Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) a gold nugget.

1859		Bendigo Advertiser (Vic.) 25 nov. 3/2: There will be exhibited at the Criterion Hotel, two cakes of gold, [...] the one weighing 1389 ounces, the other 1504 ounces.
1860		Bendigo Advertiser (Vic.) 19 Jan. 2/4: The Nelson's Reef Company have had a first-rate crushing of 20 tons of stone which has yielded a cake of 1,000 ounces.
1870		Leader (Melbourne) 26 Nov. 21/3: A magnificent cake of gold of about £2000 in value, was retorted at Rowe and party’s claim.
1880		Queenslander (Brisbane) 17 Jan. 83/3: The two cakes of gold, which in the aggregate weighed 411¾ oz., valued at £1647, were brought up the other day and lodged at the bank.
1897		Mt. Alexander Mail Vic.) 19 Sept. 2/4: A cake of gold, weighing 115 oz, was obtained . from a crushing of 13 tons, taken [...] from a hole in Mr W. Kent's paddock.
1901		Lithgow Mercury (NSW) 2 July 3/2: A cake of gold weighing 111 oz. was brought into town to-day.
1912		Nat. Advocate (Bathurst, NSW) 23 Dec. 1/3: Yesterday, a nice Christmas cake, in the shape of a large mugget of gold, was brought to the local police station from Stuart Town [...] The result of their labors is the cake of gold in question.
1921		Eve. News (Sydney) 31 Jan. 4/7: The slug was found to weigh 142.72 ozs and after smelting, a cake of gold weighing 115.4 oz was obtained.
1935		Dly Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW) 6 Aug. 2/2: Few people have seen a nugget of gold weighing more' than 100 oz., but there was one in Gundagai recently [...] The gold was retorted down, and made a nice little cake.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl.

2. (US black, also cakes) money.

1965		W. King Jr. ‘The Game’ in Kochman Rappin’ and Stylin’ Out (1972) 396: ‘I got busted, The Man got me. Let me run this broad down, and I’ll give you the cakes’.
1971		H.E. Roberts Third Ear n.p.: cake n. money.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 137: Money in general: cakes (’70: in the cakes = rolling in money; low in the cakes = without).
1972		T.M. Kochman ‘The Kinetic Element in Black Idiom’ in Kochman Rappin’ and Stylin’ Out 162: Money is conceived of as an edible: ‘bread,’ but also ‘cakes’.
1974		V.E. Smith Jones Men 157: He might make a helluva lot of cake [...] but he’s gotta lot of cake eaters too.
1981		A.K. Shulman On the Stroll 42: I’d see to it you had your heart’s desire, long as I had the cake to buy it with.
1996		Shaquille O’Neal ‘Legal Money’ 🎵 Stackin’ the cake makes rainy days sunny.
2001		K. Sampson Outlaws (ms.) 97: It’s spivs of the world unite and split the cake up with them fellas.
2012		‘Dutch’ ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] Nigguhs up top sayin’ y’all turnin’ VA into the Wild West and makin’ it hard to get cake.
2014		Grizzy ‘Look Like You’ 🎵 Head in the bando we make mulla cake.
2021		Central Cee ‘Pinging’ 🎵 Got my cake up, I paid it straight up, I defo don't need co-signing (Nah).