944 better cake recipes

Intensely moist chocolate layer cake with boiling water in the batter, topped with a rich cocoa buttercream frosting flavored with brandy and vanilla.

Grandma's chocolate layer cake: a classic two-layer butter cake with melted chocolate and a tender crumb. An old-fashioned scratch cake for birthdays and celebrations.

French apple cake with poached apples topped in a light, flourless almond batter with lemon zest and whipped egg whites. Served lukewarm with custard or cream.

Carrot cake cupcakes with walnuts, chocolate chips, and warm spices, topped with cream cheese frosting. Orange juice in the batter adds a bright, unexpected twist.

Hot fudge pudding cake that creates its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. A cocoa and honey batter topped with brown sugar and cocoa, then doused with hot water. Magic happens in the oven.

The classic Joy of Cooking devil's food cake with a cooked chocolate custard folded into the batter and whipped egg whites for lift. Finished with caramel icing. A vintage recipe worth mastering.

Slow cooker chocolate pudding cake with cocoa, chocolate syrup, and chopped pecans. The batter steams into a fudgy, gooey cake with its own chocolate sauce on the bottom. Served warm with cream.

Light apricot almond cake made with ground almonds, egg whites, and fresh apricot slices on top. No egg yolks, no heavy batter, just a tender, airy French-style fruit cake served warm.

Fudge cakes with melted unsweetened chocolate, butter, and chopped nuts in a light batter lifted with stiffly beaten egg whites. Somewhere between a brownie and a cake, frosted and cut into bars.

Kahlua orange nut cake is a moist tube cake with a buttery walnut crumb crust, fragrant orange-Kahlua batter, and a coffee liqueur glaze. Coffee, citrus, and toasted walnut in every bite.

Harvest spice tea cake folds steeped autumn-spice tea into a simple egg-and-sugar batter for a fragrant, almost-sponge cake. Served warm with butter, fresh nutmeg, and spiced whipped cream.

Milky Way layer cake melts eight candy bars with butter into a chocolate-caramel-nougat batter for a moist Southern celebration cake. Tender crumb, rich frosting-friendly base, layered or sheet style.

Old-fashioned chocolate cake with crushed peppermint stick candy folded right into the batter. A tender cocoa layer cake with a cool, pepperminty crunch. Straight out of a mid-century church cookbook.

Old-fashioned yeast-risen coffee cake topped with cinnamon-sugar cream that bakes into a custardy crust. The yeast version is fluffier than batter coffee cakes, with a tender, brioche-like crumb.

Three-layer Southern coconut cake with a tangy crushed-pineapple filling and billowy seven-minute frosting. An almond-scented butter cake stacked with grated coconut between every layer.

Herman milk sourdough starter: a sweet, milk-based fermented batter that becomes the base for Amish friendship bread, cinnamon coffee cakes, and quick breads. Pass cups along to friends; the starter never runs out.