When it comes to cakes, we all have our favourite type of cakes that we eat as desserts and the ones that are served at birthday celebrations or parties. It could be a delicious, flavoured, plain, sweet or decorated cake. Others might prefer a bit airier to their cake with whipped cream and fresh fruits put on top. There are many different types of cakes and they are typically categorized by ingredients you can find today.
The two main cake categories are butter and foam. Under each category, there are other variations of cakes. The typical cakes that are often sold at bakeries are Chocolate Cake, Cheese Cake, Fruit Cake, Red Velvet Cake, Chiffon Cake, Pavlova Cake, Butter Cake, Layer Cake and more, but what are the current cakes that are popular and highly demanded by many people? This article lists out the top 10 types of cakes you should try in Malaysia.
1. Cheesecake
The creamy and rich texture blends with the wondrous taste of cheese just make everything about cheesecake perfect as it is. There are many types of cheesecake, but this year’s popular cheesecake award goes to Burnt Cheesecake. Yes, Malaysians are going crazy for Burnt Cheesecake right now. If you scroll over Instagram feed, you can find just find any Insta shops near you to get a taste of this cake.
But if you’re not really a fan of heavy-textured cheese in the cake, there are other forms of cheesecakes that are mixed with other ingredients like chocolate, blueberry, strawberry and other natural ingredients. For example, the Blue Fairy Cheesecake from M Cake Boutique. The natural blue colouring from this cheesecake is extracted from Butterfly Pea Flower, also known as Bunga Telang.
2. Pavlova
Originated from New Zealand and Australia, Pavlova is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light marshmallow-like texture on the inside, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits. Many are blown away by the dessert’s pretty appearance. It is made mainly of sugar and egg, it is a perfect dessert to eat during the day.
The price per slice for this cake can be quite expensive but it’s all worth the price. The process of creating this gorgeous cake takes a lot of time and effort. Some bakeries even make it more special by customising their own version of Pavlova cakes.
3. Chiffon Cake
Chiffon cake is a cross between a sponge and oil cake. Adding oil gives it a similar richness to a shortened cake and whipped egg whites and baking powder to make it light and airy in texture. The ingredients include baking powder, vegetable oil along with eggs. The egg whites are beaten to soft before being folded into the batter. This automatically makes the cake with a tender crumb and a rich flavour, like an oil cake, with a lighter texture, more like a sponge cake.
One of the best chiffon cake flavours you should try is Rose Tea Chiffon Cake. This cake is suitable for those who prefer non-cream cake. Organic rose tea is mixed together in the cake and sprinkled on top.
4. Sponge Cake
If you are in need of cake with no baking soda or baking powder but plenty of whipped eggs or white eggs, there’s a sponge cake and a variety of different styles of sponge cake exist for you to try. Sponge cake belongs to the group of "foam cakes" and it is very popular worldwide, possibly because of its simplicity of ingredients.
Sponge cake may come in various types, sizes and flavours. It can be iced or frosted, or simply coated with sugar. You may also serve them as a layered cake. What they have in common is their texture, and the ingredients making them a "sponge." For a better taste of sponge cake, you can try Lychee Rose Sponge Cake, vanilla flavoured with a hint of rose, layered with lychee and patisserie cream. For a more Malaysian flavour, you can also try Durian Sponge Cake to have our local fruit authentic taste.
5. Mousse Cake
A mousse is a soft-cooked food that contains air bubbles to give it a texture that is light and airy. The preparation techniques can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse cake is a cake without eggs. A mousse cake can be sweet or flavourful.
Sweet mousses are usually made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavoured with one or more chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréeed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. If you want to try out a new taste of mousse cake, you can have a taste of Matcha Raspberry Mousse Cake and Sakura Cherry Yogurt Mousse Cake. Matcha is rich in antioxidants, they help our body get rid of harmful toxins. For the classic Japanese Hanami experience, the ‘Sakura’ cake is a perfect blend of looks and taste as it is based with smooth yoghurt mousse.
6. Carrot Cake
Carrot cake uses butter cake leavening practices but it uses a neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil instead of butter. As the name suggests, this cake contains carrots that are blended into a batter. Most modern carrot cake recipes are frosted with white cream cheese. The process of making carrot cake is quite similar to baking butter cakes, but carrot cakes can come out a little greasier. Instead of starting out beating butter sugar, carrot cake is started by whipping out eggs, sugar and then adding the oil.
7. Red Velvet Cake
Red velvet cake is basically a butter cake although it is mostly made with oil rather than butter. Cocoa is added to the cake batter to create the distinct red velvet flavour, at the time of the inception of red velvet it was originally a reaction between buttermilk and the raw cocoa widely available which caused a crumb.
In the older days, its appealing red colour was what attracted many people. Red Velvet Cake is usually coloured in dark red blood, poured and overlaid with frosting cream cheese or buttercream while maintaining a light and fluffy feel should be adequately moist.
8. Tiramisu
Tiramisu is Italy's most popular dessert and has been popular in most parts of the world as well, including Malaysia. Although it has now been adapted into cakes, cups or slices, its edible enchantment remains the same with its smooth mix of cocoa and espresso flavours soaking up spongy ladyfinger biscuits and alternately layered with mascarpone cheese that melts in your mouth.
It is a rather complex dessert because the combination of cocoa and espresso flavours has to be perfect. A good tiramisu has to be moist enough without becoming soggy.
9. Fruit Cake
Fruit cake is one of the heaviest cakes that is packed with an amalgam of fruits, nuts and just enough rich cake to hold them all together. The classic fruit cake is made from soaked unsweetened dried fruit. It is a perfect taste of sweet, savoury and moist fruit cake to serve during festive seasons.
Another best part of fruit cake is that it can be stored for a long time. You can reserve it properly by wrapping the cake in brandy-soaked towels and then wrap in aluminium foil or plastic wrap. Besides mixed fruit cake, you can also taste the single fruit cake made from only one particular fruit like mango and blueberry.
Mango Fruit Cake is everyone’s favourite. The mango sponge cake by M Cake Boutique is bursting with fresh mango flavour. The chiffon sponge is steam-baked to the desired light and fluffy texture, filled with sweet and juicy mango cubes. The mousse is made out of 100% fresh mango pulp.
Blueberry Cake is not only packed with blueberries on the outside, but it is also filled with blueberry jam on the inside so that you get to taste the mixture of authentic blueberry flavours. M Cake Beauty uses dairy cream imported all the way from France for the whipped cream. This makes a perfect balance of blueberry taste and cream you could ever get from a cake.
10. Biscuit Cake
Biscuit cake is a type of no-bake tea cake found in Irish, English, Danish and Jewish cuisine. It is made from digestive biscuits and is prepared with a chocolate glaze. For Malaysians, we have our own local biscuit cake called Batik Cake or Kek Batik. It is called batik because it has batik-like patterns from the crushed biscuits.
Kek Batik is made from chocolate or milo fudge and tea biscuits such as Marie Biscuits or Petit Beurre. It's such a simple cake that doesn't need baking, just make the fudge, mix with biscuits and refrigerate. For the fudge, you can use Milo, Vico or Ovaltine, up to your own preference.
So, which one is your favourite? These 10 cakes are currently trending in Malaysia and many bakeries would definitely sell most of the cakes to customers. Some cakes can be made on your own, but how about the cakes that are difficult to make? If you have a cake you would love to order for events or parties, you can simply get it from M Cake Boutique. Head over to their website and it only takes a few clicks for you to complete the order.