Foam Cakes are cakes with very little (if any) fatty material such as butter, oil or shortening, and are leavened primarily by the air that is beaten into the egg whites that they contain. They are in contrast to butter cake

Butter cake

A butter cake is a cake in which one of the main ingredients is butter. Butter cakes consist of taking the most basic of ingredients butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and a leavening agent and transforming them into a baked good....

s which contain shortening, and baking powder

Baking powder

Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and American-style biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...

 or baking soda for leavening purposes. Examples of foam cakes are angel food cake, meringue

Meringue

Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...

 and chiffon cake

Chiffon cake

A chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings. It is a combination of both batter and foam type cakes...

.