Types of Cakes
Cake types can be divided into two basic categories. The first category is cakes made with butter or vegetable oil using blowing agents such as baking powder or baking soda; the second category is “fluffy cakes” that puff up thanks to the air in the stiff egg whites.
Butter/leavened cakes
The first category is butter/leavened cakes. They include classic pound cakes, yellow cakes, white cakes, spice cakes, and chocolate cakes. They are used for everything from traditional wedding cakes to layered birthday cakes. For this type of cake, butter, shortening, or butter to add moisture and fat, and baking powder or baking soda as a starter are used. For butter and concentrated butter cakes, all ingredients can be added to the bowl at the same time.
This variation is as easy to prepare as a ready-made mixture and tastes better. Recipes with buttercream are ideal for wedding cakes that rise high because of their firmness. Butter cakes are most successful if you beat the butter lightly and fluffy before adding the other ingredients. This can be beaten for three minutes. Then gradually add the sugar, beat for another three minutes, and add the other ingredients. If you are making a lot of these muffins, a mixer is absolutely essential.
TIP
Before kneading the cake batter, it’s a good idea to warm the butter to room temperature so it will mix more easily with the sugar. If you cut it into tablespoon-sized pieces beforehand, it will soften more evenly. This means that some of the liquid parts of the butter is missing and some of the still solid part.
Mousse cake
The second category, mousse cakes, includes angel food cakes, cookies, and chiffon cakes. Fluffy cakes get their large volume from beaten eggs, not from baking powder or other expanders. Sponge cakes do not contain butter or fat. Therefore, they are also suitable for dieters. The most popular cake is the angel food cake, which is literally low in fat because only beaten egg whites are used instead of yolks. Yellow cookie bottoms are made with whole eggs, but the egg part is added separately.
Chiffon Cakes are also whitened with beaten eggs, but they are not real cookies, as they are baked with vegetable oil. They are not as firm as the first category of cakes and are not suitable for large layered cakes like wedding cakes. Chiffon cakes are suitable for light, fluffy cupcakes and can be used for two-layer cakes. Angel food cakes and cookies are great for serving with fruit or as part of a trifle, as they absorb juices while retaining their texture. Mousse cakes are also used for jelly cakes and cake rolls.
TIPS
When making cookies, make sure the eggs are properly and thoroughly beaten. The eggs should be beaten to form stiff peaks. It’s okay if the tips hold their shape and don’t fall off. Do not stir the beaten egg too lightly when adding it to the other ingredients, as it will lose air and volume. The egg white is added to the dough one-third at a time: at one-third, the dough becomes lighter; at the second-third, it becomes even lighter and can absorb more of the air that has formed; at one-third, the dough is so light that it can be folded very easily and absorb all the air from the beaten egg white.
Eggs separate more easily when cold, but whites should be left at room temperature for 30 minutes before beating to reach maximum volume. If the yolk gets into the egg white while you are separating it, discard it and start over. The yolk prevents the egg whites from forming a true meringue.
In comparison, there are other types of cakes. There are special ethnic cakes that have risen with yeast, like Stollen and coffee cakes. Cheesecake seems more like a cake to me. It is a flourless, hard, pudding-like cake… It’s the fruit cake that everyone hates the most and comes closest to being a cake. For the purposes of this blog, I’ve divided it into two main categories to give you more variety. Well… I’m sure there will be cheesecakes too. We’ve shown you some good examples. And we will be posting some great cheesecake recipes soon.
About Author
Sara is a qualified food expert at Main food line, Canada. She had graduated from the University of Cambridge. Sara loves to write about healthy nutrients which help to prevent the human body from various diseases. So people enjoy a healthy lifestyle. She is well experienced in apple cinnamon cake and has an impressive portfolio of serving international clients.
