Is Butter Cake (Sugar Cake) Acidic or Alkaline?
Butter cake (sugar cake) (baked) is slightly acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion.
Classification
Butter cake (sugar cake) is a flat yeast dough made from wheat flour, milk and egg, topped with flakes of butter, sugar and often almonds. The dough supplies protein and phosphorus, and there's no fruit to counter it, so +3.7. The thick layer of butter and sugar doesn't show up in the PRAL, but it shows very clearly in the 429 kcal per 100 g. A sheet-pan fruit cake usually comes out milder in the mineral balance.
In the Sweets & Snacks category, butter cake (sugar cake) (baked) ranks #69 of 91, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Gingerbread (+3.7), Chocolate muffin (+3.5), Cookie dough (+3.5). More acid-forming are Madeleines (+3.9), Linzer torte (+3.9), Lemon cake (+4.0).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
What balances butter cake (sugar cake)
A small serving (40 g) of butter cake (sugar cake) adds +1.5 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is butter cake (sugar cake) acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Butter cake (sugar cake) (baked) has a PRAL of +3.7 per 100 g, so it counts as slightly acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much lamb's lettuce offsets a small serving (40 g) of butter cake (sugar cake)?
A small serving (40 g) of butter cake (sugar cake) adds +1.5 to your daily balance. Lamb's lettuce (fresh) has −8.3 per 100 g, so about 20 g of lamb's lettuce offset this serving.
Do I have to avoid butter cake (sugar cake) on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Butter cake (sugar cake) is slightly acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Butter Cake (Sugar Cake) logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
Free for Android · iPhone coming soon
Compare all Sweets & Snacks: Sweets & Snacks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.