14 buttercake recipes

Reese's peanut butter cake stacks two peanut-butter-and-brown-sugar layers with a cream cheese peanut butter filling and a warm pour-over chocolate glaze. The candy bar in cake form.

A four-layer chocolate butter cake with ganache filling, whipped cream frosting, and a glossy dark chocolate glaze poured over the top. Bakery-level elegance made at home.

This recipe will make two 9 inch cakes or one stacked layer cake. If making the stacked layer cake, the Peanut Butter Filling should be put between the layers and on top of the cake before topping it with the Chocolate Glaze.

Easy peanut butter cake from a doctored cake mix, made extra moist with vanilla pudding and studded with peanuts, then frosted with chocolate-peanut butter frosting. The Reese's-lover's layer cake, no fuss required.

Apfeltorte: German apple cake with whole peeled apples baked into a butter cake, their cores stuffed with rum-soaked raisins and chocolate. Finished with apricot glaze and powdered sugar.

Finnish pecan balls (Finnish snowballs) made with butter, cake flour, and toasted pecans, rolled twice in powdered sugar for a melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie.

Banana walnut upside-down cake with a brown sugar-maple syrup caramel, sliced bananas in concentric circles, and a cinnamon butter cake. Served warm with whipped cream.

Plum cake is the grand Victorian celebration fruitcake: pounds of raisins, currants, dates, citron, and almonds bound by spiced butter cake batter. Christmas, weddings, and christenings on a serious scale.

Cranberry upside-down cake with fresh cranberries in a brown sugar butter base, topped with a light egg white-folded butter cake. A stunning holiday dessert flipped to reveal jewel-red fruit.

Scotch toffee bars made with rolled oats, brown sugar, dark corn syrup, and butter, baked crisp then topped with melted chocolate and chopped nuts. Chewy, crunchy, and no-fuss.

Monster chunk cookies with hand-cut chocolate chunks, rolled oats, dark brown sugar, and butter baked low and slow for thick, chewy centers and golden edges.

A surprising vintage side dish: sliced cucumbers and Spanish onions layered with chili sauce and butter, baked until meltingly tender. Prove that cucumbers aren't just for salads.

Pommes Anna with tarragon: thin-sliced Yukon Gold potatoes layered with herb butter, baked tender, then broiled to a crisp golden top. An elegant French potato cake from a handful of ingredients.

Hobo bread is a dense, moist quick bread made with boiled raisins, baking soda, nutmeg, and a sugar-nut topping. No yeast, no butter, baked in small loaf pans or even empty tuna cans.