Bakery Product Knowledge - Cakes 🌎

Not every customer will know what type of cake they’re looking for. It’s important that employees can answer any questions customers may have about what type of cake and frosting they should order. In this topic, learners are taught the typical characteristics of six basic types of cakes sold in grocery stores: white, yellow, chocolate, devil’s food, red velvet, and marble. They are also taught what frosting is and the characteristics of three common frostings: buttercream, cream cheese, and whipped cream.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

• Video module

• PDF module (This module was created in a tool that is not supported by our Content Studio offering.)

Translated content is typically AI-generated, and in some instances, it's been human-reviewed. Review the list below for translation details within this topic.

• English

• French

  • Questions = AI-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

  • PDF = AI-translated

• Spanish

  • Questions = human-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

  • PDF = AI-translated

1. White cake is a vanilla flavored cake made without egg yolks. This is what gives it its white color. It’s also usually less dense than yellow cake. Typically, it’s covered with lighter types of frosting.

2. Yellow cake is a vanilla flavored cake made with whole eggs (both the yolks and the whites). This is what gives it a golden-yellow color. It’s also a dense cake, allowing it to go well with a variety of strong flavors.

3. Chocolate cake is a chocolate flavored cake typically made with melted chocolate or cocoa powder. It also contains butter and other heavier ingredients like cream, which gives it a dense texture.

4. Devil’s food cake is a richly flavored chocolate cake that is lighter and airier in texture than regular chocolate cake. This is because it usually contains lighter ingredients like oil (instead of butter) and cocoa powder (instead of melted chocolate).

5. Red velvet cake is a chocolate cake with a light chocolate flavor and texture. Red food coloring gives it its red color. It’s traditionally made with buttermilk instead of regular milk. Red velvet cake is typically covered with cream cheese frosting.

6. Marble cake is a combination of chocolate and vanilla flavored cake. Vanilla cake batter is swirled together with chocolate cake batter to give it its marble design. It’s typically covered in chocolate frosting.

7. Frosting is a thick, fluffy, and opaque mixture. It’s usually cream cheese or butter based. Typically, it’s used for covering the outside of cakes, but it can also be used as a filling.

8. Traditional, or American buttercream is the most common type of frosting. It’s usually made with butter, milk, sugar, and some type of flavoring such as vanilla. It has a fluffy texture and is usually used as both a frosting and a filling.

9. Cream cheese frosting is made the same way as traditional buttercream frosting, except that some or all the butter is replaced with cream cheese. This gives it a tangy flavor and makes it slightly heavier than other types of frosting. It’s typically used to frost or fill red velvet or carrot cake.

10. Whipped cream frosting is a lighter frosting made with heavy cream, powdered sugar, and some type of flavoring like vanilla. It’s typically used on shortcakes or served with fruit.

Customers that visit the bakery may not always want a simple type of cake, and instead may be looking for something more complex. In this topic, learners are taught the key characteristics of a variety of common specialty cakes sold in grocery stores, like Black Forest cake, carrot cake, pound cake, and more.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

• Video module

• PDF module (This module was created in a tool that is not supported by our Content Studio offering.)

Translated content is typically AI-generated, and in some instances, it's been human-reviewed. Review the list below for translation details within this topic.

• English

• French

  • Questions = AI-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

  • PDF = AI-translated

• Spanish

  • Questions = human-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

  • PDF = AI-translated

1. German chocolate cake is a rich chocolate layer cake. It’s topped and filled with a pecan-coconut frosting. Sometimes the sides of the cake are also frosted. This cake originated in the United States unlike its name suggests. It was named after the type of chocolate originally used to make it.

2. Black Forest cake is a rich chocolate layer cake. It’s filled and frosted with whipped cream and cherries. The cake is often decorated with chocolate shavings and more cherries. Unlike the German chocolate cake, this cake did originate in Germany. Its name comes from the cherry liquor first used in it from the Black Forest region of Germany.

3. Carrot cake is a dense cake. It’s made with a variety of spices, like cinnamon and cloves, and shredded carrots, giving it a rich, sweet carrot flavor. The batter may also include nuts, raisins, coconut, and pineapple. It’s usually frosted and filled with cream cheese icing.

4. Flourless chocolate cake is a dense chocolate cake made without flour, which gives it a strong chocolate flavor. This makes it a good gluten-free option. It’s typically a flat cake, since the lack of flour causes it not to rise as high as other cakes. It’s usually covered with some type of chocolate frosting.

5. Angel food cake is a sweet, white, vanilla cake baked in a tube pan and is made without egg yolks and butter. This gives it a spongy, fluffy texture. Served by itself, it’s naturally fat-free but, it’s typically served with fruit and whipped cream.

6. Pound cake is a dense cake typically made in a loaf pan. It got its name by originally being made with one pound of each of the following: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. It can be served plain or with frosting. Today, additional ingredients like chocolate or lemon can be added to change the flavor.

7. Boston cream pie is a vanilla layer cake. Its layers are filled with a sweet vanilla custard or cream and the entire cake is topped with a chocolate ganache or glaze.