What is the difference between a pudding and a cake?

Answer 1

The Atlantic Ocean...

If you're in the U.S., pudding is a specific type of creamy dessert (sweet), made by cooking some kind of starch with milk, sugar, eggs and flavorings, then letting it chill until it sets up to a soft but firm consistency. The texture is typically thicker than yogurt, but thinner than custard (which is a type of pudding, at least in the U.S.) If you were to serve a U.S.-style pudding to a Briton, he would most likely describe it as a variety of blancmange; to someone from continental Europe, he would say it was reminiscent of flan, creme caramel, or creme anglaise (the creamy portion of a creme brulee, under the crunchy burnt-sugar crust).

A cake, on the other hand, is made by mixing flour, shortening (typically butter), sugar and beaten egg yolks into a batter, usually with just enough milk to moisten the batter. There is also some kind of leavening (rising) agent added to most cakes; typically it's baking powder (sodium bicarbonate plus tartaric acid; when they dissolve in water, they produce carbon dioxide which makes bubbles that cause the cake to be light in texture) but it can be any number of things including yeast and, in some cakes, stiffly beaten egg whites. There are cakes made without flour at all; I have made a particularly luscious chocolate cake by beating egg yolks with sugar and unsweetened cocoa, then folding this mixture into stiffly beaten egg whites.

In the U.S., puddings are generally cooked on the stovetop while cakes are generally baked in the oven. Both puddings and cakes can be layered; layered puddings are produced by spooning the soft, cooked liquid into a vertical glass in alternating layers of flavors (such as vanilla and chocolate). Layer cakes are made by stacking several layers of fully-baked cake with alternating layers of frosting (icing in the U.K.), and possibly with other elements. The frosting (icing) then goes on the outside of the whole layer cake. The classic French Sacher torte uses two layers of chocolate cake separated by a layer of jam (traditionally raspberry as served at the Hotel Sacher, but apricot is often used), then covered in a thick chocolate mousse and finally enrobed with a deep chocolate ganache (a frosting/icing made by melting good quality chocolate with butter and egg yolks, then spreading over the cake).

Pudding and cake can sometimes be combined. There are recipes and mixes in the U.S. for "pudding cakes," which use the dry ingredients of pudding to give the resulting cake a moister texture. And then there's English trifle, which is made by alternating layers of pound cake, vanilla pudding (blancmange) and fruit or jam in a clear crystal or glass bowl to produce the decorative multi-layer effect. Most trifles also splash a small amount of a sweet fortified wine (sherry or marsala) over the layers of pound cake. The top of the bowl is often decorated with sliced almonds and whipped cream.

In England, pudding is something served as the sweet course at the end of the meal, but only if you eat your meat. (How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?)

Answer 2

Robocop has obviously never heard of England. A traditional English pudding would be called a cake here. It's not the kind of pudding Americans would recognize. A good plum pudding (plums are what the English used to call raisins) steamed for three hours is much like a moist cake. Served with Hard Sauce, it is the best thing this side of heaven.

Answer 3

maybe i am missing something here. Have you ever had either of them. I thought maybe this was a joke but it is in the food section. You bake a cake. You cook pudding on the stove until it thickens. why in the world would you need to ask this question?

Answer 4

Maybe you are thinking of a pudding cake. They are basically softer than traditional cakes (if cooked correctly) and are served with a sauce. They usually are "steamed" in special devices that basically seal in the cake mix and then are dropped in a pot of boiling or hot water.

They are served in Great Britain and when I was there I made a point to have one every night with dinner. They are really good. I tried cooking one myself and it was really bad.

Answer 5

I know puddings are steamed and you can have them with custard or treacle. Mind you I have custard with cake too sometimes :o

Answer 6

With a question like that, you should not , I repeat, NOT, ever venture into the realms of a cooking career, or hobby, or anything to do with cooking.

Answer 7

they are different because they have different ingridients.

pudding is made with jelly powder but without flour
cake is made with flour but without jelly