Layer cake facts for kids
A three-layer cake with a candied lemon slice on top
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| Type | Cake |
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| Main ingredients | Cake base (e.g. - sponge cake or butter cake), icing, jam or other filling |
A layer cake is a special kind of cake. It's made from several flat layers of cake stacked on top of each other. Between these layers, there's usually a yummy frosting or a sweet filling like jam. In the United Kingdom, people sometimes call it a sandwich cake.
You can turn most cake recipes into a layer cake. Popular choices include butter cakes and sponge cakes. Often, the whole cake is covered in frosting. But sometimes, the sides are left plain. This way, you can see all the different layers and the delicious filling inside!
Some popular layer cake flavors are German chocolate cake, red velvet cake, Black Forest cake, and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Many wedding cakes are also beautiful, decorated layer cakes.
Modern layer cakes became popular in the mid-1800s. One of the first recipes for a layer cake was in Appledore Cook Book. This book was published in Boston in 1872 by Maria Parloa. Another early recipe appeared in Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book from London in 1894.
Types of Layer Cakes
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In some parts of southern and eastern Europe, there's an older style of layer cake. For these cakes, the batter is baked in thin layers, often in a frying pan. Each layer is about half an inch thick.
These thin layers are then stacked high, usually 7 or 8 layers. Between each layer, there's a thin spread of cream or jam. Once stacked, the whole cake is frosted. This makes it look like a regular cake, even though it has many thin layers inside.
An example of this style is the Frankfurter Kranz (Frankfurt Crown Cake). It was invented in 1735. This cake has two or three layers of sponge cake. It's filled with jam and buttercream, then covered with more buttercream.
Layer Cake Sizes
Layer cakes are usually made to serve many people. They are much bigger than small treats like cupcakes or petits fours. A common layer cake, baked in a nine-inch round pan, can usually serve about 16 people.
Unlike a Swiss roll or a Vietnamese Bánh da lợn, a layer cake is put together from separate pieces of cake. You can even turn a sheet cake into a layer cake! You just cut the sheet cake into pieces and stack them with frosting or filling in between.
See also
In Spanish: Pastel en capas para niños
