Cakes are a delicious treat for those with a sweet tooth. Without them, holidays are impossible, and thanks to the art of pastry chefs, any event becomes magical. Regardless of the names and types of cakes, making them has become a kind of art. The design of the sweet is amazing; it can decorate any celebration, including a wedding.
Types, names of cakes
Cakes are small-sized confectionery products made from dough with the addition of sugar, filling and cream. There are a huge variety of types of cakes, and new culinary technologies make it possible to create a new recipe every year. Everyone knows the following names and varieties of cakes:
- Custard eclairs.
- Honey and nut cakes.
- "Potato".
- Souffle.
- Bird's milk cakes.
- Baskets with berries and whipped cream.
- Meringue.
- Tiramisu.
- Sponge cakes.
- Chocolate.
- Wafer rolls with cream.
- Macaroni.
And these are not all types and names of cakes. The list of sweets is much longer. What unites all these goodies is the ability to decorate any table with its exquisite beauty.
Usually, cream, colored icing, berries, pieces of fruit, cream, and chocolate are used to make cakes. Absolutely all types of cakes, the names of these sweets are determined by the main product that is included in the composition. Baking is made from biscuit, shortbread, custard, curd, bean, rice, puff pastry and other types of dough. For some cakes, the main product is the cookie rather than the dough, such as tiramisu.
Migelitos de la Roda
Migelitos de la Roda
Ingredients: puff pastry, milk, sugar, powdered sugar, cornstarch, eggs, lemon zest, cinnamon
Difficulty: easy Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Calories: 329 kcal per serving
Cooking feature: in order for the cakes to be better soaked in cream, you need to leave them in the refrigerator for a while
La Roda is a municipality in the province of Albacete, Spain. Here in the sixties, a pastry chef created a very delicate puff pastry filled with custard. His name was Manuel Blanco Lopez, and he created this cake on the occasion of the birthday of his best friend Miguel Ramirez, known to all the residents of La Roda by his nickname Miguelito. The pastry chef named his creation in honor of him. Meguelitos, which has a whole history of friendship behind it, has come a long way since then, and now every year Albacete hosts a big festival where whole “cartloads” of these sweets are sold.
The dessert has the shape of a square of puff pastry filled with custard or chocolate cream. Along with the traditional recipe, today there is also a coffee-based filling, as well as a cocoa or chocolate glaze.
Foreign cakes: names
Piece dessert confectionery is prepared in two main ways: a separate cake (meringue) and equal pieces of cake (Napoleon, cheesecake). Cakes are divided according to the type of filling, ingredients included in the composition, and method of preparation. These sweets can be nutty, creamy, mixed, salty, or fruity. The most famous are sweets that are prepared on the basis of cream. The names of French pastries, such as eclairs, are derived from their composition. The base of eclairs is custard or butter cream. Meringue is also a French pastry made from egg whites and sugar.
In Japan, popular names for cakes are wagashi, which are made from rice dough with the addition of herbs, fruits, berries, seaweed, and nuts. They are different in size and color, but always stand out among others. In China, they love basket cakes made from shortcrust pastry with creamy egg cream. The famous tiramisu is produced in Italy, and chocolate cake is widespread in America. The name of this sweet is “brownie” because of the main ingredient cocoa.
Almond cakes
What sets these cakes apart from all others is the dough made using almond flour or crumbs. First of all, these are the almond cakes themselves - fragrant, crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. However, in addition to them, almond ones also include perky multi-colored fashionable macarons, and similar to cupcakes, but still being financier cakes.
This category is sometimes also called nut brownies because in some recipes the almonds can be replaced with hazelnuts or another suitable nut.
Cooking macarons
Many people call macaroni cookies, although they look and taste more like small cakes. The name of the sweets is French, as is the recipe. Pasta has gained popularity all over the world thanks to its complex cooking technology and incredible taste. Despite the technical difficulties, there is a simple pasta recipe that you can use at home.
The preparation of cakes must be divided into two parts: dough and cream. In the first case, you will need the following ingredients:
- ground almonds (45 grams),
- powdered sugar (75 grams),
- one chicken protein,
- food coloring,
- sugar (10 grams).
For the cream prepare:
- milk (50 ml),
- sugar (120 grams),
- vanilla sugar (20 grams),
- cream (80 ml),
- two chicken yolks,
- butter (170 grams).
First you need to prepare the dough. Separate the yolk from the white into a separate container. Mix the almonds and powdered sugar and sift it through a sieve several times. Beat the egg white well until a thick and soft foam forms, add ten grams of sugar and “fluff” again. Next add food coloring. The cream should be placed in a pastry bag and placed on a baking sheet lined with paper at a large distance from each other. The diameter of the cakes should be three centimeters. Leave the dough to rest for twenty minutes. Then place in the oven, preheated to one hundred and forty degrees, for ten minutes. When the dough has hardened, remove the pasta, place it on a cool surface and carefully turn it over.
To prepare the cream, mix vanilla sugar with milk and bring to a boil. Beat the yolks with sugar and butter, add 1 spoon of milk, stir and slowly pour into the main milk-vanilla liquid. The mixture must be stirred constantly until it becomes thick. Next, you should caramelize one hundred grams of sugar, bring the cream to a boil in a separate saucepan and add it to the caramel. Add the remaining oil to the mixture and cook over low heat until creamy. Cool, mix with vanilla cream, spread on one half of the pasta, and place the other half on top. Place the cakes in the refrigerator for an hour.
Classic cake from childhood “Potato”
The “Potato” cake won over the children of the USSR and now many mothers are trying to instill love for it in their children. You can prepare it quickly and easily at home from products that you always have on hand.
Ingredients:
- cookies – 400 gr.;
- condensed milk - can;
- drain butter – 50 gr.;
- cocoa powder – 3-4 tbsp.
Sprinkling (optional):
- cocoa – 2 tbsp;
- granulated sugar – 2 tbsp.
Cooking method:
First, you need to crush the cookies manually or with a blender until they become crumbs. It is important to remember that if the cookies are not vanilla, but with the taste of, for example, baked milk, then this shade will prevail in the final dish.
Next you need to melt the butter. This can be done using the microwave for 10-15 seconds at medium power. First mix the cookies with cocoa until smooth.
Add condensed milk with butter and mix everything until smooth.
To make the topping, combine sugar and cocoa. Next, manually form a cake of any shape from a homogeneous mass, including the classic one. And roll in sprinkles.
Place in the refrigerator for an hour and serve.
To make the cake unique, you can experiment with sprinkling, including cream and coconut flakes. These delicious no-bake cakes can be easily and simply prepared at home.
Molds and devices for creating cakes
A professional pastry chef always has the necessary culinary tools at hand. This list is very long, but if anyone wants to start making cakes at home, it is advisable to acquire the following kitchen utensils. A must-have for a cake lover's kitchen is:
- plastic and silicone molds,
- corollas,
- rugs,
- baking paper,
- food colorings,
- pastry bags with nozzles,
- electronic balance.
Special professional kits for preparing different types of cakes are gaining popularity.
Culinary secrets
To make your sweets tasty and airy, use the confectioners’ secrets for preparing dough and cream. For example, sponge cake got its name due to the fluffiness and lightness of the dough.
- All sponge cake ingredients should be at the same temperature.
- Sift the biscuit flour two or more times through a sieve.
- Carefully separate the whites from the yolks.
- Cool the egg whites before beating them.
- Degrease the surface of the bowl in which the egg whites will be beaten.
- Follow the strict sequence of adding all the ingredients of the cake.
- Do not stir the dough for too long.
- Preheat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees.
- Do not open the oven while baking.
- Let the biscuit cool completely.
Simple recipe
The favorite childhood cake “Chocolate Potato” is easy to make yourself. To do this, you will need one glass of sugar and the same amount of hot milk, two teaspoons of cocoa, vanilla crackers (300 grams), butter (200 grams), chopped nuts, powdered sugar, cognac (to taste).
Mix cocoa with sugar, gradually pour in hot milk, stir well so that no lumps form. Boil the mixture over low heat until the sugar melts. Grind the crackers in a meat grinder and add to the milk mixture. Next comes butter and a little cognac. When the dough has cooled, make balls, roll them in ground nuts, cocoa and powdered sugar, and refrigerate for two hours.
Airy sponge cakes - a simple recipe
Such a tasty treat can be easily and simply prepared for both everyday and holiday tea drinking.
Biscuit:
- egg – 6 pcs.;
- flour - 180 gr.;
- sugar – 150 gr.;
- salt - a third of a teaspoon;
- vanillin – 1 tsp.
For cream:
- butter – 250 gr.;
- condensed milk. – 200 gr.
For impregnation:
- sugar – 100 gr.;
- water – 100 gr.
Cooking method:
First prepare a regular sponge cake. To do this, mix the eggs with sugar until a homogeneous white, thick mass is formed. Add vanillin here, if desired.
Next, add flour and salt in portions. And mix gently with a spatula each time, moving from bottom to top.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper on the bottom and pour the prepared biscuit dough onto it. Level the dough over the entire surface and bake at 170 degrees for about 15 minutes.
You can check readiness with a toothpick. If the dough comes out dry, it is ready.
Next you need to shape the cakes. You can do this manually or using special molds. They don't have to be round, everything can be done as you wish. Several shape options are allowed in one batch of cakes.
Dry the biscuit scraps in the oven at 160 degrees for about 10 minutes. And then grind it in a blender. This will be our topping. Use a silicone pastry brush to coat each cake.
To make the cream, beat the butter at room temperature until it turns white. Now you need to pour in the condensed milk while whipping the butter.
Next, coat all the pieces with a thin layer of cream. Connect the halves and coat the sides with cream as well.
Roll each cake in sprinkles at the finish.
You can experiment with the sprinkles and in each case you will get a unique, inimitable taste. Before serving, let the cakes sit in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes so that the cream sets and becomes more tender.
Popular cakes in Russia
In Russia, the most common pastries, known since Soviet times, are custard. They consist of butter cream or condensed milk, incredibly tasty and satisfying.
Everyone remembers the names of the “Chocolate Potato” cakes, especially their expressive taste and appearance. “Potatoes” are prepared from butter, cocoa, crushed cookies, and crushed nuts. This sweet got its name because of its external resemblance to potatoes.
Popular in Russia are Bird's Milk cakes, various shortbread baskets with berries and cream, puff pastries, sponge cakes and chocolate cakes. The peculiarity of these sweets is that they saturate the body, but also contain a lot of fats and carbohydrates.
Runeberg cake
Runeberg cake
Ingredients : butter, sugar, eggs, almonds, breadcrumbs, biscuit crumbs, flour, baking powder, chopped cardamom, strawberry jam, powdered sugar, lemon juice
Difficulty: medium Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Calorie content: 403 kcal per 100 grams
Cooking feature: before decorating with icing, it is recommended to moisten the cake with rum, so the base of the dessert turns out fresher, juicier and aromatic
Runebergintortu, or Runeberg cake, is a traditional Finnish dessert named after the poet Johan Ludwig Runeberg, the author of the text of the Finnish national anthem. Visually, the sweetness is a small cupcake decorated with icing and jam.
The most popular version of the origin of this dessert is more like an anecdote than the truth, and goes as follows: Runeberg asked his wife to prepare him a dessert, but, unfortunately, the pantry was almost empty. So his wife Fredrika decided to make a cake using a few ingredients she had at home: flour, breadcrumbs, biscuit crumbs, almonds, sugar, eggs and a little jam. The poet liked this sweetness so much that he wanted to enjoy it every day for breakfast.
The recipe for runebergintorttu was first published in 1850 in a book by Mrs. Runeberg, who also collected her recipes along with practical tips for managing a home. Over time, this pastry moved from the poet’s table to store windows, becoming a typical dish in the Finnish city of Porvoo, where it is traditionally eaten on February 5, Runeberg’s birthday.
