Butter cakes rely primarily on baking powder or baking soda for height while sponge cakes depend on the air trapped in the eggs during beating. Tortes are multi-layered cakes with rich fillings and are often made with little or no flour. Some cake recipes specifically call for cake flour.
Cake flour contains less protein than all-purpose flour and produces a more tender cake.
Butter cakes Butter cakes include pound cakes and yellow, white, spice and chocolate layer cakes. Before mixing the batter, soften the butter so that it mixes easily with the sugar. These cakes achieve their high volume from beaten eggs rather than a leavening agent like baking powder. Sponge cakes do not contain butter, oil or shortening. Angel food cakes are the most popular and are literally fat-free since they use only egg whites, not yolks.