Who doesn’t love homemade cake? All you really need is four ingredients flour, sugar, eggs and dairy to make a delicious cake. You can do so much with just these four ingredients. There are abundant techniques to make one type of cake different from another.
There are basically two types of cake categories (with many further variations)- butter and foam. The broad distinction is based on fat content. Foam cakes have less fat content and more whipped air which makes them light and fluffy while butter cakes have higher fat content due to the use of butter and margarine.
Butter Cake
As suggested by the name, this cake’s main ingredient is butter. It is a quintessential cake that is most commonly found in birthday cakes. It is the more evolved form of the pound cake. The cake has many regional variations like Butterkuchen which is German in nature and then there is the Gooey Butter Cake which shares its origins in St. Louis. A classic touch to the butter cake is its craggily top which is due to over baking. However, while in most cakes over baking is a big no-no, this cake thrives on a little bit of crumbly dryness. Another characteristic that is hard to miss is its yellow colour which comes from the butter and yolks.
Pound Cake
A pound cake is traditionally known for having one pond of butter, one pound of sugar and a pound of eggs. Unlike other cakes, there is less use of leaveners like baking powder and baking soda in pound cake. Made in a loaf or bundt pan, it is usually drizzled with glaze or melted chocolate.
Sponge Cake
For making this cake, you need to use whipped eggs in place of leaveners. Spongy, moist, and light, these cakes are dusted with powdered sugar.
Genoise Cake
This is a special type of Italian and French cake similar to sponge cake where eggs are beaten to hard peaks and dry ingredients are then folded into it. Unlike butter cakes, they have fewer layers and little to no buttercream.
Flourless Cake
A flourless cake encompasses cheesecakes and other specialty cakes. They have a strong dairy and egg base. They are baked to a certain temperature and then cooled.
