Notes about Recipes in this book

• Marble pound cake

  • Astrid5555 on July 06, 2021

    A quick and easy, delicious tasting marble pound cake recipe. Will go into my regular baking rotation!

  • Hawaii on January 03, 2023

    My family and I give this cake 9 stars. Taste is good and it's an easy cake to make. It's tasty, but nothing spectacular. I'll make it again if someone in the family asks for it. Recipe notes: - Use a smaller than standard-size ice cream scoop, it's not much batter at all. - Baked for about 10 minutes longer than called for in the book and it could have used about 5 more minutes for more of a crust. - The chocolate portion of the cake was very chocolatey and a different texture than the vanilla part. Maybe next time reduce cocoa powder by 1/2 tablespoon?

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on January 04, 2026

    Delicious, used a little less cacao powder than suggested in the recipe. The cake didn’t release well from the loaf pan, probably not a recipe problem.

• Lemon-curd pound cake

  • kkmatti on December 07, 2022

    possibly the best tasting lemon pound cake I've ever made. I am cooking at 5200ft of altitude and I did have a lot of problems with this cake collapsing at my altitude even with typical altitude adjustments. I'll need to adjust the pan size and the amount of batter more next time.

  • Astrid5555 on April 17, 2023

    Perfectly lemony pound cake, ideal for using up this leftover lemon curd lingering in the fridge.

• Banana bread with swirls of Nutella

  • et12 on July 04, 2021

    This one looked good but I was hoping it would taste better. Was really excited by the idea of swirls of Nutella within the banana bread but the nutella just got incorporated into the sponge to create streaks of chocolate sponge as opposed to gooey streaks of Nutella. The banana bread itself was decent but not my favourite. I think next time I’ll try adding more Nutella and swirl it into my regular banana bread recipe, or maybe just spread it on top!

  • stef on August 26, 2021

    This recipe was a disappointment. Baked in 9x5 does not give high loaves and nutella didn't add much taste

  • trudys_person on November 02, 2021

    (page 70) A pretty good banana bread ... I found it slightly less sweet than some recipes, and the Nutella was a nice touch, but it could use more swirled through the middle of the batter. I might just add lots of Nutella to my favourite banana bread recipe next time. It did rise nice and high in the 8" x 4" loaf pans specified in the recipe. (I like the Nutella Banana Bread from the Baked Bree blog better: https://bakedbree.com/nutella-swirl-banana-bread)

  • Astrid5555 on January 30, 2022

    Made half a recipe for only one banana bread. No complaints from the teenage crowd I made this for, so must have been a good one.

  • Baltiville on October 02, 2024

    I’ve made this recipe easily 6 times. Having the second loaf to give away is always appreciated by the recipient. Rest 20 minutes for an even higher rise. I appreciate it isn’t too sweet and I add a cup of chopped walnuts each time.

  • rebeka_eveksv on May 20, 2026

    It's a good recipe, I found the taste of banana bread a bit lacking in depth and complexity, but nutella helps a lot.

• Best-ever chocolate-zucchini bundt cake

  • okmosa on October 10, 2021

    There is nothing especially special about this cake that it is zucchini. The chocolate flavor is very deep and rich but I think as good or better cake can be made without the strings of zucchini.

  • Jviney on February 26, 2022

    I wouldn’t say the zucchini is noteworthy for this cake, but it was light, moist, and delicious. I used sour cream and baked it in my pine forest bundt pan for a dear friend’s birthday. Everyone loved it.

• Chocolate ganache bundt cake

  • Astrid5555 on March 21, 2021

    This cake is the perfect chocolate cake for chocolate lovers. Easy and quite quick to make. Made only a quarter of the ganache recipe since I did not have enough chocolate left, was also quite ok.

  • et12 on May 02, 2021

    Very Chocolatey and delicious! I accidentally forgot to incorporate the last third of the flour/cocoa mixture into the batter before putting it into the oven but it still came out great, although probably a bit more like a brownie then the author intended.

  • Jviney on July 16, 2021

    This was excellent, a truly deep chocolate flavour. We loved it. I don’t think I used a full cup of ganache and it was still rich with good coverage. Probably my favourite chocolate bundt recipe so far.

  • TBipp on January 16, 2023

    I really wanted to try this but needed cupcakes so that’s what I did. Made 21 and baked 19 minutes at 350. I should have pulled at 18 minutes. Frosted with a half recipe of a chocolate Ermine frosting which was plenty with 6 oz butter. Next time I’ll probably go with Cooks Illustrated food processor milk chocolate frosting which has hot cream and white corn syrup.

  • ChefLeen on August 10, 2023

    I used a 12 cup Bundt pan as the recipe instructed but it was clear it needed a 10 cup. You only need 1/3 of the ganache recipe. Careful with the bake time. I baked mine at 45 min but could have pulled out at 40. I use an oven thermometer to make sure the temp is as exact as I can make it.

  • Julied on December 31, 2023

    This is a great Bundt cake; I added a couple of teaspoons of peppermint flavoring to both the batter and the ganache then sprinkled with crushed peppermint candies and it turned out wonderful. Perfect for a holiday dessert!

  • mimisingh on August 24, 2025

    Extremely chocolatey. Maybe too chocolatey? I think mine got more dense than intended which was a little disappointing. Next time I would fold in all the ingredients at the end rather than using the mixer and be more careful at the creaming step. Cooked in a 10-cup tin like other user suggests since that is all that I had

  • senzler on November 12, 2025

    Mine fell. Not sure why. Better on day 2. Taste is great. I would try again.

  • carlos_jobw02 on May 04, 2026

    Great flavor. Only make 1/3 or 1/4 or the ganache. Don’t waste good chocolate it’s way too much

• Pumpkin-mocha swirl bundt cake

  • bwhip on November 16, 2021

    Excellent cake. Lovely, moist texture, and the flavor combination is a winner. We really enjoyed, and we’ll definitely come back to this one.

  • Astrid5555 on November 22, 2021

    The only thing to complain about is that the coffee flavor is too subtle for my taste, apart from that, an excellent cake!

  • anya_sf on February 03, 2022

    The cake was really good, but the batter was too thin for the layers to remain distinct. I didn't think the changes I made would make such a difference, but apparently they did. I made 1/2 recipe in a 6 cup bundt pan; baking time was 53 min. I used whole milk instead of evaporated, and the pumpkin had been previously frozen, so it was slightly curdled.

• Blueberry muffin cake

  • lou_weez on March 28, 2021

    This was delicious!!! I put in more fruit than the recipe stated (I think about 400g) so my fruit to cake ratio was a bit out, but we still loved it. The crumble topping was amazing and added crunch and sweetness.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on July 01, 2023

    This cake was easy to make and very delicious to eat. I used 250 g frozen blueberries, that was fine. The suggested whipped cream is a nice addition to the sweetness, I put only little sugar in the cream.

  • Nursebaker on July 14, 2025

    Used cranberries from the freezer..absolutely delicious!

  • krista_nne1g9 on February 06, 2026

    Made variation using apples - was fabulous

• Peach muffin cake

  • Astrid5555 on October 01, 2022

    Used nectarines instead of peaches. Would have liked more fruit, otherwise delicious!

• Apple cake with honey-bourbon glaze

  • lou_weez on May 22, 2022

    Delicious!! Easy enough to make too. I used rum instead of bourbon.

  • Jviney on November 13, 2023

    I made this for Friendsgiving, and at first I thought it was kind of a heavy cake but people really liked it. I didn’t have walnuts on hand so left them out, but I think they would add texture.

  • fultre on December 11, 2023

    Fabulous cake with a lovely flavor. The combo of apples, a bit of whole wheat flour, bourbon and cinnamon is outstanding. It is very apple-forward, which I really appreciate. Used Cosmic Crisp apples as I was gifted a box of that variety, and they were great. We cut into it while still hot, and I think the texture is nice, tender crumb packed full of apple bits. I imagine the flavors will improve as it sits, if it lasts!

• Rustic grape and almond paste cake

  • Kinhawaii on September 14, 2021

    Nice, moist cake. Unfortunately my grape topping was swallowed up by the rising cake & only some almonds remained on top. Most of the grapes folded in- & I think almond paste- sunk to the bottom. I wonder if it would be beneficial, like Ottolenghi’s blueberry lemon loaf, to add the topping halfway on? The tender cake tastes mostly of almonds with a hint of orange. Mine was done at 65 minutes.

  • cassyarm on November 24, 2022

    Beautiful cake, my grapes sunk to the bottom. The pairing of orange and almond was lovely in a very delicate cake. The crust was nice. I think apples could be substituted and either coating the fruit in flour or adding halfway through baking may help suspend the fruit

  • mooo42 on November 25, 2024

    Swapped poached quince for grapes.

• Plum cake

  • Lepa on July 24, 2021

    I didn't love this. BUT my oven is acting up and it was burnt a bit so I think it's not fair to judge this recipe from today's attempt. I will probably try again but I am pretty loyal to a recipe in Food 52 that includes ricotta and lemon and I think those flavors might complement plums better than almond and cinnamon.

  • Astrid5555 on August 02, 2021

    We found this to be a really delicious plum cake. It is probably also the quickest one I have ever made since it comes toegther in no time in the food processor. Substituted vanilla sugar in the topping for the cinnamon because hubby is not a big fan. Will definitely make again.

  • anya_sf on September 30, 2021

    Batter was easy to make in the processor. For me the hardest part was lining a round pan with rectangular parchment. The recipe calls for quartered plums, but the photo shows them cut into eighths, which is what I did. I baked it for the stated time, but maybe should have taken it out a few minutes early. Not too sweet, the cake made a nice afternoon or breakfast treat.

  • Caustin on September 27, 2022

    Made this with the second half of a basket of plums that I bought for the famous Marian Burros NYT Cooking Plum Torte recipe. I'm not sure which recipe I prefer. The almond and ww flour are nice in this one but the bottom came out a bit tough and cleaning the food processor is a faff - I'd rather just use a mixing bowl. The book calls for 4 plums quartered but the photo in the book shows either more plums or 4 cut in eighths. I did about 10 small purple plums cut in halves because I wanted to use up what I had. The cake held up to that volume of fruit.

  • et12 on September 21, 2024

    This cake was excellent! I loved the crust that forms on top by adding the sugar and butter. I also cut my plums into 1/8ths and thought they were distributed nicely through the cake.

• Pear-cardamom cake

  • anya_sf on December 15, 2024

    I loved the pear and cardamom flavors together. The cake was sweet enough without the glaze, but the glaze would have made it nicer looking and more dessert-like. Instructions don't say when to add the cardamom, but obviously mix it with the dry ingredients. Also, a tube pan with removable bottom isn't specified, although removal instructions at the end seem to indicate this; I didn't use one and could not remove the cake from the pan, so we just cut individual slices out, which worked OK. The cake did not keep well as the moisture from the pears started making the cake bottom soggy.

• Pineapple upside-down cake

  • Lepa on April 01, 2021

    This is really delicious cake. Definitely use the baking sheet under the cake pan, as there was a mess. The pineapple stuck to the pan when I turned it out but I just stuck it onto the cake and it was fine.

  • et12 on August 05, 2021

    This didn’t work for me. The cake itself was delicious but took forever to bake through. The bottom was beginning to burn but the centre of the cake was still liquid. Will try again with a lower oven temperature and longer cooking time.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on March 26, 2022

    Made this in a 26 cm tin, 40 minutes was perfect. Added cherries as you can see in the picture. Didn’t come out of the tin perfect, but the taste made up for that.

  • fultre on May 30, 2023

    First recipe from her book, I appreciated the Cake Academy information. This has a lovely flavor and texture. Couldn’t fit a whole can of pineapple rings, despite cutting and putting them in mosaic style. Much of the topping bubbled up the sides, perhaps because I put too much pineapple? Although in Baker’s Notes she says to overlap the rings in order to use entire can. Will use a 9” pan instead of 8” next time as my pans don’t have 3” sides. I used a baking sheet under, as well as baking stone per her Baker’s Notes, and didn’t have trouble with cake cooking through. Done in 40-45 minutes.

  • anya_sf on May 27, 2026

    #pudcbakeoff I used pecans and Meyers's rum. Had to substitute milk for cream. Based on the other reviews - along with my preference for more topping surface area - I used a 9" pan. Baking time was 43 min (the cake was quite brown on top, but was fine). Strangely, the cake pulled away unevenly from the sides in just a few spots, so the topping bubbled up. The cake itself was super moist, almost wet. Definitely on the sweet side with very strong rum flavor. It wasn't a tall cake, so maybe an 8" pan would work, although I did appreciate more topping. While this wasn't our favorite, my husband took leftovers from several different pineapple upside-down cakes to a guys' weekend, and this was their #1 (I think it was the rum).

• Rhubarb upside-down cake

  • EmilyR on March 28, 2021

    recipe here : https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/rhubarb-upside-down-cake/

  • tarae1204 on May 26, 2021

    Loved the unexpected inclusion of creme de cassis in both the fruit and cake layers. The cake turned out well with a velvety crumb and tart rhubarb layer, all fragrant with the cassis liqueur.

• Cranberry-Grand Marnier upside-down cake

  • j.va on May 01, 2021

    Really spectacular cake, with a remarkable fluffy texture. Don't think about skipping or shortening the 5 minute creaming of the butter and the sugar...I am convinced it makes a difference. I used a mix of frozen and fresh cranberries for mine. I made mine with Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, and might add a touch more to my next bake. Gorgeous ruby red fruit top...served with orange whipped cream.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on December 28, 2022

    Beautiful cake. Easy to make and looks spectacular, tastes light and not too sweet.

  • Running_with_Wools on November 29, 2024

    I made this cake for Thanksgiving and it was delicious and beautiful. Author says to serve this warm and I was not able to do that. The cake carried through the wonderful flavor of Grand Marnier. The cake, for me, had a not-too-sweet, denser texture of a pound cake. I did spend time beating the butter and sugar and eggs, so I’m not sure why, maybe because I didn’t serve it warm. Absolutely lovely.

• Grandma Ellen’s Trinidad rum cake

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2024

    I made 1/2 recipe in a 6" pan; baking time was 55 min. Didn't cover with marzipan. Tasted the day of baking, the rum was so strong, I couldn't eat a bite. I kept sampling throughout the week and thought the cake reached its peak 5 days later. However, it's still too boozy for my taste. I'd consider making this again with maybe half the rum.

• White cake

  • leilx on August 18, 2021

    excellent cake and quite simple to make.

  • EmilyR on July 29, 2022

    The never ending quest of finding the best from scratch white cake brought me here. The almond extract reminds me a bit of angel food cake. I like this, but I don't know if it's "the one".

• Yellow cake

  • et12 on July 18, 2021

    Really enjoyed this cake. Made the sponge two days before assembling and serving (keeping them in airtight containers). I used the same raspberry buttercream suggested in the recipe and it tasted amazingly.

• Chocolate devil’s food cake

  • anya_sf on December 19, 2021

    Easy to make. My 8" layers took 40 min to bake, at which point the tester still came out with some (dry-looking) crumbs, but the cakes were pulling away from the sides, so I figured they were done. Perhaps I didn't tap the pans firmly enough to remove air bubbles, but the cakes domed a lot in the center and had several large air pockets, although the frosting hid that. Lacking enough chocolate for the chocolate frosting, I made the chocolate buttercream, which was not a good choice as it was too sweet for this already sweet cake. Overall, the cake was moist and fairly chocolatey, but I prefer Ina Garten's Beatty's chocolate cake.

• Hot chocolate cake

  • et12 on June 15, 2024

    I’ve wanted to bake this cake since I saw it on the cover of the book before I even purchased it. I decided to make it on a whim one evening but without making the marshmallows for time reasons, opting to use store bought marshmallows instead. The cake is a very nice, dense crumb with a lovely texture. Chocolaty but not too chocolaty. It goes very well with the marshmallow. For next time, I would start prepping the icing soon after the cakes finish baking. I hadn’t realized that the icing prep requires you to wait until it comes back down to room temperature following some time on the stovetop. I ended up having to wait until late in the evening by the time I could assemble the cake, but that was just poor planning on my part.

• Hummingbird cake

  • trudys_person on July 24, 2022

    Wonderful moist flavourful cake! Followed recipe exactly and it came out beautifully. Basically a dump cake recipe, so it's nice and easy to make and quick to get into the oven. Delicious with the cream cheese frosting!

• Ultimate carrot cake

  • EatinSnax on April 05, 2026

    This is an excellent carrot cake recipe. Very moist without being too dense. It’s not delicate, but it has a tender fluffiness to it. Spices are present but not overbearing. First grating the carrots, then chopping them further in the food processor to shorten the fibers is a pro move and makes slices less shaggy. I went with the 3 tier option for Easter and everyone loved it.

  • tamara_9khuic on May 01, 2026

    This was delicious. Used the King Arthur Baking dried fruit mix.

• Victory (Victoria) sponge cake

  • Astrid5555 on May 31, 2021

    Spring in a cake, beautiful looking and delicious tasting. A keeper!

  • Kinhawaii on June 01, 2021

    Not wanting a big cake for a few people, I did half a recipe & cooked one layer. I cooked it too long because it was dry on the edges. I put the jam, then strawberry cream mixture- which was mostly creme fraiche & not heavy cream because I was trying to use it up- then topped it with strawberries. It did taste lovely, although now I realize I should have sliced it in half & put the filling in between. I love the way Astrid5555’s cake looks!

  • bwhip on July 16, 2021

    Made a version of this tonight, using fresh peaches. Turned out beautifully! I used self-rising flour as called for, and the texture was perfect - nice and light, but sturdy enough to hold the weight at the same time. Flavor was really lovely. I made quick jam using a variation of the recipe from the same cookbook. We’ll make this again for sure.

  • anya_sf on May 30, 2024

    Like some others, I didn't want a big cake, but preferred a wider vs taller cake (and didn't want to split a layer), so I baked 1/2 recipe in 2 7" pans. They baked up rather oddly, from the bottoms up, resembling crumpets - maybe because my pans were rather tall? The layers didn't rise that much and my flour (King Arthur self-rising) was fresh. Anyway, despite the somewhat dense layers, the filled cake was quite delicious. There was extra whipped cream, which we dolloped on top, but all the macerated berries were used in the filling. I really liked the lime zest here. Would try again, baking the layer(s) as written.

• Brown butter Genoise

  • Astrid5555 on May 02, 2021

    Love the brown butter taste, comes out perfect!

• Anna’s hazelnut-brown butter cake

  • Astrid5555 on September 23, 2021

    This one is a delicious, quick to make little cake. Made this because I had an abundance of figs from my mom’s garden, but could be topped with any fruit available, got rave reviews!

• Angel food cake

  • Astrid5555 on April 07, 2021

    I just made this cake because I had 12 leftover egg whites from previous baking projects and I did not expect much in terms of flavor. To my big surprise adding raspberries to an angel food cake is genius. This makes an otherwise unassuming cake pop with little flavor bursts and looks really pretty when you cut into the cake. Don‘t skimp on the raspberry whipped cream either, excellent also on its own!

  • anya_sf on October 24, 2021

    Excellent instructions which still worked with regular granulated sugar. The raspberries were a great counterpoint to the sweet cake and amazingly did not sink. Next time I'll add a few more. We initially enjoyed the cake plain, but then tried it with the raspberry whipped cream, which took it to the next level. With tart berries, I would sweeten the cream a little more next time - I hesitated this time since angel food is so sweet.

  • Lepa on December 29, 2021

    I made this because I had leftover egg whites after making pasta. It was my first time making angel food cake and we liked it! I missed the lemon zest, which I think would have been nice. I ran out of raspberries so didn't make the whipped cream (and we are eating this for breakfast) but after reading these reviews intend to make it next time!

• Olive oil-chiffon cake

  • EmilyR on March 28, 2021

    recipe here : https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/olive-oil-chiffon-cake/

• Pavlova

  • Astrid5555 on July 06, 2021

    Stunning to look at summer dessert! Made this as a birthday cake for my older son, it was gone within the hour and got rave reviews.

  • anya_sf on May 15, 2024

    The Pavlova batter instructions worked perfectly for me (twice), used for the roulade.

  • senzler on July 14, 2024

    This is just fabulous.

• Boston cream pie

  • bwhip on April 19, 2021

    This was pretty perfect in every way. Cake was delicious, and nicely firm to support weight of layers. Pastry cream (lightened a bit with some whipped cream) was delicious and also just the right thickness. Ganache was also just right. Cake recipe makes three layers, so I froze one for later use. I scaled ganache recipe, since it makes three cups and I only needed one to top the cake.

  • Jviney on May 22, 2021

    I made this using her yellow cake recipe and loved that those layers naturally settled flat as they cooled. Next time I think I would try assembling the cake without adding the whipped cream to the pastry cream, as my pastry cream had been pretty firm without it, but oozed out from between the layers pretty significantly.

• Chocolate-peanut butter cake

  • EmilyR on March 28, 2021

    recipe here : https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/chocolate-peanut-butter-cup-cake/

• Black Forest cake

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on July 01, 2021

    Fantastic. I used chocolate devil’s food cake, which is very moist and delicious. This was a perfect birthday cake.

  • nutrica6 on December 29, 2024

    I love this recipe. It is pretty easy to make since there is no frosting, and the cherry filling is the best I’ve ever had. I made the devils food cake in a 9x13 pan and baked 37-40 minutes. It was perfect. I also used frozen cherries and was worried about the extra moisture from frozen instead of fresh but it worked out well and I don’t think it made any difference.

• Raspberry charlotte royale

  • Astrid5555 on April 02, 2021

    This is an impressive looking showstopper, but quite quick and easy to make. Made this cake for a small pre-Easter lockdown outdoor gathering and it got rave reviews.

  • anya_sf on August 31, 2025

    Very delicious, and as Astrid5555 said, actually fairly easy to make. My jelly roll didn't look that great (both cake and jam seemed a little thick), but was fine in the finished dessert. I had about 1/2 cake roll left over. I'd consider straining the seeds out of the berries for the filling. After chilling overnight, the cake inverted and sliced neatly. Filling and cake were nice and light and not overly sweet.

• Pavlova roulade

  • Astrid5555 on May 03, 2021

    This is a showstopper of a dessert, but actually quite quick to make and can even be done ahead and assembled when needed. Made an oven-roasted strawberry-rhubarb compote as a filling and topping for the perfect spring experience. If you haven‘t made a Pavlova roulade before check out Zoe’s instagram account for a video on how to bake it.

  • anya_sf on May 15, 2024

    I had to make the meringue twice because I accidentally baked it at 275 F per the regular recipe. I also initially used a light colored sheet pan that was too large. Simply baking the meringue longer did not work: the top was too crisp and shattered completely, while the underside was underbaked; sugar leaked underneath the parchment so the whole thing stuck to the pan. Thankfully, I had 5 more egg whites in the freezer. The 2nd time I used the correct pan size with gold finish, baked at 350, and it worked perfectly. Note that only half the whipped cream and rhubarb are used inside the roulade, and the remainder will be more than needed on top, so you might want to make less. I assembled the roulade 3 hours prior to serving and unfortunately the meringue had largely softened. Next time I would serve it shortly after assembly. Normally I find meringue cloyingly sweet, but this was very nicely balanced with the barely sweetened cream and sweet-tart rhubarb.

• Berry buttercream

  • et12 on July 18, 2021

    This is an excellent buttercream recipe with the proportion of ingredients being just right. Makes a lot of buttercream, enough to cover a three-layer 9” round cake. The colour of the frosting is subtle and nice with the raspberry seeds in there.

• Beehive cake

  • darcie_b on July 21, 2021

    This is a wonderful banana cake, at least on par with Rose Levy Beranbaum's excellent recipe. The layer baked in the bowl ended up a little gummy in the center, so be sure not to under bake it. The honey buttercream benefits from an assertive honey, but if you use the optional espresso powder a mild honey works well too.

• Chocolate buttercream

  • anya_sf on December 19, 2021

    Easy to make, but very sweet, with mild chocolate flavor.

• Cream cheese frosting

  • trudys_person on July 24, 2022

    Made for the hummingbird cake. Was a little bit soft to hold its shape well, and needed to be refrigerated. Made lots for a three-layer cake.

  • EatinSnax on April 05, 2026

    Very good! The lemon and golden syrup are subtle, just enough to give it a little special something. The batch made enough to fill and frost a 3 layer cake generously, with about 1.5 cup left over for piping if I wanted. A note for this recipe on Zoë’s blog mentions that beating the butter before adding the cream cheese will reduce chance of lumps. I found it easy to work with.

• Ermine frosting

  • EmilyR on July 29, 2022

    I am a fan of ermine frosting and this was equal parts different and not. I went with the vanilla bean + almond extract variation. I was generous with vanilla, because it's not super possible to overdo it, however it takes away the bright white look - as does the almond extract. Regardless, I'm going for flavor over aesthetics. So I used Kerry Gold butter and it was salted, which honestly I like. It's kind of a seasalt vibe instead of cloyingly sweet. It pairs well with the white cake, though refrigerating it would be necessary (I like chilled cake anyway...)

• Perfect whipped cream

  • anya_sf on May 20, 2024

    Whipping the cream on medium, rather than high, definitely resulted in a cream that held longer. I admit I let the mixer whip a little longer than just starting to leave marks, but did finish by hand.

• Chocolate frosting

  • et12 on June 15, 2024

    A really nice and rich frosting that goes on easy and solidifies nicely. It does require time and patience as you wait for it to come down to room temperature after heating it up on the stove.

• Dark chocolate ganache

  • senzler on November 12, 2025

    Great ganache. Very generous for a bundt cake. I had a ton left over. Was able to store and reheat for another cake.

• Lemon curd

  • senzler on July 14, 2024

    This lemon curd takes forever. Though tasted good. It took well over 20 min. on the stove in a double boiler.

• Crushed praline

  • kris.mundt on January 25, 2026

    I did a hazelnut version to fold into Swiss meringue buttercream for the chocolate hazelnut torte recipe. So easy to make and adds so much great texture to the buttercream!

• Whipped milk chocolate mascarpone

  • dbuhler on July 17, 2024

    This was easy to put together, but it initially didn't whip up correctly. I thought I chilled it long enough but as soon as I put it in the mixer and turned it on it curdled and separated. I decided to stick with it and mix on high and after a few minutes it finally came together. It was very sweet but it worked out okay with a yellow cake. If I make it again, I will try making the mixture the day before and see if that helps at all. I especially want to see if a longer chill makes a creamier texture, because I found the excessively whipped texture to be a bit butter-like.

• Eat Your Books

  A true masterpiece of epic cake proportions.

  Full review