Sweet & Cakes Sweet & Cakes is a form of sweet dessert that is typically baked. In its oldest forms, cakes were modifications of breads. But cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and that share features with other desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies. Typical cake ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil or margarine. A liquid, and leavening agents, such as baking soda or baking powder. Common additional ingredients and flavourings include dry, candied, or fresh fruit. And nuts, cocoa, and extracts such as vanilla, with numerous substitutions for the primary ingredients. Cakes can also be filled with fruit preserves, nuts or dessert sauces (like pastry cream), iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorate with marzipan, piped borders, or candied fruit.