I have four weeks to go before the current state of “all you can eat” fades to moderation once again. Until then, I’m staying the course. That means, this cake, the World’s Best Cake from Sweet Paul Eat and Make: Charming Recipes and Kitchen Crafts You Will Love book is all mine to eat until every last crumb is licked off the plate.
Trust me when I tell you the cake lives up to its name. I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant at first, it seemed so simple in design that I thought there was no way it could displace some of my favorite go-to cakes with rich buttercream frostings and custard fillings.
Wrong. This one is now in my top 5 go-to cakes for all occasions. Reasons? One of the best yellow cake recipes—hands down. Meringue for frosting? Yeah, crispy exterior with a soft marshmallow like inside almost makes you want to scrape that and eat it alone, but don’t be foolish–the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And finally the whipped cream layer is the final balance that quietly brings it all together.
Now beyond this recipe, let’s review the book, shall we:
By the numbers:
- Over 65+ plus recipes and 35 craft projects
- Approximate book cost: $22.
What I liked and you might too:
- The book is full of easy elegant recipes that aren’t fussy in procedure, nor will they require ingredient after ingredient. Nope it’s simplicity that delivers in every delicious way. As for the crafts—same philosophy applies—the crafts are created from everyday objects and spun into Pin worthy crafts that are useful and beautiful. In between all that are stories from his past and present day life that will draw you in and make you want to brunch with him and his friends.
- And oh, the pictures, they are stunning along with the whole design of the book. Once you get pass the recipes and crafts, you can’t help but get caught up in the fine design of every page.
The next two recipes and craft project in the queue for making:
- Breakfast Polenta Hazelnuts, Honey and Pears – This is one of those recipes that can go either way—a great meal for a lazy Sunday Brunch or for more formal holiday breakfast.
- Smoked Salmon Hash with Scallions, Dill & Eggs – This is the kind of meal you can easily throw together for a crowd or for one. For me, I’m going to make it, then pair it with The Merry Mary cocktail and enjoy it in bed with the Sunday paper.
- As for the crafts, first up: the natural dipped-dyed tablecloth.
"World's Best Cake"
Ingredients
- 10½ tablespoons (1 stick plus 21⁄2 tablespoons) butter, softened
- 12⁄ 3 cups granulated sugar
- 11⁄ 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 1⁄ 3 cup whole milk
- 1⁄4 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1⁄2 vanilla bean
Instructions
Preparation: Heat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle position.
- Line two 6 inch removeable-bottom cake pans with parchment paper. Beat the butter and 2⁄ 3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and baking powder and mix well on low speed. Mix in the egg yolks and milk. Evenly divide the batter between the pans.
- In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining 1 cup sugar to soft peaks. Evenly divide meringue and spread on each cake layer. Sprinkle with the almond slices. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown and puffed. Cool on a wire rack in the pan. When the cake is cool, put the cream in a medium bowl and scrape in the vanilla seeds. Discard the vanilla pod. Beat to soft peaks with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Spread the cream on top one cake layer and then place the second cake layer on top. Let the cake sit for 1 hour in the fridge before serving.
Wow this book looks amazing and this cake has everything I love!!
I adore Sweet Paul, but I love him even more for showcasing the much beloved Verdens Beste Kake. Love your version and I can’t wait to get my hands on that book!
This is a dream come true! so few ingredients and so easy to make! It’s in my to do list now 🙂
Lovely! That does look like the world’s best cake! 🙂
I must to do this, thanks!
This cake looks beautiful! And love the cookbook recommendation – thank you!
So much awesome in this post! That cake, that book! Thanks girl!
I have Eat and Make and LOVE it. This is absolutely the book to have now. Beautiful. . and now I have to try this cake!
That cake looks amazing!!
If you say it’s the best, I’m with you! Plus it’s pretty 🙂
This loos yummy! So easy too!
Wish I were pregnant and indulging too! This cake looks just beautiful. Enjoy your remaining days of “all you can eat.” I will enjoy them vicariously through you!
Can’t wait to try this cake!
If you say it’s one of your top 5 cakes, that is some serious praise! It’s gorgeous and Id love a slice and off to order the book! pinned
Such a gorgeous cake! Gotta check out that cookbook!!
I can’t believe you have only 4 weeks left! So exciting!! This cake looks phenomenal! I want to try it!
Ooooooooh. Breakfast polenta sounds perfect right now. But so does this cake, which looks totally fabulous. Thanks for sharing Naomi!
I just got the book yesterday. It is gorgeous and I cannot wait to dig in and try it this cake!
Does anyone have a tip for using another pan(s) besides 6″ rounds? Any shape, but not sure about approximate size equivalents. maybe like a half- or quarter-sheet, then cut and stack halves?
I’ve heard about the cake and the book! Can’t wait to get my hands on both!
I have seen this cake praised and I am a bit mystified by it; though if you of all of the serious bakers on the net like it then that says something very significant. What I just can’t comprehend is how the meringue layer works directly on the batter layer yet seems in the pictures to be one thing (all one color). I’m going to have to try this.
“Let the cake sit for 1 hour in the fridge before serving.” Can it sit longer? Can you make the cake the day before serving and leave in the fridge? Or leave in the fridge for one hour and then take out and leave at room temp until the next day?
I can’t commit to making a cake the day of!
Thanks!
I’ve been debating whether to get the book. Decision made! The cake looks gorgeous!
Ok, this cake, I need to go buy that book and make this cake asap…reminds me of one my mom used to make growing up! YUM!!!
This really does look like the best cake ever. Beautiful!
I’ve never heard of this cake before but it sounds fabulous! And I’ll have to keep an eye out for that book 😉
Looks simple, light, perfect for Mother’s Day!
Beautiful! This looks delicious 🙂
This is such a unique cake. It sounds delightful!
I had to read through the recipe to twice to understand everything. This must truly be the world’s best cake, so simple!
Looks perfectly delicious!
This looks simple and perfect a light afternoon tea! Am gonna make it this weekend 🙂 Thanks for sharing !
Hi! thanks for sharing this recipe! it looks delicious. i’ll be trying it! I only wish there were metric measurements too as it would make things a lot easier for european bakers! I can convert I know, but still a huge preference for weights for ease, time and dishes!
I’ve been wanting this book, and now you’ve convinced me! Love that shot!
I happen to love yellow cake, this looks perfect for any occasion!
Thanks! You gave me an idea on what to make on Mother’s Day. Did you use salted butter?
This cake looks divine. However, in my over-stocked kitchen I don’t have 2-6 inch pans with removable bottoms. I just may have to add them to the inventory to make this cake.
With a title like this I’ve gotta try this cake! It does look delicious!
Hi there — I’m one of the Pauls at Sweet Paul — I make this cake at home in a 9×13 pan — then you simply cut the cake in half and stack one half on top of the other on a plate with whipped cream in the middle.
Hi — I’m one of the pauls at Sweet Paul — YES — it’s good after a night in the fridge — I’ve served it after a night in the fridge and I’ve served leftovers the next day from the fridge too. The cake is so tasty and “yolky” rich and sweet ^__^
you can use a 9×13 and simply cut it in half and stack one half on top of eachother with the cream in the middle — that’s how we do it most of the time — i’m one of the Pauls of Sweet Paul ^__^
It’s a very “yolky” yellow cake — you can really taste the egg in it — very rich and tasty ^__^
i’ve made it and ended up with an uncooked middle cake … it seems to me that 30 min is not enough to bake this cake since it has a ton of merenge right on the top of it …. and the almond didn’t get toasted like the picture show it … but, because we love yellow cake so much we ate around it like crazy lunatics … please, help with some baking advise …
That first shot is gorgeous and definitely brings out the beauty in this cake!! I must save this recipe for the future!
This looks so interesting! I have always been sceptical about using meringue as a frosting, I’d always imagine it makes the cake dry but you’ve sold me! Much love x
This cake looks so good!! Not sure if I am convinced about the world’s best. That just means I will have to try it out.
I need that book!
Hi! I made this cake today and I have some questions if you don’t mind. Do we really have to refrigerate the cake. Do you have other filling suggestions besides whipped cream? I refrigerated the assembled cake but the cake part became tough and the meringue lost its crispness. It’s a very good cake. Wish I didn’t put it in the refrigerator, but I had too with the whipped cream. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ll be making this for Mother’s Day this Sunday 🙂
For the sugar, do you mean 12/3 or 1 2/3? And flour 11/3 or 1 1/3 cups? Does the book have measurements like this or are they also by weight?
I want to make this for Mom’s day! And if it all turns out well, I’m getting the book for sure. 🙂
Thanks!
The same happened to me – I think next time I’m going to try using a 9×13 like Paul mentioned. Spreading out the layer should let everything bake evenly I think!
I used two 8″ round cake pans lined with parchment paper (with enough overhang to pull out the layers) – came out awesome!
I used two 8″ round cake pans lined with parchment paper (with enough overhang to pull out the layers) – came out awesome!
When I made it with two 6-inch pans, it came out too high to stack one on top of the other. The meringue came out thicker than the cake! It does seem like 5 egg whites sure makes a lot of meringue for 2 6-inch cakes. Did you end up using all of your meringue?
Could I use cake flour? Or just straight up white flour…
I going to try this recipe, but wish I had the money it buy such a wonderful book, then I could talk all my friends and family into buying it
The same thing happened to me too. I am determined to make this for my husband’s birthday today because he requested it, so I have another batch in the oven right now. I used less meringue the second time. It was too much before and puffed up above the top of the pan. Hopefully this turns out!
I do think that this would work better the way the original cake is in the book – baked in a 9×13 pan
Also, the directions for this recipe (on the blog, not the book) are not written well. I’m a serious baker and I found it hard to follow. There are only two steps, but each step contains too many directions and seem to be split up pretty randomly. In the book it’s much better laid out.
I would not recommend this recipe at all, though I might change my mind if the second cake works out ok…
Update: I still could not get this cake to bake properly. I cut down the meringue by half and that helped a bit. The first cake had WAY too much meringue. The cake still ended up being so tall it looked ridiculous when assembled and it took too long to get the insides even semi-cooked.
I had the same problem with meringue that baked too high and runny dough after 30 minutes. I think next time, it might help to bake the cake first, take it out 10-15 minutes before its done, and put a thin layer of meringue on top to bake for another 15-20 minutes.
just found this review after making the cake. I used a 9 x 13 pan and had a problem with a raw center after 30 min of baking, sorry i did not test the cake because of the meringue. next time i will try to test for doneness even with the meringue. Tried the finished cake that was cooked and it is fabulous . do you think cooking it another 15 minutes will do the trick?
I too had a problem with the raw center. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Sounds alot like a German dessert my Mom made she called Blitz torte. The yellow cake layer in that one was very dense, and the filling was custard not whipped cream, the topping was the same-meringue and almonds-the combination was soooo good.
Can I double this and make it in two 9″ pans? It doesn’t say how many this serves, but a 6″ cake won’t be enough for my needs.
Hello…I am a mother of five so that means at least seven cakes I bake a year. I was so excited when I made this recipe and I couldn’t wait for everyone to taste it. It was my two year old’s birthday yesterday. The cake came out looking so beautiful and I followed the recipe exactly, vanilla bean and all. We all took our first bite and my five year old said “this cake doesn’t taste like anything!” Translated that means that it had no flavor. Yes we just had a very flavorful Jamaican dinner….but we finished it tonight with the same results. It reminded me of the story of the Emporers new clothes. Everyone applauded it except a little boy who could see that he had no clothes on! Well my son was the little boy in this case (or should I say cake) and I am sorry to say but the cake tastes like your eating air. It has no flavor. I guess the joke is on me and everyone else who is eating 1000 calories worth of air. Love and laughs to all!
Okay I am back again….if I could offer any suggestions to someone who has already made this cake and had high expectations and is about to serve it to their guests and realize by reading my last post that the cake “doesn’t taste like anything”. If I were you I would whip up some warm chocolate sauce and top the cake with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce. On second thought….just serve your guests the ice cream with the chocolate sauce.Okay…I am making myself laugh now…I better stop!
ok…am I missing something? Naomi – where’s the lemon in this recipe? Gosh, this creation looks devine. I would love to try it…
opps…my mistake – for some weird reason I thought this was suppose to have lemon in it???? No need to answer my previous post! Must be seeing things…still want to try this amazing recipe:)
Can I make cake the day before and place cream and fruit the filling day when I serve it?