The 10 Best Cakes in the World!

  I love cakes but not the modern ones out of the box.  The one you just add eggs and water, stir and bake.  Those lack substance in my opinion.  I recently had my first "Dump" cake AKA soda cake and it was gross.

I grew up on Duncan Hines and what ever other boxed cake mix was on sale.  When I got old enough, I started hitting the library shelves, looking for cookbooks with 'real' cake recipes.

The ones that are dense, filled with flavor and goodness like an apple spice cake filled with chopped apples and tons of spices or a carrot cake filled with grated carrots.  I love using the pulp left over from making carrot juice in my carrot cakes.

The list in order from last to first is as follows for the most popular ones in the world.

10.  In tenth place is a dish, most Americans would not consider a cake but it actually fits the criteria.  It is the French Souffle which is hard to make but if you do it successfully, you have a fantastic dish.  A dish to impress everyone but it's also the one mentioned in television shows when someone runs through the house slamming doors.

9. Next is the Passion Fruit sponge cake.  I realize its not one most Americans would go after but growing up in Hawaii, passion fruit is a flavor you find in everything from ice cream to pancake syrup.  This cake has two layers of sponge, filled with a mixture of passion fruit, vanilla, and mascorpone before being topped with a wonderful passion fruit icing.  When I lived in Australia, they often added passion fruit to the pavlova's they made.

8.  From Eastern Europe, we have a  Babka which is a yeasted cake filled with chocolate or cinnamon swirls.  Since its yeasted, it's closer to a bread than the type of cake we are used to.  Many countries in Europe have a wide variety of yeasted cakes.  Americans would liken the cake to a brioche style bread.

7. Of course my favorite is a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Everyone has their special recipe including mine where I throw in lots and lots of pumpkin pie spice. The Ukrainian lady makes a two layer one filled and topped with thick layers of cream cheese frosting so the layers of cake are equal to the filling. I love its denseness and flavor.

6. The French have a Croquembouche found at weddings and and baptism's since it looks a bit like a tree as it moves form a large base to a point at the time.  Its filled with profiteroles made  creme puff pastries tied together with threads of caramel.

5. Another of my favorites is the Spice cake.  Everyone has their own version but typically you'll find cinnamon, ginger, mace, cloves, and mace, topped with a cream cheese frosting.  This type of cake often appears in the fall and winter near certain celebrations.  Some people even add a bit of maple syrup for another flavor dimension.

4. If you've ever visited an Italian restaurant, you'll have run across Tiramisu, layered sponge cake filled with coffee, mascarpone cheese, cocoa, eggs, and sugar, sugar, sugar.  It became popular in the 1960's, and is now considered a classic.  Although some people may say it has faded out of favor, I see it at so many places, I'd disagree with that.

3. What about the decadent Black Forest Cake whose title reminds us of the Black Forest region of Germany.  The chocolate layered cake is filled with whipped cream and cherries but named after the liquor  Schwarzwalder Kirsch, made from cherries.  It is said the cake resembles the flavor of this beverage because its often flavored with a cherry brandy.

2.  From Germany, we hop over to Austria for the Sacher-Torte.  The story goes this chocolate cake covered in apricot jam and topped with a chocolate icing was created back in 1832 when the head chef went home sick and the 16 year old apprentice had to step in to make dessert at a state dinner.  It was a full success but the young man kept the recipe secret.  In 1876, one of his sons opened the Hotel Sacher and of course, served the cake there.

1. The Orange Almond Cake also known as the Flourless Orange Cake is simple but the flavor bursts in your mouth.  The orange and almond flavor bursts forth upon your tongue. There is some controversy regarding the top cake but if you are rating cake by flavor, this has to be it.  I don't care for orange flavor anything but the almonds make it much denser and flavorful than usual.

Many of you might disagree with the list but our favorites are not always looked at in the same way from a world perspective.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day and enjoy the rest of it.