These studies on the use of lards in plain cake were initiated in the fall of 1932 and completed during the summer of 1936. The major results of these investigations with cake have been included in a series of four theses by Martin (11), Buel (2), Minard (13) and Myers (15) .

Cakes containing fat may be divided into two types:

1. The pound cake, named from the proportions formerly used by our great-grandmothers, consists of a pound each of fat, sugar, flour and eggs, with no baking powder or soda. The volume of the cake depends upon the expansion of moisture from the eggs and from the air incorporated-in the creamed mixture and in the beaten eggs. Although the old pound cake recipe is generally modified for modern formulas, it is essentially a type carrying a high percentage of fat, and the texture is rather close, fine, even and compact.

2. Far more commonly used at present by homemakers is a loaf, cup or layer cake, the volume of which depends upon air incorporated in beaten eggs, a leavening agent such as baking powder or soda, the expansion of the moisture into steam and, to a much lesser extent, upon the air incorporated in creaming. An analysis of recipes commonly used for this type of cake shows that they may be very lean, containing as little as 18 parts of fat per 100 parts of flour. A frequently used yet a fairly rich recipe may carry from 40 to 50 parts of fat, and a very rich one may carry 60 to 70 or occasionally 75 parts of fat per 100 parts of flour.