How’s this for a global World’s Best Cake?  Verden’s Beste Kake (translated from Norwegian, World’s Best Cake), taught to three of us in the UK and one friend in Istanbul at a virutal cooking class last Wednesday from Singapore by William Chong, owner of the restaurant Nutmeg in Kuala Lumpur. We might be in lockdown but the world is still open to us!

The delicious cake is also called kvæfjordkaka after the municipality where two sisters invented it in 1930. It is a sponge cake topped with meringue and baked together and sandwiched between, is a luscious, creamy vanilla custard; the meringue gives it a crispy top and bottom, the scattering of silvered almonds gives it crunch and the soft cake and creamy centre are cloud like.  It’s got everything!

That is four processes and daunting as so much can go wrong.  Not with a Thermomix!  Every process is covered from making the batter, the meringue, the creme patisserie, whipping the cream and then folding it in with the creme patisserie.  Effortlessly, efficiently and perfectly!

My version, in keeping with the global feel, is made with matcha creme patisserie and sprinkled with home roasted and lightly salted peanuts. Feel free to use a more traditional flavour for your filling. In Norway, I believe the majority of people use a vanilla custard powder folded into whipped cream.

I am going to post each component as a separate recipe:

A: BUTTER SPONGE:

100g butter  100g sugar   4 egg yolks  160g plain flour  ½ tsp baking powder  40ml milk    1 tsp vanilla essence

B: MERINGUE:

4 egg whites 1 tsp cream of tartar 160g caster sugar 70g flakes almonds or crushed roasted peanuts

C: CREME PATISSERIE:

2 egg yolks 1 whole egg 50g caster sugar 50g corn starch 6g matcha powder or ½ vanilla bean scraped

D: WHIPPED CREAM:

200 ml whipping or double cream (minimum 36% fat)

E: ASSEMBLING THE CAKE

INITIAL PREP

1. Set the oven to Fan 170°C.  William tells me that for the best results it should be a fan oven as the air circulation helps with cooking the meringue and cake batter together effectively.
2. Line a shallow baking tray with non-stick greaseproof paper, twisting and folding the corners to keep it secure as you have to spread a rather thick cake batter over the surface.  Here’s a photo:

 

A: BUTTER SPONGE:

1. Insert butterfly whisk in TM bowl. Add softened butter and sugar. Whisk on Speed 3 with the MC off til light and fluffy.
2. With whisk running on speed 3 add egg yolks, one at a time, to combine with sugar and butter.
3. Add flour and baking powder (sifted in advance), 40 ml milk and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Whisk 40 secs/ speed 4.
   

   
4. Transfer onto the lined baking tray in dollops.  With a spatula, spread the mixture evenly across the pan.

B: MERINGUE:

1. Wash clean and dry TM bowl and wipe down bowl, blade, whisk and lid with vinegar to ensure it is completely grease free.
2. Attach butterfly whisk. Add the 4 egg whites and 1 tsp of cream of tartar. Whip egg whites for 3 mins/37C/speed 3.5.
3. For a further 3 minutes, at 37C, with the blade running at speed 3.5, gradually add 160g sugar tablespoon by table spoon till soft and marshmallowy.
   

   
4. Spread the meringue mixture in dollops over the cake batter. Mentally create a line down the centre of the cake. Put less meringue on one half, more on the other. With a pallet knife, make “waves” over the meringue.  Sprinkle the nuts on top.
   

   
5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes.  Cover with paper so the nuts don’t burn and bake for a further 5-10 minutes till the meringue starts to brown at the tips and a skewer comes out of the cake clean.

C: CREME PATISSERIE:

Wash and dry the TM Bowl.

I follow the Cookidoo recipe for spooning custard which takes around 10-12 minutes.  Use the quantities I have provided (2 egg yolks 1 whole egg 50g caster sugar 50g corn starch 6g matcha powder or ½ vanilla bean scraped) but follow the automated instructions as it turns out perfectly!

Once ready transfer to a bowl, cover with clingfilm or paper to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.

Note: I didn’t (enough calories already),  but you can add 50g of butter right at the end of cooking and whisk through on Speed 3 for a few seconds so the custard is glossy.

 

D: WHIPPED CREAM:

1. Wash and dry and if possible, chill the TM bowl or make sure it is a cold as possible before you start.
2. Insert the butterfly whisk.
3. The cream must be atleast 5°C – 6°C.  Place cream in the TM bowl and whip at speed 3 without setting a time, until the desired consistency is achieved, watching carefully through the hole in the mixing bowl lid.  Be careful not to over whip or you will end up with butter!
4. Keep the cream in the TM bowl in the fridge til needed.

E: ASSEMBLING THE CAKE

1. Ensuring that the creme patisserie is sufficiently cold and if any skin has formed, remove it.
2. Put the creme patisserie into the TM bowl with the whipped cream with the butterfly whisk.
3. On speed 2, fold the two together watching through the hole in the lid to ensure that you do not over whip.
4. Cut the cake in half along the line you have created.  Have your serving plate ready.  Carefully lift the half with less meringue off the tray and turn it upside down onto the plate so the meringue is at the bottom.Spread the folded custard evenly across the whole surface of the cake.Now carefully lift the second half of the cake and place it gently over the custard, with the meringue side up, creating a sandwich. Trim the edges if you want.  I didn’t.! And there you have it, the World’s Best Cake!