944 better cake recipes

Lemon pudding cake that splits into two layers as it bakes: a fluffy citrus sponge on top and a tart lemon curd underneath. A magic self-saucing dessert from one bowl of batter.

Starlight double-delight cake, the retro Pillsbury bake-off winner where a chocolate-peppermint cream cheese frosting doubles as part of the batter. Two moist mint-chocolate layers, frosted in the same blend.

Old-fashioned strawberry cake made from scratch with fresh crushed berries folded into the batter and a warm cooked strawberry sauce spooned over every slice. No box mix, no gelatin, just real strawberries.

Peach breakfast cake bakes fresh peaches into an almond-and-orange butter cake, then crowns them with a sour cream topping that sets like custard. Dusted with cinnamon sugar and served warm or cool. A brunch-ready coffee cake.

Spiced pound cake with mace, vanilla, and almond extract baked in a Bundt pan until golden and dense. Powdered sugar in the batter creates an ultra-fine, velvety crumb that melts on your tongue.

Ultra-moist bundt cake loaded with fresh apples, cinnamon, and crunchy nuts. No mixer required for this simple oil-based batter that bakes up tender every time in angel food or small loaf pans.

A classic Baltimore sheet cake with a soft, simple batter topped with rows of fresh peach slices, cinnamon sugar, and melted butter. This old-school Mid-Atlantic bakery favorite is summer in every bite.

Ultra-moist chocolate zucchini cake with shredded zucchini hidden in a cocoa batter loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts. The sneakiest way to use up summer zucchini, and nobody will guess the secret ingredient.

From-scratch chocolate fudge layer cake with unsweetened chocolate in the batter and a thick frosting made from 1.5 pounds of melted milk and semi-sweet chocolate beaten with butter. A bakery-quality showpiece.

A rich sour cream chocolate cake with a cocoa fudge filling marbled through the batter, creating "craters" as it bakes. Topped with chopped nuts and a dusting of powdered sugar. One pan, zero fuss.

Singing cake, a heritage spice-and-chocolate Bundt loaded with raisins, nuts, strawberry jam, and unsweetened chocolate, in a buttermilk batter lifted by whipped egg whites. Named for the hissing sound it makes baking.

Southern fig cake with a pint of fresh or preserved figs blended into a buttermilk batter spiced with cinnamon and allspice. Moist crumb, sweet-tart fig flavor in every bite, finished with chopped nuts.

Passover dark chocolate nut cake uses no flour at all. Twelve whipped eggs carry a rich batter of melted chocolate and chopped almonds, baked in a tube pan for a deep, fudgy Seder-friendly dessert.

Layers of cinnamon-kissed apples baked between swirls of orange-scented batter in a tube pan, then dusted with powdered sugar. This from-scratch apple cake is a showstopper that's surprisingly simple to pull off.

A marbled banana Bundt cake with swirls of chocolate fudge rippled through a moist banana batter, finished with a cocoa drizzle. Lighter than it looks, made with skim milk and just 1/4 cup oil.

A self-saucing cocoa espresso pudding cake that creates its own hot fudge layer as it bakes. Boiling water poured over the batter before baking does all the work. Serve warm for 6 to 8.