The term "cake" has a long history. The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word "kaka".[2]
Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive.[3] For example, banana bread may be properly considered either a quick bread or a cake.
The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk.[4] In ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good.[3] Latin poet Ovid refers to the birthday of him and his brother with party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia.[5]
Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the most obvious differences between a "cake" and "bread" were the round, flat shape of the cakes, and the cooking method, which turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left upright throughout the baking process.[3]
Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain.[6]