layer cake

American  

noun

1. a cake made in layers, with a cream, jelly, or other filling between them.

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layer cake British  

noun

1. a cake made in layers with a filling

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Etymology

Origin of layer cake

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

layer cake

In the financial economy, leverage is high with a layer cake of debt at the investor, fund, instrument and underlying investment level.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

The “How to” sections on such topics as infusing butter, dehydrating fruit and assembling a layer cake are helpful supplements to the book’s occasionally complex recipes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

“I was a layer cake of abandonment and hurt and fury, iced with a smile,” goes a typically curt, sardonic line in Manguso’s second novel, which chronicles the slow-motion collapse of a marriage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2024

Much like the vertical layer cake, this is a challenge that is really based on timing and temperature control.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2023

I get home that evening, and Ma’s baked a chocolate layer cake to celebrate—a real cake, too, not no Betty Crocker.

From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor