Meaning

noun a strutting dance based on a march; was performed in minstrel shows; originated as a competition among Black dancers to win a cake

noun an easy accomplishment

verb perform the cakewalk dance

originFrom cake + walk. Originally an African-American form of dance and music that developed after the Civil War, later popularised by minstrel shows. It was danced at social events, with the best dancers often receiving cake as a prize. It derives from dance competitions by plantation slaves in which the style of dance lampooned the ballroom dances of the slaveowners. Slaveowners seem to have found…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0