Pastry vs. Cake — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on September 30, 2023
A pastry is a dough-based baked item, often filled or topped with sweet or savory fillings, while a cake is a sweet, sponge-like dessert made from a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients. Both are popular in bakeries and celebrations.
Difference Between Pastry and Cake
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A pastry encompasses a wide range of baked products made primarily from ingredients like flour, butter, and shortening. These ingredients give the pastry its distinct flaky or crumbly texture. From croissants to tarts, pastries can be sweet or savory. Cakes, however, are primarily sweet and are typically made from a mixture that includes flour, sugar, eggs, and a rising agent, resulting in a soft, sponge-like texture.
While both pastries and cakes can be adorned with a variety of toppings or fillings, their base structures are different. Pastries often rely on the method of layering or folding, especially in items like puff pastries, to achieve their texture. Cakes, on the other hand, require the ingredients to be carefully measured and mixed to ensure the right consistency and fluffiness.
The cultural significance of pastries and cakes also varies. In many cultures, cakes are central to celebrations like birthdays and weddings. They are often larger and serve multiple people. Pastries, while also enjoyed during special occasions, are more commonly associated with breakfasts, snacks, or smaller gatherings.
In a culinary setting, pastries often require a different skill set than cakes. Pastry chefs spend years mastering the art of creating the perfect dough, while cake decorators focus on the design, texture, and flavor profiles of cakes. Both, however, are beloved treats that delight people worldwide.
Comparison Chart
Basic Composition
Made from dough with butter or shortening.
Made from a batter with flour, sugar, eggs, and more.
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Texture
Flaky or crumbly.
Soft and sponge-like.
Occasions
Breakfast, snacks, or special occasions.
Birthdays, weddings, and celebrations.
Types
Tarts, croissants, pies, etc.
Birthday cake, cheesecake, sponge cake, etc.
Preparation Skill
Layering and folding skills.
Mixing and decorating skills.
Compare with Definitions
Pastry
A flaky or crumbly confection often filled with fruit, cream, or meat.
The apple pastry was a hit at the breakfast table.
Cake
A sweet, baked dessert often layered and frosted.
The birthday cake was adorned with colorful candles.
Pastry
A baked good that can serve as a dessert or main dish.
For lunch, he chose a spinach and feta pastry.
Cake
A soft, sponge-like confection made from flour, sugar, and eggs.
She baked a vanilla cake for the anniversary.
Pastry
A dough-based baked item that can be sweet or savory.
She ordered a chocolate-filled pastry from the bakery.
Cake
Cake is a form of sweet food made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, that is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, 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.
Pastry
A general term encompassing pies, tarts, and other similar items.
The bakery offers a wide range of pastries to choose from.
Cake
A sweet baked food made of flour, liquid, eggs, and other ingredients, such as raising agents and flavorings.
Pastry
Pastry is a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as bakers' confectionery.
Cake
A flat rounded mass of dough or batter, such as a pancake, that is baked or fried.
Pastry
Dough or paste consisting primarily of shortening or another fatty substance mixed with flour and water, often baked and used as a crust for sweet foods such as pies and tarts.
Cake
A flat rounded mass of hashed or chopped food that is baked or fried; a patty.
Pastry
Baked sweet foods made with pastry
Viennese pastry.
Cake
A shaped or molded piece, as of soap or ice.
Pastry
One of these baked foods.
Cake
A layer or deposit of compacted matter
A cake of grime in the oven.
Pastry
(Informal) A sweet baked good.
Cake
To cover or fill with a thick layer, as of compacted matter
A miner whose face was caked with soot.
Pastry
(countable) A baked food item made from flour and fat pastes such as pie crust; also tarts, bear claws, napoleons, puff pastries, etc.
That pastry shop sells not just pastries, but all kinds of baked goods.
Cake
To become formed into a compact or crusty mass
As temperatures dropped, the wet snow caked.
Pastry
(uncountable) The food group formed by the various kinds of pastries.
That pastry shop sells not just pastry, but all kinds of baked goods.
Cake
A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
Pastry
(uncountable) The type of light flour-based dough used in pastries.
Cake
A small mass of baked dough, especially a thin loaf from unleavened dough.
An oatmeal cake
A johnnycake
Pastry
A place where pastry is made.
Cake
A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake.
Buckwheat cakes
Pastry
(uncountable) The act or art of making pastry.
He learned pastry from the great Gaston Lenôtre.
Cake
A block of any of various dense materials.
A cake of soap
A cake of sand
Pastry
Desserts of all kinds, whether or not these incorporate the baked item made from flour and fat, or that section of a kitchen that prepares these.
I used to work in the fish section, but now I've been moved to pastry.
Cake
(slang) A trivially easy task or responsibility; from a piece of cake.
Pastry
The place where pastry is made.
Cake
(slang) Money.
Pastry
Articles of food made of paste, or having a crust made of paste, as pies, tarts, etc.
Cake
Used to describe the doctrine of having one's cake and eating it too.
Pastry
A dough of flour and water and shortening
Cake
(slang) A buttock, especially one that is exceptionally plump.
Mmm, I'd like to cut me some of that cake!
Pastry
Any of various baked foods made of dough or batter
Cake
(pyrotechnics) A multi-shot fireworks assembly comprising several tubes, each with a fireworks effect, lit by a single fuse.
Pastry
A culinary preparation involving dough, butter, and other ingredients.
She excelled in pastry-making during her culinary course.
Cake
(transitive) Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.
His shoes are caked with mud.
Cake
(transitive) To form into a cake, or mass.
Cake
(intransitive) Of blood or other liquid, to dry out and become hard.
Cake
A small mass of dough baked; especially, a thin loaf from unleavened dough; as, an oatmeal cake; johnnycake.
Cake
A sweetened composition of flour and other ingredients, leavened or unleavened, baked in a loaf or mass of any size or shape.
Cake
A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake; as buckwheat cakes.
Cake
A mass of matter concreted, congealed, or molded into a solid mass of any form, esp. into a form rather flat than high; as, a cake of soap; an ague cake.
Cakes of rusting ice come rolling down the flood.
Cake
To form into a cake, or mass.
Cake
To concrete or consolidate into a hard mass, as dough in an oven; to coagulate.
Clotted blood that caked within.
Cake
To cackle as a goose.
Cake
A block of solid substance (such as soap or wax);
A bar of chocolate
Cake
Small flat mass of chopped food
Cake
Made from or based on a mixture of flour and sugar and eggs
Cake
Form a coat over;
Dirt had coated her face
Cake
A baked treat that's central to many celebrations.
The wedding cake stood tall with five tiers.
Cake
A mixture that's typically sweetened, mixed, and baked to a fluffy consistency.
The chocolate lava cake oozed with rich filling.
Cake
A dessert that varies in flavor, texture, and design.
He chose a slice of cheesecake from the dessert menu.
Common Curiosities
Can cakes be savory?
While cakes are primarily sweet, there are some savory variations, like cornbread.
Are pastries always sweet?
No, pastries can be either sweet, like a Danish, or savory, like a meat pie.
Can cakes be filled like pastries?
Yes, cakes can have fillings like fruit, cream, or even other desserts.
What's a common ingredient in pastries that gives them flakiness?
Butter or shortening is often used to achieve a flaky texture in pastries.
Do pastries and cakes have the same shelf life?
Not always. It varies based on ingredients, but pastries with cream or meat fillings often have a shorter shelf life than cakes.
Are all cakes soft and spongy?
Most cakes aim for a soft texture, but there are dense variations like pound cakes.
Can a cake be considered a pastry?
While cakes and pastries are distinct, both fall under the broader category of baked goods.
What's the primary difference between a pastry and a cake?
Pastries are dough-based with a flaky or crumbly texture, while cakes are batter-based with a soft, sponge-like texture.
Are pies considered pastries?
Yes, pies are a type of pastry with a crust and filling.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
