Danish-Style Vanilla Dream Cake – a tender vanilla cake with a caramelized, crunchy coconut topping.
This cake features a soft, vanilla-infused layer and a deliciously crispy topping. The cake’s deep vanilla flavor comes from both vanilla bean paste and vanilla seeds, which are steeped in warm heavy cream for an hour. This step infuses the batter with a rich, layered vanilla taste, perfect for any vanilla lover.
Just before baking, a slightly warm mixture of vanilla-infused heavy cream and butter is poured into the batter, creating an ultra-moist and tender cake. Make sure to use full-fat heavy cream for the best results, as lower-fat creams can alter the texture and structure of the cake.
The topping is a gooey, caramelized blend of melted salted butter, white sugar, desiccated coconut, vanilla bean paste, and heavy cream. Spread over the cake before a second bake, it caramelizes into a sweet, crunchy layer that perfectly complements the vanilla cake below.
While traditional Danish recipes often use brown sugar in the topping, I prefer white sugar to let the vanilla and cream flavors shine against the tender cake.
This twist on the classic Danish Dream Cake might not be 100% traditional, but I hope you’ll love this decadent vanilla version as much as I do!
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