The 2025 Independent Restaurant Industry Report is now available. Read Report read the report


Get the Recipe for America's Most Beloved Cake

JBF Editors

Wed, November 2, 2016

The star of the show at the JBF America's …

The star of the show at the JBF America's Classics Award–winning Watts Tea Shop is this cake, a spectacular three-layer chiffon extravagance that’s filled with French vanilla custard, slathered in a thick seven-minute icing, and garnished with an edible flower. The cake has been served since the tea shop opened on the second floor of the George Watts & Son store building in the mid-1920s. Many third- and fourth-generation customers bring their children and grandchildren to the restaurant specifically for this stunning dessert, which they remember from their own childhood. Get the recipe.

--

Our America's Classics cookbook, James Beard’s All-American Eats: Recipes and Stories from Our Best-Loved Local Restaurants, makes the perfect gift.​ Order a copy today!