It’s our most involved project yet, a traditional layer cake that involves baking the cakes, cutting them in half, making a filling and a frosting, stacking and assembling it all together before spackling the whole lot with more frosting. We believe you’re ready for it and we’re here to hold your hand too. Drop all your questions in our Closed Friends group or send them to bakeclub@bonappetit.com.
I’ve found a cake turntable invaluable for building and frosting cakes effortlessly. I highly recommend having one for this recipe. Spring for a sturdy metal model like this one from Ateco. It’ll serve you well for a very long time (I’ve had mine for more than 10 years). If space is a concern or you fear you may not regularly make layer cakes, consider a plastic turntable. You can repurpose it to hold oil and salt near your stove when you’re not using it for decorating.
May 2025: Coffee Cake Scones
Turns out, there is such a thing as a too-tender scone. Our first attempts were deliciously soft, a physical manifestation of the term melt-in-your-mouth. But our colleagues, the toughest critics (in the nicest possible way), were perturbed. “Is this a shortcake?” “Did you mean to make muffins?” “I like a scone with a bit of a crumble.” Well, pardon us.
We retreated and made the scones again: with heavy cream and butter; buttermilk and butter; no heavy cream; all heavy cream; all butter. Many rounds later, we found the answer in a tub of sour cream. The tang of cultured dairy makes these scones stand out, keeping them moist but not claggy. And with that addition, channeling coffee cake became the natural next step. With clusters of streusel on top and a cinnamon sugar swirl within, these are scones that anyone will love. Even our discerning colleagues.
And this month, for the first time, Bake Club goes live! On May 16, Jesse and I are hosting a workshop in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, where we can make these scones together, in real life, side by side, while chatting all things baking and drinking cups of tea. If you’ll be in NYC and would like to come, you can buy the last few remaining tickets here. We’d love to have you.
April 2025: Millionaire’s Shortbread
Millionaire’s shortbread is the ultimate show-off bake. Tender shortbread stacked with chewy caramel, glossy chocolate, and flakes of shimmering sea salt? It’s practically begging to be peacocked around like a trophy. Our version went through about 10 rounds of testing until every detail was just right.
A simple shortbread dough gets a special upgrade: toasting a bit of the flour beforehand. This lends a deep nuttiness, almost like coffee, without any extra ingredients. The caramel takes a hybrid approach, bolstering caramelized sugar with sweetened condensed milk, so you get a bittersweet flavor with a sliceable texture. The final layer combines chocolate with butter for a mirror-like shine and fudgy bite.
While you won’t need any special ingredients or equipment to make this, just make sure you have a square 8×8″ pan on hand. For the cleanest edges, use a metal pan with straight edges, like the Test Kitchen favorite USA Pan.
