The term "cake" has a long history. The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word "kaka".[2]

Ancient Greeks called the Cakes as “plakous” which was derived from the word “flat". It was baked using flour mixed with eggs, milk, nuts and honey. They also had a cake called “satura,” which was a flat heavy cake. During the Roman period, the name for cake became “placenta” which was derived from the Greek term. Placenta were baked on a pastry base or inside a pastry case[3]

Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive.[4] For example, banana bread may be properly considered either a quick bread or a cake.

The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk.[5] In ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good.[4] Latin poet Ovid refers his and his brother's birthday party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia.[6]

Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the most obvious differences between a "cake" and "bread" were the round, flat shape of the cakes, and the cooking method, which turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left upright throughout the baking process.[4]

Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain.[7]