White cake
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White cake is a type of cake that is often vanilla flavored and made without egg yolks, which is what gives yellow cake its color.[1] White cakes were also once known as silver cakes.[2]
Ingredients and techniques[edit]
White cake typically calls for cake flour rather than all-purpose flour to create a lighter batter with a finer sponge.[1] Because of the lack of egg yolks, the cake has less fat to impede its rise.[1] They tend also to be slightly less tender than cakes made with whole eggs.[3] White cake can be made by the creaming or reverse creaming methods; the latter can be used to make tiered cakes with a tighter crumb that will stand up to stacking.[4][5][6]
Uses[edit]
White cake is a typical choice for tiered wedding cakes because of the appearance and texture of the cake.[3] In general white baked goods, which used white flour and white sugar, were a traditional symbol of wealth dating to the Victorian era when such ingredients first appeared and were more expensive, and for weddings white cakes symbolized purity.[7]
White cakes can be butter cakes or sponge cakes.[8]
White cake is used as a component for desserts like icebox cake, and some variations on charlotte russe and trifle.[9][10][11]
Versions[edit]
- Angel food cake, a sponge cake made using only egg whites[8]
- Devil's food cake, a chocolate cake made with a white cake batter
- Lady Baltimore cake, a dish in Southern cuisine[2]
- Mary Todd Lincoln's white almond cake was a celebrated cake during the period surrounding Abraham Lincoln's presidency[12][13][14]
- White velvet cake, a yolkless cake from the 1860s that is a version of Red velvet cake[15]
See also[edit]
- List of cakes
- Foam cake, a style of cake that includes some white cakes
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Campbell, Annie (21 April 2023). "What's The Difference Between Yellow, White, and Vanilla Cake?". Simply Recipes. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ a b Castle, Sheri (7 August 2022). "The History Behind the Legendary Lady Baltimore Cake". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ a b Prakash, Sheela (10 December 2022). "What's the Difference Between White, Yellow, and Vanilla Cake?". Kitchn. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ "Cake mixing methods". King Arthur Flour.
- ^ "Tender White Cake". King Arthur Flour.
- ^ "White Cake | Baking Processes | BAKERpedia". American Baking Society. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ Lee, John J. (2022-09-12). "The Victorian-Era Symbolism Behind White-Frosted Wedding Cakes". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ a b "How to Make Angel Food Cake". General Mills.
- ^ The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. April 2015. ISBN 9780199313617.
- ^ Whitehead, Jessup (1891). The American Pastry Cook.
- ^ "Patriotic Berry Trifle". Food Network.
- ^ "Mary Todd Lincoln". National Park Service.
- ^ McCreary, Donna D. (2000). Lincoln's Table: Victorian Recipes from Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois to the White House. Guild Press of Indiana. ISBN 978-1-57860-089-2.
- ^ "For a taste of history, try Mrs. Lincoln's cake recipe". History News Network. 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ Loo, Stephanie (8 February 2024). "White velvet cake is as soft and silky as its name suggests". King Arthur Baking. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
Further reading[edit]
- Wilson, Carol (2005-05-01). "Wedding Cake: A Slice of History". Gastronomica. 5 (2): 69–72. doi:10.1525/gfc.2005.5.2.69. ISSN 1529-3262.
- Smith, Andrew F. (2013). The Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.