10-layer, 10" round signature Honey Cake from Chef Michelle Pozine, an American pastry chef, author, and former owner of the 20th Century Café in San Francisco.

This cake may spoil you for life.

“This is the best cake I have ever eaten.” Its creator, Michelle Polzine, is a pastry chef whose exquisite sense of vintage style is only slightly less remarkable than her baking skills.

The cake is Michelle’s interpretation of the central European torte, a honey cake of thin cookie layers alternating with sour cream frosting. Michelle adds butter to the batter in her version to make thin, spongy layers. She uses burnt honey, adding a caramelized depth and a welcome hint of bitterness to the floral sweetness. The glorious frosting, a glossy whipped cream, is laced with more burnt honey and dulce de leche. The honey and milk sugars magically keep the frosting stable and shiny without butter.

This cake is also a labor of love—the entire process takes time.