Current sectionFoodShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAn empire built on crumbs: Israeli-born pastry chef Ron Ben-Israel. Credit: Ohad KabIn Ron Ben-Israel's cake empire for New York's elite, every confection is a masterpiece, and every masterpiece is completely edible. 'In recent years, we have increasingly been asked to sign nondisclosure agreements, and are forbidden from saying whom the cake is being made for'01:54 PM • June 03 2026 IDTAnyone who has seen "The Devil Wears Prada 2" could hardly miss the ball scene, with its centerpiece: a towering, multilayered cake that looked less like dessert than a lavish work of art. The man behind this confectionary feat was Israeli-born cake designer Ron Ben-Israel, who has spent decades supplying New York's elite with sculptural cakes adorned with sugar flowers, gold accents and unapologetic grandeur.In the News$120,000 for One Cake: Meet New York's Star Israeli Pastry ChefOne Killed in Kuwait as U.S. and Iran Trade Fire Across GulfLeave Our Troubles Outside? 'Cabaret' Serves as a Warning to Israeli SocietyIsrael's Capitulation to Trump in Lebanon Exposes Its Reliance on the U.S.After Gaza, Israel Is Now Causing the West Bank Health System to CollapseRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIWho Built the Biblical-era Fortresses in the Deserts of Israel and Jordan?Far-right Israeli Ministers Join Thousands at Israel Day Parade in New YorkUN Report Accuses Israeli Forces of Rape, Sexual Abuse of Palestinian DetaineesNot Lapid or Bennett: Could This Former IDF Chief Be Israel's Next Leader?Israel's Solution to the Gaza Problem Is Well UnderwayPentagon Leaks Signal U.S. Effort to Blame Israel for Risks of Renewed Iran War