944 better cake recipes

Funnel cake batter is poured through a funnel into hot fat in a swirling spiral, fried until golden, then dusted with confectioners sugar. The state-fair classic, made at home.

Marble squares swirl cream cheese filling through a tender chocolate sheet cake batter, topped with chocolate chips. Makes a big jelly-roll pan for a crowd, baked in 30 minutes.

Chocolate Bundt cake hides a cream cheese, coconut, and chocolate chip tunnel inside. Hot coffee in the batter deepens the cocoa, and buttermilk keeps the crumb tender under a glossy glaze.

Apricot poppy seed muffins use a clever shortcut: a jar of apricot baby food gives the batter even fruit distribution and a tender, almost cake-like crumb dotted with crunchy poppy seeds.

Southern Japanese fruitcake: a 4-layer cake alternating plain butter cake with spiced pecan-and-raisin layers, bound by a thick lemon-coconut filling. A vintage Christmas dessert from the American South with a name that has nothing to do with Japan.

The iconic Silver Palate apple cake loaded with chunky apples, walnuts, and apple brandy in a moist oil-based batter spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Finished with a warm glaze.

A moist chocolate date cake baked in an 8-inch square pan with chocolate chips in the batter and a crunchy chip-nut-sugar topping. Dates softened in boiling water keep it impossibly tender. The kind of no-fuss cake you carry straight to the picnic in the pan.

The original NYT plum torte: a quick one-bowl butter cake topped with halved plums and cinnamon sugar that sink into a jammy, custardy top as it bakes. The most-requested recipe in Times history.

A light chocolate banana layer cake with bittersweet chocolate, fresh bananas blended into the batter, and layers of banana cream and sliced bananas. Dusted with powdered sugar for an elegant finish.

Off-The-Wall Chocolate Cake starts with devil's food mix, then gets a cream cheese swirl loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts dropped right into the batter. Done in 1 hour.

Peach pound cake baked in a bundt pan with brown sugar-coated peach slices on the bottom and a moist lemon yogurt batter. Flips out to reveal a caramelized peach top.

Red plum spice cake with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves folded into a moist batter studded with chopped plums and nuts. Finished with a cream cheese frosting spiked with reserved plum juice.

Hawaiian pineapple upside-down cake with crushed pineapple, coconut, and maraschino cherries over a brown sugar caramel in a cast iron skillet. From-scratch batter with pineapple juice baked right in.

Cherry upside down cake made from scratch with sour cherries caramelized in sugar and margarine, topped with a simple one-bowl batter. Flip it out immediately for a glossy fruit top.

Coconut pecan brownies built on a boxed fudge brownie mix doctored with sour cream and a can of coconut pecan frosting stirred right into the batter. German chocolate cake meets brownie.

Mother's fruit cake is a brandy-soaked holiday classic with cherries, apricots, pineapple, peel, raisins, and currants bound in a spiced chocolate-scented batter. Baked slow and aged for two months.