Answer:

Ultimate Chocolate Butter Cake (UCBC) RecipeShortened cakes, also known as butter, conventional, or creamed cakes, are the most commonly prepared types, especially for birthday and wedding celebrations. (This group also includes oil cakes.) These are American butter cakes which typically have a moist, tender crumb and fine, even grain. They can be made from scratch, purchased already made, or made from a cake mix. If instantly questioned, I am sure we can readily name our favorite cake - Chocolate, Devil's food cake, lemon, strawberry, marbled chocolate and vanilla, or even yellow layer cake and sometimes, white cake. If you mention Bundt or loaf cake, they are typically made with a Pound Cake, another type of shortened cake, being denser than the classic American one, yet still with a tender crumb. Many coffee cakes, sour cream cakes, and fruit crumb cakes are variations of pound cake.

What these cakes have in common are that they contain some sort of fat - often butter, but sometimes oil - and are mostly leavened by baking powder and/or soda and acid, as well as steam and air. Creaming is the first baking step in many Shortened cakes, except if it an Oil Cake. You will recognize it when the recipe indicates: "Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy." Then, the eggs, followed by dry and wet ingredients are added in alternating doses. The batter is baked in almost any size and shape. Flour, eggs, milk, spices, flavoring and other ingredients are varied to produce a wide assortment.

Happy Birthday Cake RecipeLittle does one know that creaming is one of the most important baking steps; here, thousands of tiny and delicate air bubbles are created by beating sugar with plastic fat, also known as solid butter, margarine or processed shortening, and held there. (The inital creaming also partially dissolves the sugar.) The cake is leavened when the air bubbles are later expanded during baking from carbon dioxide gas from baking powder and/or baking soda, and steam generated from the liquid ingredients. Cakes made this way tend to turn out light with a soft, velvety crumb, depending on the ingredients.

Cakes were not always mixed using the creaming method; rather, at one time they were all leavened with yeast, resulting in heavier, compact cakes. The refined cake grain that is available today is possible with the invention of baking soda in the 1840s and baking powder in the 1860s, along with technological advances in ovens and equipment, better refrigeration and access to more refined ingredients.