Spit cake translates as "tree cake". Baumstriezel is made of a batter made with yeast, and has a caramel crust while the Baumkuchen is not baked with yeast but with baking powder, and has no crust of caramelized sugar. Baumkuchen has as its ingredients eggs, marzipan, sugar, butter and flour. Baumkuchen is served plain or with white sugar icing or covered with chocolate. This type of cake is known in Austria as Prügelkrapfen and in Luxembourg called Baamkuch, traditionally served on special occasions, such as weddings. The Austrian Prügelkrapfen or Prügeltorte is a variety of spit cake with a liquid base dough
Chocolate cake transformed chocolate from an exclusive luxury to an inexpensive daily snack. A process for making silkier and smoother chocolate called conching was developed in 1879 by Rodolphe Lindt and made it easier to bake with chocolate, as it amalgamates smoothly and completely with cake batters. Until 1890 to 1900, chocolate recipes were mostly for chocolate drinks, and its presence in cakes was only in fillings and glazes. In 1886, American cooks began adding chocolate to the cake batter, to make the first chocolate cakes in the US. The Duff Company of Pittsburgh, a molasses manufacturer, introduced Devil's food chocolate cake