Cake & Cupcakes

Choose your favorite type of cake

Butter Cake

A classic, moist, American-style cake, ideal for any shape pan and all uses: from multi-layered birthday cake to potluck cupcakes. This cake's fine texture is the result of beating ("creaming") butter and sugar together.

• Make sure butter is at room temperature; if you've forgotten to take it out of the refrigerator the night before, submerge a wrapped stick of cold butter in warm water to bring it to temperature quickly.
• To help prevent lumps, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after beating the butter and sugar; again after adding each egg; and once more just before adding the flour.
• Having trouble with your cake's texture? See our blog post, How to prevent dense, gluey streaks in your cake.
• For a tender cake, add flour in portions, folding it in gently and alternating with any liquid. Avoid over-mixing.
• To prevent curdling, beat in half the eggs in the recipe, then stir in a few tablespoons of the recipe's flour before adding the remaining eggs.
• Read more in our blog — Building a better butter cake

Another way to build a cake

Many experienced cake bakers recommend a technique called the paste method to build their cake batter. The paste method is simple, as there's no guessing about how long to cream butter and sugar for optimal results. The paste method produces cakes whose texture is different than that of "creamed" cakes — though just as compelling. Cakes made by creaming butter and sugar sport a light texture with somewhat open structure; they're firm and springy. The texture of paste method cakes, however, is even and fine-grained. They're less springy, and more tender — verging on crumbly, but not in a dry way.

Examples of paste method cakes include Tender White Cake and Golden Vanilla Cake.

Vegetable Oil Cake

Using vegetable oil for its fat instead of butter, this type of cake is similar to butter cake, with a somewhat denser, less fine-grained texture. It's an easy stir-together cake, great for beginners and kids. And it's often dairy free.

• Use a neutral-flavored oil, like vegetable or canola oil.
• Mix the dry and liquid ingredients separately, then add liquid to dry.
• Once you've added the dry ingredients, don't beat the batter! Gentle stirring will create the most tender cake.

Sponge Cake

Sponge cake, omitting butter, oil, and sometimes egg yolks as well, is airy and somewhat dry compared to butter or oil cakes (since it's typically much lower in fat). Its light texture makes it the natural choice for a multi-layer cake, where it helps balance any rich fillings. It's also "flexible," making it perfect for rolling and filling (think jellyroll).

• Sponge cake depends on beaten eggs/egg whites for leavening; for best volume, have eggs at room temperature.
• Use the size eggs called for in the recipe.
• Combine flour with liquid ingredients gently, using a broad spatula or wire whisk.
• For a moister cake, brush the baked cake with simple syrup or flavored syrup just before rolling or layering.

Pudding Cake

This old-fashioned cake is moist and dense, a cross between cake and pudding. The cake creates its own sauce as it bakes, making it an easy single-step dessert.

• The cake is done when the sauce bubbles around the edge and the cake pulls away from the pan.
• When testing for doneness, insert the toothpick only into the cake layer on top, not into the sauce below.
• For extra-nice presentation, make individual pudding cakes in single-serve ramekins; garnish with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Coffee Cake

Served at breakfast or as a snack, coffeecake is typically a golden vanilla cake with cinnamon-y crumb topping. It can include a swirl of that same topping inside, as well as berries or chopped fruit. Baked in a round, square, or rectangular cake pan or tube pan, coffeecake can feed a crowd easily — making it perfect for breakfast or brunch celebrations.

• For best distribution of topping, scatter streusel on top of cake, then shake pan to cover entire surface.
• To bake now and serve later, let coffeecake cool in the pan. Reheat in a 350°F oven, tented with foil, for about 15 minutes, or until warm.
• Can you just take a plain golden cake recipe and add streusel to make coffeecake? Not a good idea; coffeecake batter is usually thicker than cake batter, which allows it to support the streusel. Streusel is likely to sink and disappear beneath the surface of regular cake batter.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake, with its rich, dense, sweet cheese/cream filling atop a cookie or thin cake crust, is elegant yet easy, an American favorite. The cake typically includes little or no flour (except in its crust), and no leavening. Eggs provide the structure, while flavor comes from cream cheese and sometimes sour cream.

• For extra-creamy cheesecake without bubbles or lumps, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start. To warm ice-cold cream cheese quickly, leave it in its wrapper and place it in hot tap water (hot, not scalding) to soften.
• For best texture, beat filling ingredients at medium-low speed. Beating at high speed adds air to the batter; longer, slower beating yields a pleasantly dense cake.
• How do you know when your cheesecake is done? Measure the cake's temperature an inch from the edge: when it reaches 175°F, turn off the oven.
• For additional information, including how to avoid the unsightly cracked top, see our blog post, Cheesecake tips.

11 tips for top-notch cake

• For best results, follow the recipe exactly. One small variation in ingredients or technique can produce a vastly different cake.
• Weighing ingredients is the most accurate way to measure. A good scale is relatively inexpensive; we highly recommend you use one.
• Temperature counts. For ingredients, oven, cake layers, frosting — everything.
• If the recipe calls for unsalted butter and all you have is salted, omit 1/4 teaspoon salt from the recipe for each 4 ounces of butter used.
• Measure your pans. Is the top inside diameter really 8" (or 9")? Are they a good 2" deep? Anything smaller may produce a spill-over.
• Light-colored pans are gentler on cake batter, producing a more tender crust. Save black or very dark pans for another use.
• For best release, grease your pan, line with parchment, and grease again. For bundt-style cakes, grease the pan thoroughly and sprinkle lightly with flour — or use a flour-based pan spray.
• For added moistness, brush cake with simple syrup prior to icing. For ramped-up flavor, use a flavored syrup: purchased, or your own homemade.
• Preheat your oven thoroughly, and use an independent oven thermometer to gauge your oven's temperature. Built-in oven thermometers are often inaccurate.
• Never frost a warm cake. Even when you think it's completely cool — wait another 30 to 60 minutes to be sure.
• A typical cake batter that makes two 9" round layers can also make three 8" round layers; or a 9" x 13" sheet cake; or a 9" x 5" loaf cake, or 24 cupcakes.