Number 3 Cake
Honey layers cut as a “3” and stacked with fluffy cream-cheese filling; a festive showpiece you can decorate any way you like.
Updated : 26 February, 2026
Easy
More than 1 hour.
Ingredients
Sponge cake
400 grams
Wheat flour
2
Eggs
160 grams
Sugar
100 grams
Butter
80 grams
Honey
1 teaspoon
Baking soda
Cream
440 grams
Curd cheese
250 milliliters
Heavy cream
100 grams
Condensed milk
1 tablespoon
Powdered sugar
Decorating
50 grams
Marshmallow
20 grams
Zefyras
20 grams
Chocolate
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Advices
Advice
How to whip cream correctly? It’s important that the cream is fatty - at least 33%. The bowl and the cream must be cold; chill them in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. Whip with a mixer on the lowest speed, gradually increasing it. How do you know it’s whipped enough? The cream should hold its shape and not run. Stop whipping at that point, otherwise the cream will turn into butter.
Preparation
Step 1
How to make a Number 3 Cake? Start by baking the layers. How to make the dough? In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add sugar, butter, and honey. Place over low heat and, stirring constantly, let the butter melt completely.
Step 2
Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat. Don’t boil for long, so the sugar doesn’t start caramelizing. Add baking soda to the hot mixture. It will foam and increase in volume.
Step 3
Let the mixture cool slightly. To cool it faster, pour it from the saucepan into another bowl.
Step 4
Add the eggs to the warm (not hot!) mixture and mix well.
Step 5
Add half of the flour to the mixture, sifting it through a sieve first. Sifting aerates the flour so the baked layers turn out lighter and rise better.
Step 6
Mix the dough well with a whisk or spoon, then add the second half of the flour. Knead the dough by hand. It will be soft and slightly sticky. Don’t add more flour - after chilling, it will reach the right consistency.
Step 7
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Then unwrap, divide into two equal parts, and roll each into a sheet 4-5 mm (about 3/16 in) thick directly on the parchment it will bake on.
Step 8
Cut out a paper stencil of the number. Place the stencil on the rolled-out dough and cut out the number with a knife.
Step 9
Remove the excess dough - you’ll need it later for the third layer. From the scraps you can also cut decorations (stars, hearts, flowers). Prick the layer with a fork in several places and bake at 170-180°C (338-356°F) for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Make two more layers the same way.
Step 10
While the layers bake, make the cream. Prepare the ingredients. The cream and the cream cheese must be cold - take them out of the refrigerator right before mixing. Choose high-quality sweetened condensed milk with no vegetable fats or additives; ideally it should contain only milk and sugar. The final taste depends on it.
Step 11
How to make the cream? Add sweetened condensed milk and powdered sugar to the cream.
Step 12
Whip until you get a good foam, but not stiff peaks.
Step 13
Continuing to whip on low speed, add the cream cheese. Whip until fluffy and smooth.
Step 14
Transfer the cream to a piping bag with a round tip (I used an open star tip). Place the first layer on a cake board and pipe cream all over it. First pipe the outline of the number (the cake is open-faced, so the cream will be visible), then fill in the middle.
Step 15
Place the second layer on top and pipe cream again. Then add the third layer and more cream. Don’t press the layers down hard. Decorate the top as you like: cookies baked from the scraps, mini chocolate bars, candies, meringues, marshmallows, dragées, berries. Chill the cake for about 2 hours, then serve. Enjoy!
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