CAKES will shoot anywhere from 7 to 100 effects into the sky one at a time. These effects can be bursts of colour, comets, whistles, flying fish or stars. One fuse will ignite the entire item and it will shoot in a predetermined sequence. Cakes are fantastic items and are great by themselves or as a finale. They can reach heights of 30 meters.

A cake firework is a firework comprising a series of Roman candles, small aerial shells, or a combination of both, connected together by a high-speed fuse. The internal fusing is set to fire each tube in series. It can fire several tubes at the same time. A cake resembles a simple cube or other rectangular covered shape. After firing, a large number of cardboard tubes (the candles) are visible at the top of the firework. The paper cover blows off by the discharging stars. In a traditional cake, all the candles point upwards which is called the fan or angle cake.

Cakes are one of the most popular types of firework. They can create spectacular and long-lasting effects from a single ignition that minimises safety concerns. Cakes vary greatly in size, weight and duration. Some last only a few seconds and contain only a few tubes, while others may last for several minutes, contain upwards of 1,000 tubes, and measure over a cubic yard in size. Large "finale Cakes" containing dozens of shells up to 4" diameter are not uncommon, and some cakes, particularly those containing large amounts of dragon's eggs, can weigh over 100 pounds prior to discharge.