White cake: Difference between revisions

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”’White cake”’ is a type of cake that is made without [[Yolk|egg yolks]]. White cakes were also once known as ”’silver cakes”’.<ref name=”:0″ />

White cakes can be [[butter cakes]] or [[sponge cakes]].<ref name=”General Mills” /> They became widely available in the later part of the 19th century, and became associated with weddings and christenings.

== Ingredients and techniques ==

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== History ==

[[File:Winter Wedding Cake.jpg|alt=multi-tiered cake decorated in white icing~~|thumb~~|For several centuries, a “white cake” referred to any kind of cake covered with white icing, such as this wedding cake decorated entirely in white. Underneath these white [[rolled fondant]] and [[gumpaste]] decorations lies a chocolate [[devil’s food cake]], which means it is not a white cake in the modern meaning of the term.]]

[[File:Winter Wedding Cake.jpg|alt=multi-tiered cake decorated in white icing|For several centuries, a “white cake” referred to any kind of cake covered with white icing, such as this wedding cake decorated entirely in white. Underneath these white [[rolled fondant]] and [[gumpaste]] decorations lies a chocolate [[devil’s food cake]], which means it is not a white cake in the modern meaning of the term.]]

White cake is a relatively new invention, as it depends on having refined [[white sugar]] and [[white flour]], in addition to omitting the egg yolks.<ref name=”:3″>{{Cite book |last1=Woloson |first1=Wendy A. |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973496-2 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F. |edition=2nd |location=New York, NY |chapter=Weddings: Wedding Cake}}</ref> From the 17th century, a “white cake” meant a [[fruitcake]] (or other non-white cake) coated with white [[Icing (food)|icing]], made from egg whites and expensive double-refined [[Granulated sugar|granulated]] white sugar, rather than a cake that was itself white.<ref name=”:2″ /> Any type of cake coated in white icing, such as the fruitcake served at the 1840 [[wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert]], was expensive and considered a status symbol.<ref name=”:2″ />

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== Versions ==

[[File:Angel food cake with strawberries (4738859336).jpg|thumb|[[Angel food cake]], a type of white [[sponge cake]]]]

* [[Angel food cake]], a sponge cake made using only egg whites<ref name=”General Mills”>{{cite web |title=How to Make Angel Food Cake |publisher=General Mills |url=https://www.tablespoon.com/posts/how-to-make-angel-food-cake}}</ref>

* [[Lady Baltimore cake]], a dish in Southern cuisine<ref name=”:0″>{{Cite web |last=Castle |first=Sheri |date=7 August 2022 |title=The History Behind the Legendary Lady Baltimore Cake |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cakes/layer-cakes/lady-baltimore-cake-history |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=[[Southern Living]] |language=en}}</ref>

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* [[White velvet cake]], a yolkless cake from the 1860s that is a version of [[Red velvet cake]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Loo |first=Stephanie |date=8 February 2024 |title=White velvet cake is as soft and silky as its name suggests |url=https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2024/02/08/white-velvet-cake |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=[[King Arthur Baking]] |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[List of cakes]]

* [[Foam cake]], a style of cake that includes some white cakes

==References==

{{}}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=Carol |date=2005-05-01 |title=Wedding Cake: A Slice of History |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article/5/2/69/46511/Wedding-Cake-A-Slice-of-History |journal=Gastronomica |language=en |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=69–72 |doi=10.1525/gfc.2005.5.2.69 |issn=1529-3262|url-access=subscription }}

Cake made without egg yolks

White cake is a type of cake that is made without egg yolks. White cakes were also once known as silver cakes.^[1]

White cakes can be butter cakes or sponge cakes.^[2] They became widely available in the later part of the 19th century, and became associated with weddings and christenings.

Ingredients and techniques

[edit]

The key difference between a white cake and others is the absence of egg yolks or other ingredients that would change the color of the cake. (Egg yolks give yellow cake its color.^[3]) This decision affects the cake structurally. Because of the lack of egg yolks, the cake has less fat to impede its rise.^[3] White cakes tend also to be slightly less tender than cakes made with whole eggs.^[4]

White cake typically calls for cake flour rather than all-purpose flour to create a lighter batter with a finer crumb.^[3] White cakes are often vanilla-flavored. Sometimes artificial clear vanilla extract is used to preserve the white color.

White cake can be made by the creaming or reverse creaming mixing methods; the latter can be used to make tiered cakes with a tighter crumb that will stand up to stacking.^[5]^[6]^[7]

White cake is a typical choice for tiered wedding cakes because of the appearance and texture of the cake.^[4] 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 were reliably available, though still expensive.^[8] The idea that white symbolizes purity at a white wedding was invented by the Victorians.^[9]^[8]

White cake is used as a component for desserts like icebox cake, and some variations on charlotte russe and trifle.^[10]^[11]^[12] It is also used as the base for brightly colored cakes, such as a rainbow-colored cake, as the food coloring will produce clearer, brighter colors on white cake batter than if the cake has its own color.^[13]

White cake is a relatively new invention, as it depends on having refined white sugar and white flour, in addition to omitting the egg yolks.^[14] From the 17th century, a “white cake” meant a fruitcake (or other non-white cake) coated with white icing, made from egg whites and expensive double-refined granulated white sugar, rather than a cake that was itself white.^[8] Any type of cake coated in white icing, such as the fruitcake served at the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was expensive and considered a status symbol.^[8]

In the early 19th century, a lady cake made of light-colored almond flour, and a tough white sponge cake that was a precursor to the modern and lighter angel food cake, were the only cakes that looked white when cut.^[15]^[16]

Modern white cakes appeared late in the 19th century, when white sugar, white flour, and reliable chemical leaveners such as baking powder became widely available.^[14] By the early 20th century, a tall, elaborately decorated white cake, called the bride cake, was established as the primary cake to celebrate weddings, with a dark-colored groom’s cake disappearing or taking second place.^[14]

The first cake mix for white cake was introduced in the US around 1930.^[17]

By the end of the 20th century, chocolate cake had become more popular than any other cake flavor.^[16]

^ ^a ^b Castle, Sheri (7 August 2022). “The History Behind the Legendary Lady Baltimore Cake”. Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
^ ^a ^b “How to Make Angel Food Cake”. General Mills.
^ ^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 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wilson, Carol (2015). “Wedding cake”. In Goldstein, Darra (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
^ Lee, John J. (2022-09-12). “The Victorian-Era Symbolism Behind White-Frosted Wedding Cakes”. Tasting Table. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
^ 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.
^ “How To Make the Ultimate Rainbow Surprise Cake”. Kitchn. Retrieved 2024-04-28. The Best Cake for Rainbow Cake Is White Vanilla Cake: Snow-white cake batter takes readily to a rainbow of hues — no fighting yellow cake’s buttery color.
^ ^a ^b ^c Woloson, Wendy A. (2013). “Weddings: Wedding Cake”. In Smith, Andrew F. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
^ Schmidt, Stephen (2015). “Celebration cakes”. In Goldstein, Darra (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford New York: Oxford university press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
^ ^a ^b Parham, Sally (2013). “Cake”. In Smith, Andrew F. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
^ Shapiro, Laura (2015). “Cake mix”. In Goldstein, Darra (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.
^ “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.

Ingredients and techniques

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