Author Notes
These light, fluffy cupcakes are inspired by a classic Norwegian cake, Kvæfjord Kake, lovingly referred to as “The World’s Best Cake” in English. It is a thin cake, topped with meringue and toasted almonds and layered with a mixture of whipped cream and custard. For the cupcake version, I adapted a family recipe for white cake, piled a cloud of meringue on top, and filled them with cream inspired by Norway’s best. —Kristin | Tasty Joy
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Ingredients
- Cream Filling
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3/4 cup
Vanilla Custard
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1/2 cup
Whipping Cream
- Cake and Meringue
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3/4 cup
White Sugar
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3/4 cup
Butter, Room Temperature
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2
Egg Whites
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1/2 cup
Whole Milk
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1 teaspoon
Vanilla
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2 tablespoons
Creme Fraiche (or Sour Cream)
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1 1/4 cups
All-Purpose Flour
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1/2 cup
White Sugar
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1/4-1/2 cups
sliced almonds
Directions
- Cream Filling
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Make the filling first so it can chill while you prepare the cake. I prefer to make my own vanilla custard with Bird's Custard mix, but store-bought works fine.
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Whip the cream and then fold it into the custard.
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Place filling in fridge until ready to use.
- Cake and Meringue
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Preheat oven to 350F and prepare cupcake tin by adding liners if not using silicone molds.
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Cream together the butter and sugar.
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Add the first two egg whites and whip, then add the milk, vanilla, and crème fraîche, and whip.
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Gradually add the flour while stirring to combine; mix until smooth.
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Spoon the batter into the liners or molds until three-quarters full, and set aside.
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Prepare the meringue (whisk last two egg whites until slightly stiff, then gradually add sugar while whisking until stiff and glossy).
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Fill a pastry bag or plastic baggie with meringue and clip the corner (if using a baggie) and pipe a spiral of meringue on top of each cupcake.
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Sprinkle sliced almonds on top of each cupcake.
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Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, until a knife inserted into the cupcake under the meringue comes out clean, and the meringue is golden brown and the almonds are toasted.
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Cool completely.
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When the cupcakes are cool, gently lift off the meringue top in one piece; if it doesn’t lift off easily, carefully slide a sharp knife underneath.
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Remove the body of the cupcake from the liner or mold and scoop out the middle of the cake with a small spoon to make room for the filling.
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Spoon in some filling, spreading some around the top edges to hold the top back in place.
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Replace the meringue tops.
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Refrigerate if not serving immediately, and refrigerate leftovers…if there are any!
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