A cake is a form of food
that is usually sweet and often baked. Cakes normally combine
though gluten or starch are often used by vegetarians and vegans), fats (usually butter,
shortening, or margarine, although a fruit puree can be 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 the dessert of choice for meals at ceremonial occasions, particularly
weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. There are literally thousands of cakes recipes
(some are bread-like and some rich and elaborate) and many are centuries old. Cake
making is no longer a complicated procedure; Baking utensils and directions have been so
perfected and simplified that even the amateur cook may easily become an expert baker.
Varities of cake
Cakes are categorised into two groups
Shortened cakes ( Butter cakes )
These are cakes in which contains fat as major ingredient with no or few eggs .
creaming is done for fat and sugar
ex - Butter cakes and Pound cakes .
Unshortened cakes ( Foam cakes )
These are cakes in which contains eggs as major ingredient with no or little fat. Mixing is
done through egg foaming method . ex angel food cake, sponge cake ,meringues and
Jelly roll cakes . Chiffon cakes does have oil and fat alongwith eggs
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 of social function. The cutting of a wedding cake constitues a social
ceremony in some cultures. The Ancient Roman marriage ritual of confarreation originated
in the sharing of a cake.
Particular types of cake may be associated with particular festivals, such as stollen (at
Christmas), babka and simnel cake (at Easter), or mooncake.
Cakes may be round or square or other interesting shapes. Swiss roll and Yule log are
examples of cylindrical cakes. Other forms of cake s are Muffins , Cupcakes and Brownies
Cake Decorating
A finished cake is often enhanced by covering it with frosting, or icing, and toppings such
as sprinkles, which are also known as "jimmies" in certain parts of the United States and
"hundreds and thousands" in the United Kingdom. Frosting is usually made from powdered
(icing) sugar, sometimes a fat of some sort, milk or cream, and often flavorings such as
vanilla extract or cocoa powder. Some decorators use a rolled fondant icing. Commercial
bakeries tend to use lard for the fat, and often whip the lard to introduce air bubbles. This
makes the icing light and spreadable. Home bakers either use lard, butter, margarine or
some combination thereof. Sprinkles are small firm pieces of sugar and oils that are
colored with food coloring. In the late 20th century, new cake decorating products became
available to the public. These include several specialized sprinkles and even methods to
print pictures and transfer the image onto a cake.
Special tools are needed for more complex cake decorating, such as piping bags or
syringes, and various piping tips. To use a piping bag or syringe, a piping tip is attached to
the bag or syringe using a coupler. The bag or syringe is partially filled with icing which is
sometimes colored. Using different piping tips and various techniques, a cake decorator
can make many different designs. Basic decorating tips include open star, closed star,
basketweave, round, drop flower, leaf, multi, petal, and specialty tips.
Royal Icing, Marzipan (or a less sweet version, known as Almond paste), Fondant Icing
(also known as Sugarpaste) and Buttercream are used as covering icings and to create
decorations. Floral Sugarcraft or Wired Sugar Flowers are an important part of Cake
Decoration. Special occasion cakes, such as wedding cakes, are traditionally rich fruit
cakes, or occasionally Madeira cake (also known as whisked or fatless sponge), covered
with marzipan and either Royal Iced or sugarpasted, finished with Royal Iced piped borders
and adorned with a piped message, wired sugar flowers, hand-formed fondant flowers or
marzipan fruit, piped flowers, or crystallized fruits or flowers such as grapes or violets.
