In the mid-19th century, modern cakes were first described in English. One of the first recipes for layer cakes was published in Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, published in London in 1894.

The layer cake is more ancient than most people realize. In Ukraine and Russia, people still make these cakes in the old traditional way. The cake batter is baked in a frying pan in thin layers, about a centimeter thick in the finished stack. These layers are then covered with a thin layer of cream and/or jam and stacked 7 or 8 layers high. This stack, which is the same height as the typical Western layer cake, is then frosted so that the structure is not visible. At first glance, these cakes look much like an Austrian konditorei style cake such as the Black Forest cake.

Varieties

• Bánh da l?n (Vietnam)
• Black Forest gateau (Germany)
• Red Velvet Cake
• Carrot Cake
• German Chocolate Cake
• Wedding Cake