CAKE MIX

Dry baking mixes are a convenience food born of the Industrial Revolution. The first dry mixes, custard powders, were introduced in England in the 1840s. According to FoodTimeline.org, O. Duff and Sons, a molasses company, marketed the first boxed cake mix in the U.S. in the late 1920s or early 1930s. More than half a dozen companies produced cake mixes before World War II; of the enduring brands, it wasn’t until 1947 that General Mills launched Betty Crocker’s first mix.

CANELÉ or CANNELLE

These bite-size fluted cakes originated in Bordeaux, France, where they can be found on almost every menu. The crust is caramelized to crispness with burnt sugar; the inside is creamy custard. These rich, moist bites are a perfect ending to dinner.

CARROT CAKE

According to food historians, modern carrot cake most likely descended from medieval European sweet cakes and carrot puddings. Before the broad affordability of sugar, carrots were used to sweeten cakes. The recipes arrived in America with European immigrants. According to the New York Cookbook by Molly O’Neill, (1992), George Washington had a carrot tea cake at Fraunces Tavern in New York City on November 25, 1783. Yet the concept dropped from favor until it was reborn in the 20th century. The first modern American recipe for what we bake—grated carrots, raisins, cinnamon, and cloves—was a loaf cake first published in 1930 in the Chicago Daily News Cook Book. In the 1960s, hippies embraced it as a “healthy alternative” to traditional desserts. Of course, the only healthy part is the small amount of carrots and walnuts among the butter, flour, sugar, and cream cheese.

CHARLOTTE

A charlotte is a molded dessert that can be served hot, cold, or frozen; the filling is poured into a mold lined with buttered bread, cake, or ladyfingers, then decorated with fruit, whipped cream, etc. The concept is credited to the great 19th-century chef, Antoine Carême. “Charlotte” is an evolution of the Old English word “charlyt,” meaning a dish of custard. A typical cold charlotte is made in a ladyfinger-lined mold and filled with Bavarian cream. Frozen charlottes are filled with frozen soufflé or mousse. Charlottes are made with almost every variety of fruit; chocolate and tiramisu charlottes are also popular, as well as holiday flavors like maple and pumpkin.

CASSATA

The traditional version of this Sicilian dessert is made from a light-textured sponge cake stuffed with rum-ricotta filling, laced with candied orange peel. It is often served at Easter. The version in this photo has been Americanized to dense chocolate cake, filled with sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate chips, and iced with fudge frosting.

CHECKERBOARD CAKE

A butter cake that uses a batter ring to create yellow and chocolate cake (or another contrasting color/flavor cake, such as lavender or strawberry) in concentric layers within each pan. When the baked layers are combined and the cake is sliced, a checkerboard pattern appears. While it looks complicated, all it requires is a special set of pans.

CHEESECAKE

A cheesecake is not a cake, but a custard pie. It is typically made from cream cheese, cottage cheese, Neufchatel, or ricotta, but fresh chèvre and other cheeses have been employed; they can be topped with a layer of sour cream on top. Recipes vary from light and airy to heavy and rich, and there are savory recipes as well as sweet ones. Cheesecakes are baked in a springform pan. They were made prior to classic times and were popular in ancient Greece and Rome. New York cheesecake refers to an all-cream-cheese recipe. There are as many flavors of cheesecake as there are people with the imagination to create them—from key lime to peanut butter to Black Forest—as anyone who has been to a Cheesecake Factory restaurant will attest.
 

CHIFFON CAKE

According to General Mills, the Chiffon Cake, invented in 1927, was the first new cake to come along in 100 years. (One might dispute that—the brownie debuted within 30 years prior to it and digging through culinary history will produce more). The secret of this light and fluffy cake is that the egg whites are beaten separately from the yolks, and it uses vegetable oil instead of butter or conventional shortening. It was invented by the aptly named Harry Baker, a Los Angeles insurance agent, who sold the cakes to the Brown Derby restaurant and to Hollywood stars.

CHOCOLATE CHAMBORD CAKE

Chocolate and raspberry are a wonderful pairing. Chambord is a brand of raspberry liqueur. This cake infuses a dark chocolate sponge with raspberry liqueur and tops it with bittersweet chocolate ganache icing—an excellent union of both flavors.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

The difference between a chocolate cake and a chocolate fudge cake is the amount of chocolate in the recipe. A fudge cake will have double the amount of chocolate; for example, four ounces, as opposed to the usual two, in an eight-inch layer cake. 

CHOCOLATE SATIN CAKE

A moist, dark chocolate layer cake filled and frosted with chocolate ganache (photo at right). This is a rich and elegant cake. In this version, the sides have been coated with cookie crumbs, and the ganache has been used to create a scroll pattern along the rim.

COBBLER

A cobbler topping is different from a crisp or crumble topping (see below). Although some might see the cobbler as a crustless pie or “spoon pie” (a fruit pie with a filling so juicy it should be eaten with a spoon instead of a fork), it is often classified as a cake. Fruit is baked in a baking dish or casserole, then shortcake batter or biscuit dough is dropped onto the fruit before baking. The dish got its name because the lumps of cooked dough resembled cobblestones. Related desserts include a grunt, which is a spoon pie with biscuit dough on top of stewed fruit (a fruit dish that is steamed, not baked); a pandowdy, a spoon pie with a rolled top crust that is broken up to allow the juices to come through; and a slump, a spoon pie topped with biscuit dough or pie crust, which can be baked or steamed, and can be made upside down.

COCONUT CAKE

While numerous cake recipes include coconut (German Chocolate Cake, for example), a classic Southern coconut cake is a white or yellow layer cake with a seven-minute frosting (some people use buttercream or marshmallow frosting). The cake is covered in fresh-grated coconut. As with any recipe, there are many variations, including pineapple filling and coconut milk in the batter.

A yeast-leavened cake that is typically served at breakfast or as a snack with coffee or tea. It is often glazed with white icing or topped with streusel; the latter is also called crumb cake. Coffee cake can contain raisins, nuts, other dried fruits, and chocolate chunks. Most are flavored with cinnamon. More elaborate recipes incorporate cream cheese, jam, and other fillings such as lemon curd. According to FoodTimeline.org, food historians generally agree that the tradition of eating sweet cakes with coffee likely originated in northern or central Europe sometime in the 17th century, when coffee was introduced (see the history of coffee).

CRÊPE CAKE

See Mille Crêpe Cake.

CRISP or CRUMBLE

A crisp is a deep-dish fruit dessert made with a crumb or streusel topping and baked. The British term is crumble. A cobbler has a pastry top instead of a crumb top (see photo above). Also see betty.

CRUMB CAKE

A coffee cake with a streusel topping.

CUPCAKE

Cupcakes are small, individual-portion cakes. They originated in the U.S. in the 19th century. The name is derived from the teacup: Before the advent of muffin tins, cupcakes were often baked in individual tea cups (as well as ramekins). Cupcakes became popular because cupcakes baked more quickly and, before the advent of the modern oven in the 20th century, a long-baking item like a cake could burn easily. Muffin tins became popular by the beginning of the 20th century and provided an easier baking receptacle. Paper and foil liners were created for easier removal of the cupcakes from the pan.