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    Home / Dinner / Bienmesabe

    Bienmesabe

    A vanilla sponge cake soaked in creamy coconut, crowned with toasted meringue — Venezuela’s most romantic dessert.

    ⏱ 35 minPrep time
    🔥 35 minCook time
    🍽 10Servings
    🏷 DinnerCategory
    ☆☆☆☆☆No ratings yet
    Bienmesabe - Venezuela

    Bienmesabe — literally ‘tastes good to me’ — is a Venezuelan dessert with convent roots: nuns brought an old Spanish recipe to Caracas and gave it a local twist with coconut. The result is a soft sponge cake bathed in coconut cream and topped with fluffy meringue and cinnamon.

    Coconut-soaked and cloud-crowned

    Each spoonful is a layer of tender cake soaked through with silky, sweet coconut cream, topped with a cloud of meringue. The toasted peaks and a dusting of cinnamon make it as beautiful as it is comforting.

    Venezuelan recipes →

    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Make the sponge: cream the butter with 1/2 cup of the sugar, beat in the egg yolks, then alternate the flour (mixed with the baking powder and salt) and the milk.
    2. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, fold them into the batter, and pour into a buttered 9-by-13-inch pan; bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and springy.
    3. Meanwhile, simmer the coconut milk with 1/2 cup of the sugar, the shredded coconut, and the vanilla for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
    4. Poke the warm cake all over with a fork and pour the warm coconut cream over it, letting it soak in; cool completely.
    5. Whip the remaining egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar to stiff peaks and spread over the cake.
    6. Broil 2 to 3 minutes until the meringue peaks are toasted, watching closely, then dust with cinnamon and chill before serving.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Chill the cake at least 2 hours before slicing so the layers set and the meringue firms up. Bienmesabe keeps 3 days in the fridge, covered.

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    Recipe details

    Prep35 min
    Cook35 min
    Servings10
    CategoryDinner
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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