Cakes & Cupcakes

Appears in
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

By Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Published 2008

  • About
Making your own homemade cake is making a statement. A smooth-surfaced, naturally colored, minimally filled cake suggests a modernist aesthetic, while a heavily decorated, loudly colored, thickly filled cake suggests a rather robust personality. Your cake is a reflection of you.

Cakes come in many shapes, sizes, textures, and varieties, but we generally prefer to bake in three styles: the towering round three-layer cake, the big hearty bundt cake, and the omnipresent cupcake. Three-layer cakes are impressive in stature, and they provide the perfect ratio of cake to icing to filling. Bundt cakes are perfect for displaying a singular flavor, such as in our Root Beer Bundt Cake, and the bundt pan provides an evenly textured and distinct crumb. And cupcakes, if made properly, can transcend the cupcake fad mania and become a surprising dessert unto themselves. Cupcakes don’t have to be cute; they just have to be good.