618 better recipes

Double ginger cake with both fresh grated ginger and candied ginger baked into a rich, buttery sour cream batter in a tube pan. Tall, tender, and intensely ginger-forward.

German sweet chocolate cream cheese brownies swirl a tangy cheesecake layer through rich German chocolate brownie batter with nuts. Marbled bars in one pan, ready in under an hour.

Self-saucing chocolate pudding cake that creates its own hot fudge layer as it bakes. Pour boiling water over cocoa-sugar topped batter and the oven does the rest. Flip it for a gooey, saucy revelation.

Lemon cream bread baked in a loaf pan with cream cheese in the batter, chopped pecans, and a lemon-sugar glaze poured over the hot crust. Soft, tangy, dense crumb.

Banana layer cake with mashed bananas folded into a classic creamed butter and cake flour batter. A soft, tender two-layer cake with old-fashioned technique and genuine banana flavor.

Apple coffee cake with a sour cream batter layered with sliced apples and a cinnamon-brown sugar-nut streusel. A buttery brunch cake with a hidden ribbon of fruit inside.

Toffee bar dessert cake with a brown sugar buttermilk batter topped with a crumb streusel, chopped Heath bars, and nuts. A crunchy-topped sheet cake baked in a 9x13 pan.

A buttery tube cake swirled with coffee liqueur, instant coffee, and cocoa. Marbled layers of rich coffee batter and chocolate make this cafe au lait cake an elegant, aromatic showstopper.

Chiles rellenos-style poblano peppers stuffed with shredded chicken and mozzarella, baked under a tangy tomatillo verde sauce. A lighter Mexican main without the traditional egg batter and deep fry.

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.

Toasted nut spice cake with brown sugar meringue baked right on top. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a moist sour milk batter, crowned with a crispy-chewy nut meringue layer that bakes alongside the cake.

Wholesome apple muffins lean on rolled oats, applesauce, and apple juice for moisture, with cinnamon and nutmeg warming a low-fat, egg-white batter. Tender breakfast muffins topped with extra oats.

Little plum cakes packed with currants and raisins, lemon zest, and nutmeg in a rich butter batter. A traditional English drop cake baked at high heat for golden, fruit-studded bites.

Tender sliced pears baked beneath a rich cocoa batter with dark brown sugar and golden syrup. This British-style chocolate pear pudding serves 8 and comes together in about an hour.

No-knead dill Parmesan bread with a soft, open crumb baked in a springform pan. A batter-style yeast bread flavored with dill weed and grated Parmesan, topped with more cheese.

Old-fashioned chocolate sticks: a thin pan of dense fudgy chocolate-nut batter cut into slim rectangles after baking. Half-cookie, half-brownie bar made for coffee or after-dinner trays.