Cakes varieties
There are many different types of cake recipes and many different ways of dividing them into various categories, but they are generally classified according to whether or not they contain fat, also known as shortening(not the be confused soley with just processed shortening). Thus, cakes are either: SHORTENED (BUTTER OR OIL) CAKES or UNSHORTENED (FOAM) CAKES. Chiffon cakes make up the third category, but here they're included with unshortened(foam) cakes.
The classification of cake recipes: SHORTENED CAKES: contain fat, frequently in a solid form
UNSHORTENED CAKES: contain little or no fat
Butter cakes: Melt in your mouth butter cakes are probably the most popular type of cake. Classic American cakes typically consist of two layers of a buttery cake that are filled covered with a sweet frosting. Butter cakes contain some form of fat, usually butter, margarine, oil, or shortening. Early cakes were leavened only by the air beaten into the butter and eggs during the mixing process. Most cakes today include some sort of leaveners such as baking powder or baking soda, along with proper mixing techniques, to produce a lighter textured cake.
Foam cakes: Foam cakes and sponge cakes are delicate cakes made with little or no fat such as butter, oil, or shortening, making them lighter and airier than butter cakes. Most foam cakes recipes have no little or no chemical leaveners such as baking powder or baking soda; instead they depend on a large amount of either whole or separated eggs that are whipped and filled with air bubbles to providing the leavening ingredient to make the cake rise during baking. Because foam cakes have a high proportion of eggs to flour they have a light and spongy texture not found in butter cakes.
There are many different types of cake recipes and many different ways of dividing them into various categories, but they are generally classified according to whether or not they contain fat, also known as shortening(not the be confused soley with just processed shortening). Thus, cakes are either: SHORTENED (BUTTER OR OIL) CAKES or UNSHORTENED (FOAM) CAKES. Chiffon cakes make up the third category, but here they're included with unshortened(foam) cakes.
The classification of cake recipes: SHORTENED CAKES: contain fat, frequently in a solid form
UNSHORTENED CAKES: contain little or no fat
Butter cakes: Melt in your mouth butter cakes are probably the most popular type of cake. Classic American cakes typically consist of two layers of a buttery cake that are filled covered with a sweet frosting. Butter cakes contain some form of fat, usually butter, margarine, oil, or shortening. Early cakes were leavened only by the air beaten into the butter and eggs during the mixing process. Most cakes today include some sort of leaveners such as baking powder or baking soda, along with proper mixing techniques, to produce a lighter textured cake.
Foam cakes: Foam cakes and sponge cakes are delicate cakes made with little or no fat such as butter, oil, or shortening, making them lighter and airier than butter cakes. Most foam cakes recipes have no little or no chemical leaveners such as baking powder or baking soda; instead they depend on a large amount of either whole or separated eggs that are whipped and filled with air bubbles to providing the leavening ingredient to make the cake rise during baking. Because foam cakes have a high proportion of eggs to flour they have a light and spongy texture not found in butter cakes.
