There are two main types of cakes - high-fat and low-fat cakes. High-fat cakes are made using creaming, two-stage, or flour batter mixing methods, while low-fat cakes use sponge, angel food, or chiffon methods. There are three main goals of mixing cake batter: 1) combining all ingredients into a smooth uniform batter, 2) forming and incorporating air cells, and 3) developing the proper texture in the finished product. Tonight's variation uses the two-stage mixing method.