Verdens Beste: The World's Best Cake
Buttery sponge cake layers with meringue baked on top, filled with vanilla custard, almonds and raspberries.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (226 g) butter
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons (90 g) milk
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (56 g) almond flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons (3.5 g) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon (1.3 g) cinnamon
For the meringue:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup (300 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (112.5 g) sliced almonds
For the vanilla custard:
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons (16.4 g) corn starch
- 2 cups (480 g) whole milk
- 1 tsp (4.2 g) vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla pod
For the whipped cream:
- 1 cup (231 g) heavy whipping cream
For the Buttercream
- 1 cup 2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
- 3 cups (375 g) sifted powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round pans with nonstick spray, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and baking powder. Stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the egg yolks one at a time.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture.
- Divide the batter evenly among the pans, about 10 ounces of batter in each of the pans. Spread it out evenly. The batter will be thick and a little sticky. Set aside.
For the Meringue
- In a clean stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment and set to medium speed, beat the egg whites until foamy.
- Add the sugar a little at a time and continue to whisk at medium-high speed until glossy and stiff peaks form.
- Gently spread the meringue over each cake layer and then sprinkle the almonds across the meringue.
- Place the cake pans on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the meringue is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool for at least an hour.
For the Custard (this step is best done a day or more before assembly of the cake)
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks. Add the cornstarch and whisk until the mixture is light yellow and a bit thick.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla. Just before the milk begins to boil, remove it from the heat.
- Very slowly, add the milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling the eggs. When you’ve combined all the milk with the egg mixture, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to the stove.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat until it has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Fold in the whipped cream and store in the refrigerator overnight.
For the Whipped Cream
- Pour the heavy cream in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the cream on medium-high until stiff peaks form.
- Fold into custard.
For the Vanilla Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
- With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, vanilla and salt.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.
- Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.ASSEMBLY
- When the cake has cooled, carefully tilt the cake out onto the palm of your hand and peel off the parchment paper.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake board or your cake stand.
- Spread about 1 cup of custard over the first layer. Sprinkle with fresh raspberries. The meringue will have sunk in the middle a bit but will hopefully have left a rim around the edge of your cake to hold in the custard. If not, pipe a rim of the buttercream around the edge to hold in the custard.
- Repeat with the second cake layer and another cup of custard and some raspberries.
- Place the final cake layer, meringue side up, on top of the filling.
- Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the filling.
- Lightly frost the outside of the cake with the vanilla buttercream. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Serve with remaining custard and berries.