John Myers
Cakes are fine baked goods, which are often a little more complex to produce and are baked especially for certain occasions. Baked biscuit or shortcrust pastry is used as the basis. A cake consists of one or more layers of dough and different layers with different compositions. Buttercream, cream, and fruit preparations are usually used as the basis for the filling. Finally, the cakes are covered with couverture, covered with fondant, decorated as a drip cake or given a fruit topping and, if necessary, decorated in very different ways.
Origin
The term cake was already known in the 16th century. However, at that time it referred to a savory filled pie. One of the first sweet cakes was the Linzer Torte, a pastry made from a kind of shortcrust pastry base, almond paste, and the typical apricot lattice. Cream cakes with cream or chocolate masses only emerged much later, around the 19th century, because the production of these creams with a whisk and without an electric mixer was very time-consuming. Buttercream has only been used in Germany since the end of the 19th century.
Season
Cakes are popular all year round. In summer, fruity cakes are more popular, in winter cakes with Christmas spices and chocolate. Frozen cakes are available in supermarkets all year round.
Taste
Cakes usually taste sweet. In detail, the taste is of course heavily dependent on the individual ingredients. Depending on the fruit used, the fine baked goods can also have a tart and sour note, a tangy note with alcohol, or a delicately tart note with dark chocolate.
Use
Originally, cakes were baked for special occasions, when it was also a matter of entertaining many guests. A classic example is a multi-tiered wedding cake. But also Black Forest cake, North German Friesian cake, Sacher cake from Vienna or cheese cream cake are well-known classics among the cakes. Do you want to bake a real classic yourself? Then try our buttercream cake recipe. On the other hand, our recipe for poppy seed and marzipan cake leads you to an unusual variant.
Storage
Fresh cakes like our heavenly cake should generally be stored in a cool place, preferably in the fridge. Frozen cakes from the supermarket must also be stored in a cool place after defrosting.
Durability
Fresh cream cakes must be eaten within 1-2 days. Frozen cakes can be stored in the freezer until the end of the stated best-before date. Once thawed, however, they must be eaten as soon as possible.
Nutritional value/active ingredients
The nutritional values and ingredients are of course dependent on the ingredients. This is mostly fat, sugar, flour, cream, quark, chocolate, or fruit. Since cakes are usually not particularly low in calories, they should be eaten in moderation. On average, this type of pastry supplies 230 kcal/962 kJ, 2.8 g protein, 9 g fat, and 34 g carbohydrates per 100 g.
