Butter (or Oil) Cakes
These contain some kind of fat—often butter, but sometimes oil—and baking powder to leaven them or make them rise. If the fat is butter, the ingredients are usually combined using the creaming method, which means that the soft butter and sugar are beaten together in an electric mixer to partially dissolve the sugar and to incorporate some air. Then the dry and wet ingredients are added in alternating doses. This results in a light and airy crumb, though not quite as light as that of a sponge cake (see below). The best butter cakes have a moist buttery richness tempered by lightness. Included in this category are:
Pound Cakes: This is the simplest type of butter cake. A classic pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. This produces a dense yet tender texture. Pound cakes are heavier than the types of butter cakes used for constructing layer cakes (see below). They're easy to prepare, with the only trick being that the butter must be quite soft when you begin. These cakes are usually very lightly flavored and served plain or topped with a simple glaze or water icing. A pound cake is usually baked in a loaf or Bundt pan. Many coffee cakes, sour cream cakes, and fruit crumb cakes are variations of pound cake.
Butter (and Oil) Layer Cakes: Many different types of cake can be arranged in layers. However, classic American layer cakes are usually butter or oil cakes. The birthday cake you ate as a child was probably of this type. These cakes are lighter than traditional pound cake, but more moist and flavorful than European-style sponge layer cakes (see below). Cakes in this category include: devil's food cake (the classic chocolate layer cake), golden cakes (made with egg yolks, which add richness and a golden color), and white cakes (made with egg whites, which create a lighter, whiter-colored cake).