So because cake seems to be all encompassing (put the word cake in front of anything and it magically becomes cake), what defines cake?
cake
kāk/Submit
noun
noun: cake; plural noun: cakes
1.
an item of soft, sweet food made from a mixture of flour, shortening, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and often decorated.
"a carrot cake"
an item of savory food formed into a flat, round shape, and typically baked or fried.
"crab cakes"
a pancake.
"buckwheat cakes"
a flattish, compact mass of something, especially soap.
"a cake of soap"
synonyms: bar, block, brick, slab, tablet, lump
"a cake of soap"
verb
verb: cake; 3rd person present: cakes; past tense: caked; past participle: caked; gerund or present participle: caking
1.
(of a thick or sticky substance that hardens when dry) cover and become encrusted on (the surface of an object).
"a pair of boots caked with mud"
synonyms: coat, encrust, plaster, cover
"boots caked with mud"
(of a thick or sticky substance) dry or harden into a solid mass.
"the blood under his nose was beginning to cake"
synonyms: clot, congeal, coagulate, solidify, set, inspissate
"the blood was beginning to cake"
Origin
Middle English (denoting a small flat bread roll): of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish kaka and Danish kage .