Cake is an ancient western pastry, which is usually made in an oven. Cake is made of eggs, sugar and wheat flour as the main raw materials. Milk, fruit juice, milk powder, fragrant powder, salad oil, water, shortening and baking powder are used as auxiliary materials. After stirring, concocting and baking, it is made into a sponge-like snack. Cake is a kind of pasta, usually sweet. A typical cake is made by baking. Cake materials mainly include flour, sweetener (usually sucrose), binder (usually eggs, which vegetarians can replace with gluten and starch), shortening (usually butter or margarine, and cakes with low fat content will be replaced with concentrated juice), liquid (milk, water or juice), essence and starter (such as yeast or baking powder).
The earliest cakes were made of several simple materials. These cakes are symbols of ancient religious myths and miraculous superstitions. The early economic and trade routes imported exotic spices from the Far East to the north, nuts, toilet water, citrus fruits, dates and figs from the Middle East, and sugar cane from eastern and southern countries. In the dark ages of Europe, these rare raw materials were only available to monks and nobles, and their pastry creations were honey gingerbread and flat hard biscuits. Slowly, with the frequent trade, the eating habits of western countries have changed completely. Soldiers and Arab businessmen returning home from the Crusades spread the use of spices and recipes in the Middle East. In several major commercial centers in Central Europe, bakers' trade associations have also been organized. At the end of the middle century, spices have been widely used by wealthy families all over Europe, which has further enhanced the imaginative pastry baking technology. When nuts and sugar became popular, almond paste became popular. This almond paste was baked in a relief mold made of wood carving, and the patterns on the mold were related to religious teachings.