Last Updated on December 7, 2021
How many calories are in a piece of cake with frosting? That question goes through everyone’s mind before a bite! Here’s how to calculate it!
Simple use the measurements we have provided and calculate the exact amount of calories for your recipe. Then, divide it by the number of portions you have, and just like that; the exact and accurate amount of calories per piece of cake with frosting!
Understanding Exactly What Calories Are
Understanding exactly what calories are and where they come from will help you and your family immensely in reducing your calorie intake, especially when it comes to delicious baked goodies like cake!
Calories are a measuring unit used to indicate the amount of energy your body will get from the ingredient or dish. It isn’t in any way used to measure weight or volume, however, the more of something you consume, naturally, the more calories you will take in.
Calories aren’t good or bad. Your body needs calories (energy) to function and even survive! But, an excess intake of calories isn’t healthy and will lead to health problems. If you don’t burn that energy your body takes in from the food, it could lead to you gaining weight and other health problems.
Where do calories come from?
Calories mainly come from ingredients that are high in fat, carbohydrates, and proteins. So, unfortunately, this is almost all of the main ingredients used in baking, especially cakes and frostings!
In terms of carbohydrates, this can either be in the form of starches or sugars. Starch ingredients include things like wheat flour (cake flour, bread flour, or all-purpose and pastry flour). It can also include thickening ingredients like corn starch or potato starch that helps stabilize and thicken batters or dough.
When it comes to the sugary type of carbohydrate, it includes any ingredient that contains sugar. This obviously includes granulated or powdered sugar, but also honey, syrups, jams, and fresh fruits. Even further than that, ingredients often contain traces of sugar and therefore will also add to the calorie count.
How Much Sugar Is In A Cake?
This is an extremely relative question. Most people associate sugar with calories, which isn’t wrong, but calories come from a lot more than just sugar. However, sugar is arguably the biggest contributor to a high-calorie count in a cake.
Different types of cake contain varying amounts of sugar, so it is virtually impossible to give you an average.
However, for a more general or average amount, it can vary by quite a lot! The best way to determine exactly how many calories are in a piece of cake with frosting, we have to break it down ingredient by ingredient.
The most basic ingredients that are used to make virtually any type of cake (or at the very least the majority of cakes) include flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and baking powder. Let’s have a look at the calories each of these ingredients contain.
Read more about Calories In A Slice Of Pound Cake.
Calories in flour
A 100 grams of cake flour contains roughly 396 calories. One cup of cake flour weighs 115 grams. So, one cup of cake flour contains roughly 455 calories.
All-purpose flour has a slightly higher calorie count and contains roughly 490 calories per 100 grams.
Calories in sugar
White granulated sugar contains roughly 774 calories per cup. Brown granulated sugar contains virtually the same amount of calories as white granulated sugar does.
Honey contains about 1031 calories per cup (weighing about 339 grams per cup).
Calories in eggs
Most baked goods use large eggs. A single raw large egg contains about 72 calories. Each egg white contains only 17 calories, and the egg yolk (where most of the proteins, fats, and sugars are stored) contains about 55 calories.
Calories in butter
Butter is virtually pure fat, so naturally is very high in calories. One cup of salted butter contains roughly 1628 calories. Unsalted butter contains the same amount of calories per cup as salted butter.
Calories in milk
Full cream milk contains about 72 calories per 100 ml. This comes from the fat, proteins, and sugars that milk contains.
Low-fat milk contains fewer calories, averaging around 49 calories per 100 ml milk. This is because there is significantly less fat.
Calories in baking powder
Baking powder contains about 53 calories per 100 grams. You naturally will never use this amount, so a lot of people don’t even take baking powders’ calorie count into consideration.
Calculating How Much Sugar Is In Cake
So, working with the numbers that we have given above, you can easily calculate exactly how much sugar your specific cake recipe contains!
For example, if your recipe uses 3 cups of cake flour, you can multiply the measurement we gave you per cup by three.
One cup of cake flour = 455 calories. Therefore, three cups of cake flour would be 455 times 3 (455 x 3) and give you 1365 calories. You might also need to divide some of the quantities. For example, if you need to use half an egg, you will divide 72 calories by two, giving you 36 calories.
Do this for all of the ingredients, and at the end, add the calorie count of each together to get the total calorie count for the entire cake.
How Many Calories Are In Frosting?
Today, we will be using plain buttercream frosting as an example. Keep in mind that the more ingredients you add, the higher the calorie count will be. A buttercream frosting consists of butter, powdered sugar, and milk. Vanilla essence or extract has such a low-calorie count that you don’t have to take it into consideration.
You can use the amounts provided above for the calorie count of butter and milk. For powdered sugar, each cup contains about 467 calories.
So, three cups of icing sugar will be 467 times 3 (467 x 3) and give you 1401 calories. Add together the calorie count of your powdered sugar, butter, milk, and other ingredients, and you have the total calorie count for the buttercream frosting.
How Many Calories Are In A Piece Of Cake With Frosting?
So, once you have calculated the entire amount of calories for your cake and your buttercream frosting, add the two together.
To work out the calorie count per piece of cake, divide the cake into the desired amount of portions (we would recommend at least 12 slices) and divide the total calorie count by it. This will give you the number of calories per piece of cake.
Final Thoughts; How Much Sugar In Cake?
Now you never again have to wonder how much sugar is in a cake. You can use our values to determine the exact amount of calories your cake contains and even your frosting! If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comments below and share it with your friends!
Learn more about Cream Cheese Sugar Content.
Lindy Van Schalkwyk is a culinary specialist with a background in Advanced Cooking, Advanced Pâtisserie, Media Communications and Nutrition. She has gained invaluable experience in the culinary industry having worked in some of the top restaurants in Africa in 2016 and 2017. Her expertise in nutrition has enabled her to develop recipes for special dietary needs. In 2018, Lindy began working in the Food Media industry, focusing on recipe development, recipe writing, food writing and food styling.
