In 1998 I sat next to Rose Levy Beranbaum on a panel of bakers at a Barnes & Noble for a “Celebrity Cook Book Club.” I was freshly out of culinary school and working as a pastry chef at a fine dining restaurant. I was neither a “celebrity” nor a cookbook author, so how I ended up on that panel was a complete mystery. I just wanted to meet my baking hero in person. I was so nervous I could barely speak, felt like a world class imposter and must have blacked out because I recall NOTHING! I do remember Rose being kind and welcoming.
I baked my way through Rose Levy Beranbaum’s original Cake Bible in an attempt to fill the gaps left in my instruction at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Rose’s recipes are an education! The way she structures her books is so unique and the recipes ironclad—there is nothing left to chance. I can say with complete confidence that they ALL work flawlessly. Every pastry kitchen has a copy of The Cake Bible. I had two copies when I was running a pastry kitchen. I left one behind as a gift to my staff when I had my boys and decided to leave the restaurant world. It was the right thing to do, but I regret not taking that treasure home, which was filled with all my notes and splattered with so many years of baking memories.
Since that first encounter I have had the great fortune of seeing Rose at events and getting to meet her husband, Woody. They met over their love of baking cakes and have gone on to build a partnership and eventually create this 35th Anniversary edition of The Cake Bible together. In my view, the original book was perfection but now it is even better! I am so thrilled to consider them friends and mentors.
Be sure to enter for your chance to win a copy below!
GIVEAWAY
[GIVEAWAY CLOSED] Winners (Tiffanie & Vickie!) have been notified and accepted their prizes!
Rose and Woody have generously shared the Whipped Cream Cake recipe from the book, and are giving away TWO copies of The Cake Bible. GIVEAWAY DETAILS: Simply leave a comment below by Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. and you’ll be entered to win! We’ll randomly select winners early next week and notify them via email. US addresses only.
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 225 g (2 1/4 cups sifted into the cup and leveled off) bleached cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 348 g (1 1/2 cups / 355ml) cold heavy cream
- 225 g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp.) sugar preferably superfine sugar
Instructions
PREHEAT THE OVEN + PREPARE THE PAN
- Twenty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Set the oven at 375℉/190℃.
- Coat the tube pan with baking spray and flour.
MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and then sift the mixture onto a piece of parchment to make it easier to incorporate.
MIX THE LIQUID INGREDIENTS
- In a 1 cup/237 ml glass measure with a spout, lightly whisk the measured egg yolks and egg whites. Add the vanilla and whisk until lightly combined.
MAKE THE BATTER
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, whip the cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.
- Starting on medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture and continue beating for 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency (if high-butterfat cream is used, it will be less thick). Gradually beat in the sugar; it should take about 30 seconds to incorporate it.
- Remove the bowl from the stand. Add half the flour mixture to the cream mixture and with a flat wire whisk, or the whisk from the stand mixer, stir and fold it in until most of the flour disappears. Add the rest of the flour mixture and continue folding and mixing until all traces of flour have disappeared. Finish with a silicone spatula, reaching to the bottom of the bowl.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a metal spatula or dull knife blade through the batter, to prevent large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan, and smooth the surface with a small offset spatula. The pan will be half full.
BAKE THE CAKE
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted between the center tube and sides of the pan comes out completely clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.
COOL AND UNMOLD THE CAKE
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cool completely.
Notes
Airtight: room temperature, 3 days; refrigerated, 1 week; frozen, 3 months POINTERS FOR SUCCESS The bowl and beaters for whipping the cream should not be chilled because the eggs will not emulsify as readily if the whipped cream is too cold. For the smoothest top crust, to eliminate bubbles from the airy batter, start filling the pan by spreading a little of the batter into the grooves of the pan and pressing it in with a silicone spatula. Then add the remaining batter. UNDERSTANDING
Compared to a basic layer cake, this cake has about 18 to 25 percent more butterfat, depending on the fat content of the cream, and almost the same amount of water content. It also has one extra egg, balanced by less baking powder. A lower amount of vanilla is needed because of the floral quality of the cream. COMPLEMENTARY ADORNMENTS
A light dusting of powdered sugar or whipped cream and berries
This looks simply delicious! I will make it soon for a belated Happy Father’s Day treat for my wonderful sons-in-law. Thank-you Rose, Woody and Zoe
Thanks for sharing this wonderful cake recipe! I made it for a Father’s Day dinner celebration and it was a big hit! It’s very light, and has a great texture. Loved it!
Love Rose’s recipes and can’t wait to try this one!
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Would be great w strawberries & whipped cream!
Family reunion cake ✅❤️❤️❤️
Amazing! I have two of Roses books and one of Zoe’s. Y’all are gifts from God to bakers everywhere! Thank you for baking, perfecting and sharing your knowledge with “home cooks”.
The whipped cream cake looks delicious!
Both my grandmothers and my mother were wonderful bakers, and I have followed in their footsteps. It is so much fun to bake!
I can’t wait to try this, and thank you for the opportunity to win the cookbook!
Mmmmm. This cake looks amazing. Will definitely try it!!!
I have to make thus cake. After reading your email I made a grocery list. Can’t wait to share how it wowed everyone!
This cake is delicious! It is nice and light and very flavorful. The directions were spot on with the exception of the eggs. I didn’t know why it said egg yolks and egg whites instead of just saying whisk the eggs in the measuring up.
Came here to say that. I read the recipe three times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It should just say “whisk the eggs”.
This cake looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
This beautiful cake looks like the perfect accompaniment to the berries that I picked up today! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us ~ heading to the kitchen now to bake one up 🙂
Love your books!
Can’t wait to try this cake!
Learn so much from Rose and Zoe
I’m excited to get this new book! I don’t have the original so I’m looking forward to reading and learning from her newest version! Cakes have always been a little trickier than pies, scones and cookies so I hope to become successful with this new book! 🙂
I would love to bake a cake from this book with my granddaughters for my 70th birthday on June 28th!
Thank You for this recipe – I’m hoping to find time today to make it for my husband for Father’s Day tomorrow.
I love just about anything made in a Bundt pan. Got my first one in college. Can’t wait to try this cake. Perfect for a summer get together.
I love making cakes….I would love the recipe.
Thank You
My copy of the Cake Bible is one of most treasured cookbooks, with lots of spills and splatters and happy memories. Rose and Zoe are both such inspirations to me. They make amazing cakes approachable to all of us home bakers!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Thank you ladies for taking the time to gather all your wonderful recipes for the rest of us.
Well done! I understand the title ‘Cake Bible’ after seeing the steps/process of success for new & experienced bakers!
The new edition sounds great!
Thanks so much for the lovely recipe.
I am not a big cake eater but love to try new recipes so I made this today and it is absolutely delicious!! I love adding the fruit and whipped cream. It is a perfect summertime treat! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
A legendary baker-author and a legend of a book!
Thank you Rose, thank you Zoe for generously sharing this recipe. You are both inspiring and encouraging teachers, inviting us into the JOY of baking — and it is a joy because baking induces sharing and what is that but joy?
Would love to add this classic book to my cookbook collection. Can’t imagine why I don’t have a copy already!