Let Them Eat Cake

Europe

Sweden

Kladdkaka is a delectable rich chocolate cake. It is a mix of eggs, cocoa, butter, sugar, and flour. The cake should be moist in the center. It is dusted with powdered sugar and served with ice cream or whipped cream on the side.

Jordgubbstarta is a traditional strawberry cake. The cake consists of five parts: the sponge cake is made with flour, sugar, eggs, cornstarch, and vanilla; the lemon syrup with lemon juice, water, and sugar; the pastry cream with eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, butter, and milk; the mascarpone whipped cream with mascarpone cheese, crème fraiche, sugar, and vanilla and a garnish of fresh strawberries. The cake is assembled by layers starting with sponge cake.

France

Dacquoise is a cake that has both a crispy and creamy texture. It is traditionally prepared with almond or hazelnut meringue sponge cake separated with layers of buttercream or whipped cream.

Frasier got its name derived from the French word fraise, meaning strawberry. This cake consists of layers of genoise sponge, vanilla-flavored crème mousseline, marzipan, and lines of fresh, sliced strawberries.

Germany

Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte, or Black Forest cherry cake, is a popular dessert. The cake consists of chocolate sponges coated in whipped cream and dotted with kirschwasser-infused cherries. Some like to use kirschwasser brandy to soak up the chocolate layers. Once assembled, the cake is decorated with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and cherries.

Hungary

Dobostorta is a round cake consisting of six thin sponge cake layers and five layers of chocolate buttercream. To prevent it from drying out, the cake also has a glistening layer of hard caramel on top, while the sides are often coated with ground nuts.

Austria

Linzertorte was named after the city of Linz. It is a shortcake with a crumbly, buttery pastry shell accented by lemon juice, cinnamon, and almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts. It is filled with redcurrant jam, but either raspberry or apricot jam can be used. To make it decorative, a lattice crust is arranged on top.

Czech Republic

Bublanina consists of a light sponge made with eggs, butter, sugar, flour, and different fruits such as cherries, strawberries, blueberries, apricots, and fragrant plums and pears. Typically consumed warm, it is dusted with powdered sugar before serving.

Poland

Marcinek is a dessert from the Podlaskie region. It is made up of layers of dough, usually around twenty thin layers, each coated with cream and stacked to form a cake. The shortcrust pastry dough for the cake is a mix of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs. The coating cream includes sweetened sour cream, whipping cream, and flavoring like lemon zest, almond extract, or vanilla.

Greece

Portokalopita is a traditional dessert prepared with layered or torn phyllo sheets blended with a creamy, orange-flavored yogurt custard. When baked, the cake is doused with a thick, sugary, orange-spiked syrup.

Italy

Torta Savoia is a delectable layered chocolate cake originating in Sicily. The cake is made with several sponge cake layers coated with rich chocolate hazelnut cream. The layered combination is coated with a chocolate glaze. The sponge cake layers can be soaked with rum.

North America

The US

Maryland

Smith Island cake has been designated as the official dessert of the state of Maryland. Smith Island cake is a layered cake filled with either icing, fudge, cream, and/or crushed candy bars. The best-known variety is the one with yellow layers and a chocolate icing filling, but the recipes vary in the number of layers, and the cakes can be made with various different flavors.

Massachusetts

 Boston cream pie is not a pie but a cake that consists of two layers of sponge cake filled with a rich vanilla custard, while the whole thing is coated with a chocolate glaze, or in some cases, with sprinkled confectioners' sugar.

Mississippi

Mississippi mud pie is a flavorful dessert consisting of a cookie crust filled with numerous variable ingredients such as biscuits, ice cream, pudding, whipped cream, liqueur, and marshmallows. The pie is usually prepared in layers and often topped with almonds, pecans, chocolate syrup, or marshmallows.

New York

Blackout cake is a traditional chocolate cake that originated in the Ebinger Bakery in the borough of Brooklyn in 1942. The cake is a rich, dark sponge cake filled with thick pudding-like chocolate custard and topped with crumbs of chocolate cake. The ingredients used for the cake typically include dark chocolate, espresso powder, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, butter, salt, sugar, eggs, and milk. Once prepared, the cake is often decorated with buttercream. .

South America

Brazil

Bolo de brigadeiro is a traditional cake that consists of three layers of tender and moist crumb, chocolate cake with fudgy brigadeiro filling and frosting. The filling and frosting is prepared with condensed milk, table cream, margarine, chocolate powder, full-fat milk, and cornstarch. The base layer is a combination of sugar, butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and whole milk. Once the cake is assembled and frosted, it is decorated with chocolate sprinkles along the side and a few brigadeiro balls on top.