For over 15 years, I’ve worked in the world of culinary journalism in all its forms. I’ve seen dozens of trends, thousands of viral recipes, and hundreds of thousands of likes and comments on all kinds of dishes. But what happened with the most popular cake of 2018 truly surprised me.
And beyond that—what happened in the 24 hours after this recipe was published in the newspaper left me speechless.
So before I share the article with you, I wanted to say a few things.
One of the most important things to me—and anyone who knows me will tell you this—is supporting others. It burns in me more than anything else. I truly believe it does the soul good, and that it comes back to you. It’s also why I love featuring people in my column and on my Israeli Instagram, where I promote a different food creator almost every week, helping them gain hundreds and thousands of new followers. No, I’m not looking for applause—I just want to explain.
When the idea for a number cake arose, all I could think about was who could make a stunning cake, and who I wanted to support by giving them a platform. I didn’t think about who invented it or why—mainly because that wasn’t the point of the article, and also because this cake has so many iterations (just take a look on Google!), and several talented pastry chefs have claimed to have created it. But let’s be honest—I didn’t think about it enough.
Eventually, after a few conversations, I decided to follow my heart and credit the person who first came up with the concept (I chose a side 🙂). Both because she deserves it, but also because there’s a difference between not knowing and not mentioning at first, and knowing but still not mentioning after.
So here, I am correcting this error and sending you to discover and follow Lior Koka, who created the concept and deserves all the credit. Yes, since she first shared it, many talented people have taken the cake to more refined and colorful places, making it look like the version you know today—but the concept remains.
And you know what—forget the cake. Lior is so much more than this idea. Even though she was a bit upset with me, I still love and appreciate her—for her emotion, her ambition, and especially her determination to succeed. Personally, I don’t think focusing too much on these things is always right, but that’s just my perspective. If I spent all day thinking about my recipes being shared without credit, I’d probably be a very angry person—and I’d rather not be. There’s enough to get upset about as it is 🙂
I truly believe that once a recipe is out in the world, it belongs to everyone. It’s my gift—to let people create new memories in their own homes.
That’s it. Now—here is the column as it appeared in the paper back in 2018.
“A New Year is always a reason to celebrate. A chance to look back at what happened—or what didn’t—and also a perfect time to dream about what we want in the next 12 months.
Every year, just before the number changes and I have to get used to writing 9 instead of 8, I look back and check what stood out—both to preserve that knowledge and to look at how to improve.
This time, in the spirit of the column and recipes, I asked Google to tell me which recipes were Israel’s most popular and most searched recipes of 2018.
When the results came in and I saw that the number cake was in first place, I admit—I was surprised. I knew it was everywhere, getting tons of likes across social media, but I didn’t realize just how much. Nearly 4 million search results (in Hebrew), countless people making and buying it—and beyond that, it surpassed recipes like jachnun, challah, couscous, and arayes.
After taking in this incredible result, I realized there was no choice—it was time to learn how to make the number cake that had conquered the internet.
Since me and precision cutting and piping just don’t mix, I turned to Adi Cohen—a wonderful pastry chef who makes and sells these cakes and also teaches baking workshops focused on beautiful, super impressive desserts—and asked her to show me how the magic happens. Go follow her—she’s truly amazing.
Just look at her gorgeous cakes!
For several hours, I watched her place strawberries and raspberries, chocolate and flowers (edible, of course). Moving them slightly to the right, then a bit to the left. “It has to be perfect,” she kept saying whenever I tried to convince her to just place things wherever there was space.
When she finished, stepping back to look at the four cakes on the table and smiling that bright smile, I understood—there are things you can’t rush. Just like in life, patience and the desire to do the best you can are everything.
So before I send you into the kitchen with a newspaper in one hand and strawberries in the other, here are the 15 most searched recipes in Israel in 2018 (in ascending order): quinoa salad, couscous, sweet challah, chocolate sushi, beef Wellington, mofletta, edamame, chicken thighs, shortcrust pastry, beef goulash, banana roti, jachnun, arayes, chocolate hamantaschen—and of course, the winner: number cake.
If you’re wondering about surprising entries like arayes and beef Wellington, they likely appeared due to food reality shows that brought them into public awareness and home kitchens overnight.
Another strong entry was jachnun, which has seen a major increase in searches over the past two years, along with mofletta, thanks to a spike during Mimouna.”
And speaking of giving credit—the flowers on the cake came from Yarokale, an amazing group that grows edible flowers and leaves.