# American cake names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989 "2019-04-03T18:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/41 "2019-04-04T14:35:21Z")
Wedding Cake? Christmas Cake? Birthday Cake? They all refer to the occasion they are eaten, not the actual ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/42 "2019-04-04T14:38:49Z")
Back in the '70s, there was a Harvey Wallbanger cake flavored with orange juice and Galliano liqueur. I made one and so help me Og, it was actually good. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/43 "2019-04-04T14:43:03Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Back in the '70s, there was a Harvey Wallbanger cake flavored with orange juice and Galliano liqueur. I made one and so help me Og, it was actually good. That actually does sound like it would be good. I love the idea! Quick bit of Googling, and [here’s a recipe](https://www.thespruceeats.com/harvey-wallbanger-cake-1806253). Looks like a pretty straightforward yellow cake, flavored with orange juice and Galliano and a glaze made of the same. I’m not much for sweets, but I’ll have to make this sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/44 "2019-04-04T14:43:31Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Wedding Cake? Christmas Cake? Birthday Cake? > > They all refer to the occasion they are eaten, not the actual ingredients. Yes, but AFAICT they’re not specific types of cake; that is, they’re not strongly associated with specific recipes or ingredients, the way that, say, Lady Baltimore cake or pound cake would be be. (Unless you equate Christmas cake with fruitcake, as I believe many people do.) Coffee cake, Boston Cream Pie, Dover cake, etc., all refer to specific kinds of cake recipes that aren’t immediately self-explanatory about the content of the cake. Your examples of “wedding cake” and “birthday cake” don’t meet that criterion. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/45 "2019-04-04T14:45:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Wedding Cake? Christmas Cake? Birthday Cake? > > They all refer to the occasion they are eaten, not the actual ingredients. But they don’t indicate a specific type of cake at all. A birthday cake can be anything the celebrant wants, ditto for wedding cakes. If I said I baked a Boston Cream Pie, it’s two layers of yellowish cake, a vanilla pudding-ish filling, topped with chocolate glaze/icing. If I said I made a Birthday cake… well, is it chocolate? a fruit cake? an ice cream cake roll? a dump cake? (OOH! There’s another one I’d forgotten.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/46 "2019-04-04T14:50:05Z")
Wedding Cakes are traditionally white cakes with white icing, "white representing purity. Kind of outdated in this day and age. And Christmas Cakes are usually fruitcakes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/47 "2019-04-04T14:51:44Z")
[Black Forest Cake](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/black-forest-cake/) (chocolate cake with with cherries and whipped cream) is an American version of a German original. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/48 "2019-04-04T14:56:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve never had it, but I always assumed it’s some type of meringue, based on the name. Looking at the ingredients, it seems like that’s what it is, more-or-less, though somebody who’s had it can maybe describe it a bit better. I don’t think the name is _that_ abstruse. I suppose that’s true, but the point of a chiffon cake is that you use oil instead of butter for the fat. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/49 "2019-04-04T15:15:05Z")
Rainbow Cakes–multi-layer cakes with every layer a different color. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/50 "2019-04-04T15:58:17Z")
In addition to the Lady Baltimore cake mentioned above, there is also a Lord Baltimore cake. It’s similar to Lady Baltimore but made with egg yolks instead of egg whites, and sometimes a different filling and different color frosting. There’s no marble in marble cake. I’m not sure how well known it is outside North America. It’s chocolate cake batter swirled with white or yellow batter before baking to give a marbling effect. Daffodil or jonquil cake is an orange-flavored cake that is supposed to resemble a daffodil blossom after it’s frosted. The resemblance is very slight in my experience. Ox-blood cake is much better than it sounds, and contains no blood. It’s a rich dark moist chocolate cake. The “ox blood” is a mixture of cocoa powder, baking soda, and boiling water produced at one stage of preparing it. With modern cocoa this mixture is brown. I’ve heard that in the old days when the method of preparing cocoa was different, there were impurities that would react with the baking soda and turn the mixture (and the cake) red like blood. “Martha Washington Pie” seems to refer to two very different desserts. The one I am familiar with is actually a cake: sponge cake with a filling of cherry preserves or raspberry jam and brandy, and a topping of whipped cream. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/51 "2019-04-04T16:22:05Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I suppose that’s true, but the point of a chiffon cake is that you use oil instead of butter for the fat. Ah. That I would not have intuited. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/52 "2019-04-04T18:21:18Z")
Oh, can’t forget my personal favorite, monkey bread ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/53 "2019-04-04T21:19:24Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Ox-blood cake is much better than it sounds, and contains no blood. It’s a rich dark moist chocolate cake. The “ox blood” is a mixture of cocoa powder, baking soda, and boiling water produced at one stage of preparing it. With modern cocoa this mixture is brown. I’ve heard that in the old days when the method of preparing cocoa was different, there were impurities that would react with the baking soda and turn the mixture (and the cake) red like blood. You just described the principle of the original red velvet cake. I have to think it was better before they substituted red food coloring, which doesn’t improve the flavor any. You can also achieve a deep red—“oxblood”—color by combining baking soda and turmeric. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/54 "2019-04-04T21:26:54Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > the point of a chiffon cake is that you use oil instead of butter for the fat. You reminded me. Even though this isn’t American (sorry, OP), there’s a [Jewish Rosh Hashanah](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/dining/a-homecoming-for-honey-cakes.html) [wine and honey cake](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014998-red-wine-honey-cake-with-plums) that uses olive oil. A really fruity extra virgin olive oil goes well with the flavors. Gomer Pyle would go “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” at this point, but it’s true. I made one and it was seriously awesome. The olive oil rescues it from being dry and enriches the flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/55 "2019-04-04T23:25:51Z")
Huh, I thought that red velvet cake originally got its color from beet sugar, before sugar beets had all of the pigment bred out of them. And I’m not sure why I didn’t think to mention Black Forest Cake earlier, given that it’s my favorite. **Annie Xmas** , surely a “Rainbow cake” that consists of layers of many different colors is exactly what one would expect from the name. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/56 "2019-04-04T23:47:56Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Not an American so can you tell me what yellow cake is? Google said uranium. A yellow cake is yellow because made with eggs and yolks, and vanilla. A white cake is made with only egg whites, hence no yellow - it (the cake mix) is often slightly cherry flavored, for some reason that escapes me. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/57 "2019-04-05T14:19:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Then there are [Teacakes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacake). Exactly what they are apparently depends on where you eat them. **Annie, Annie, Annie** \ You include the link but skip the most important teacake of them all; The Tunnocks Teacake! Kind of like a Viva Puff or Mallomar but sooo much better. I’m intrigued by the Wallbanger cake, although I’m more of a pie guy, enough that I may try that one out. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/58 "2019-04-05T14:47:11Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > A yellow cake is yellow because made with eggs and yolks, and vanilla. > > A white cake is made with only egg whites, hence no yellow - it (the cake mix) is often slightly cherry flavored, for some reason that escapes me. Maybe cherry flavoring is colorless? Vanilla (at least the real stuff) is brown and so might slightly soil your impeccably white white cake. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/59 "2019-04-05T15:15:45Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > A white cake is made with only egg whites, hence no yellow - it (the cake mix) is often slightly cherry flavored, for some reason that escapes me. That’s a new one to me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a box white cake that tasted like cherry. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989/60 "2019-04-05T16:30:27Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > That’s a new one to me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a box white cake that tasted like cherry. I know what **salinqmind** is talking about. I’ve never quite been able to place the flavor, but Betty Crocker and/or Duncan Hines white cake mix definitely have a faint flavor to them. I always thought of it as a faint marzipan/almond flavor, but that flavor is often described as “cherry” as well (maraschino cherries are flavored with bitter almonds, for instance, and that “cherry” flavor in Dr. Pepper is most likely bitter almond, as well.) Anyhow, I looked through the ingredients of both, and they both list natural and artificial flavors at the end of their ingredients list. What those flavors are, though, are not mentioned, but there is a certain “white cake” flavor that I could see being described as faintly cherry or (in my case) marzipan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cake-names/831989.md?page=4)