חוץ מהעוגה, הכול כבר מוכן לארוחה.

חוץ מ־ is a very common Hebrew expression meaning except for, apart from, or besides.

So חוץ מהעוגה means except for the cake.
It is best to learn חוץ מ־ as a fixed expression, rather than trying to translate each part separately every time.

You may also hear other expressions like מלבד or פרט ל־, but חוץ מ־ is very everyday and natural.

The מ־ is part of the expression חוץ מ־.

When the noun is definite, as in העוגה (the cake), the preposition attaches to it:

• העוגה = the cake
• מהעוגה = from the cake / of the cake, or in this sentence simply the מ־ required by חוץ מ־

So:

• חוץ מעוגה = except for cake / except for a cake
• חוץ מהעוגה = except for the cake

A more formal alternative is חוץ מן העוגה.

Because הכול means everything and can stand on its own.

By contrast, כל usually needs another word after it:

• כל הילדים = all the children
• כל יום = every day

So in this sentence, Hebrew needs הכול because English has the stand-alone idea everything.

You may also see הכל spelled without the ו. Both spellings are common; הכול just reflects the pronunciation more clearly.

Because הכול is treated as masculine singular for agreement.

So Hebrew says:

• הכול מוכן = everything is ready

Even though everything may refer to many items in real life, grammatically it acts like one singular idea.

Compare:

• הארוחה מוכנה = the meal is ready
  because ארוחה is feminine singular
• כל המנות מוכנות = all the dishes are ready
  because מנות is feminine plural

In present-tense Hebrew, sentences like this usually do not use a separate word for is / are.

So:

• הכול כבר מוכן literally looks like everything already ready
• but it naturally means everything is already ready

This is very normal in Hebrew.
In the past or future, you would use a form of להיות (to be), for example:

• הכול היה מוכן = everything was ready
• הכול יהיה מוכן = everything will be ready

כבר means already.

It shows that the preparation has been completed earlier than the speaker is focusing on:

• הכול מוכן = everything is ready
• הכול כבר מוכן = everything is already ready

Its position here is very natural. Hebrew often places כבר before the adjective or participle:

• הכול כבר מוכן

You may also hear slightly different word orders in conversation, but this one is standard and clear.

Here ל־ means for.

So מוכן לארוחה means ready for the meal.

Hebrew often uses מוכן ל־ to show what something is ready for:

• מוכן ליציאה = ready to go out
• מוכן למבחן = ready for the test
• מוכן לארוחה = ready for the meal

One useful detail: in unpointed Hebrew, לארוחה can look the same whether you mean for a meal or for the meal. Context usually tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, a definite meaning like the meal is the most natural.

Yes. Hebrew allows some flexibility.

This sentence starts with חוץ מהעוגה to highlight the exception first:

• חוץ מהעוגה, הכול כבר מוכן לארוחה.

A very natural alternative is:

• הכול כבר מוכן לארוחה, חוץ מהעוגה.

Both mean basically the same thing, but the first version emphasizes the cake as the one thing that is not ready.

A good pronunciation guide is:

Khuts meha-ugah, hakol kvar mukhan la-arukhah.

A few notes:

• ח sounds like kh, not like English h
• ע in modern Hebrew is often very light or almost silent
• כבר is kvar, not kabar
• מוכן is mukhan
• ארוחה is arukhah

So the rhythm is roughly:

Khuts meha-ugah, hakol kvar mukhan la-arukhah.

The comma is there because חוץ מהעוגה is a fronted phrase at the beginning of the sentence.

It helps show a pause:

• Except for the cake, everything is already ready for the meal.

In informal writing, punctuation can vary, but the comma is very natural and helpful here. It makes the sentence easier to read and shows that the first phrase is setting up an exception.