Does anyone anything about both U.S. cake and U.K. cakes?

Question

I've noticed many U.K. cake recipes are either fruit cakes or are called sponges. Are both of these similar to American fruit cakes or American sponge cakes? Do folks in the U.K. make pound cakes, butter layer cakes or high ratio cakes?

Answer 1

I've been reading cake decorating books from the U.K. for a long time because they do the things that I want to learn.  This is what I've figured out:

The traditional celebration cake in England is a rich fruit cake (usually soaked in liquor), covered in marzipan and then covered in royal icing.  The marzipan prevents any dark liquid from seeping out of the cake, and also prevents liquid from melting the royal icing.  The royal icing would dry rock hard.  Did you see recently that a piece of icing and marzipan from Princess Di's wedding had been sold at auction?  I bet that's exactly what it was, royal icing on the marzipan.

Now it's more common to cover the cake in fondant, because it stays soft enough to be cut and eaten, unlike royal icing.  If fruit cake is used, it's still covered with a layer of marzipan because liquid seeping from it could damage the fondant.

From the recipes I've read, a madeira cake or a sponge cake are similar to a regular American cake, from a mix or from scratch.  And a fruit cake is a fruit cake...although it's considered more of a treat there than here.

Answer 2

no, sorry

Answer 3

Alot of things with simular ingredied's can be called 2 seperate thatns.  Like a fruit cake can be called a Christmas cake.  

However, there are things that are world wide and do not change.  Profecional Bakers know what a basic white cake is and how to make it.  No matter where you go in the world they know how.  Howver if you go to one baker and ask for a fruit cake the recpies will varry.  

Good luck and sorry about the bad spelling.