parties as it can be portioned beautifully. For some recipes, the butter may be substituted for margarine or shortening. Irrespective of the fat used, they still taste very good. The cakes in this category are pound cakes, creamy vanilla cake, chocolate cake, red velvet cake etc.
Oil Cakes: This type of cake uses vegetable oil as the fat, and since vegetable oil is liquid, these cakes are moist at room temperature. The texture is light and a bit crumbly. Best paired with cream frostings such as cream cheese, whipped cream etc. It can be made in a variety of flavors, e.g carrot cake, chocolate cake and red velvet cake.