Norwegian Success Cake: A Celebration in Every Bite
Norwegian Success Cake, or Suksessterte, is a rich and indulgent dessert that might be best described as a dacquoise. No matter what you call it, this cake is a masterpiece of textures and flavor—nutty, creamy, and utterly irresistible. My wife and I developed a deep appreciation for it during our expedition to Antarctica. There, we made a ritual of enjoying a slice alongside a steaming cup of coffee after our morning treks. It became more than a treat, it was a moment of comfort matching the beauty of the stark, icy wilderness. When disembarkation arrived, the chef’s final creation brought tears to our eyes as we realized it would be our last taste of this unforgettable cake in that setting.
A Cake for Life’s Milestones
In Norway, success cake is a time-honored tradition. Served at birthdays, weddings, and other significant celebrations, this cake symbolizes life’s sweetest moments. The simple yet elegant composition—a layered almond sponge cake filled with a rich vanilla buttercream—makes it a showstopper. Topped with a layer of toasted almonds, it presents beautifully, often leading guests to assume it was crafted by a professional pastry chef. The best part? It requires only four ingredients for the sponge and five for the filling, making it an accessible yet impressive addition to your repertoire.
The Art of Making Norwegian Success Cake
While the recipe is straightforward, patience is key. The process typically spans two days, allowing the buttercream ingredients to fully chill before being whipped into a luscious, fluffy consistency—firm enough to spread smoothly with an icing spatula. However, if you’re short on time, dividing the steps between morning and afternoon works just as well. The end result is well worth the wait, a cake that is both delicate and decadent, balancing the nutty chew of the sponge with the silky sweetness of the buttercream.
Whether enjoyed as a midday indulgence or a grand finale to an evening meal, Norwegian Success Cake lives up to its name—one bite, and you’ll understand why it’s a tradition worth celebrating.
Let’s get started and make the sponge cake discs.
Beat the egg whites, powdered sugar and corn starch until stiff peaks form, then mix in the sifted almond flour gently on lowest speed, a quarter cup at a time until you have an almond meringue.
Use a cake ring to make three pieces of sponge-cake on greased parchment paper on baking sheets. Bake on convect heat at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool to room temp. Freeze until ready to assemble the cake.
Whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla extract and sugar, bring to a boil, then drizzle slowly and carefully while whisking constantly, into the egg yolks. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
Spread the sliced almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 350 for 7-8 minutes
Whip the room temp butter and the cold egg yolk mixture in a mixer until you have a fluffy buttercream.
Assemble the cake, by icing each sponge-cake disc with buttercream as you stack them. Ice the sides, then cover the top and sides with the toasted almonds. Chill in the refrigerator and slice while cold. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving.
Norwegian Success Cake
Almond sponge cake layers filled with vanilla buttercream, topped with toasted almonds
- Prep Time: 65
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
Ingredients
Sponge Cake Discs – makes 3 crusts
- 6 large egg whites – room temp
- 1–1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 2 cups almond flour – sifted
Vanilla Buttercream Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 ounces heavy cream
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1– 1/4 tsp clear vanilla extract
- 4 sticks premium unsalted butter – room temp
Final Assembly
- 3 almond meringue sponge cake discs
- Vanilla buttercream filling
- 2– 1/2 cups sliced almonds – roasted
Instructions
Almond Spongecake Discs
- Place 3 pieces of parchment paper on 3 baking sheets and grease them with butter or spray them with Pam
- Beat egg whites until foamy – about 2 minutes
- Add the corn starch until soft peaks form – 1 minute
- Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form about 5 -7 more minutes
- Stop and gently fold in the sifted almond flour to retain as much air in the mixture as possible
- Place an 8-3/4” cake ring on one of the parchment papers. Fill and pipe the almond meringue in a circular fashion within the ring. Remove the ring and smooth the meringue. Repeat two more times.
- Bake on convect heat at 350 for 15 minutes, remove and let them cool. Trim if necessary and freeze overnight
- Start the vanilla cream filling by refrigerating the egg mixture overnight in a covered bowl
Vanilla Buttercream Filling
- Set the butter out the night before when you make the sponge cake crusts
- Whisk together the sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract in a pot and bring it to the boiling point
- Drizzle it slowly while whisking vigorously and carefully over the egg yolks and continue to whisk it together until a uniform mixture
- Refrigerate the egg mixture overnight
- Next day – whip the butter at room temperature, add the yolk mixture and keep whipping until fluffy
Final Assembly
- Spread the sliced almonds over a full baking sheet and roast at 350 for 7-8 minutes until toasted and fragrant
- Place a schmear of buttercream on the center of a cake plate. This will keep the disc from sliding or moving while you assemble the cake. Place one of the sponge cake discs centered on the plate, then place strips of waxed paper under the edges to facilitate a clean finished presentation, free of smeared icing.
- Pipe the filling in a spiral on the sponge-cake (optional if you have a steady hand with a spatula) Use an icing spatula to cover the first disc completely with the cream filling. . Place a second sponge disc on top, ice it and repeat again a third time with the final sponge cake
- Cover the sides with the remaining buttercream filling, smooth the top and then cover the entire cake with the roasted almonds. Use all the buttercream to make the cake.
- Refrigerate and slice while cold. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving.