97 dandy cake recipes

Chocolate fruitcake: cocoa-cream cheese batter studded with candied cherries, golden raisins, pecans and a hint of brandy and rum. The fruitcake for people who don't think they like fruitcake.

Easier to work with. The original recipe called for brandy or grape juice, but I found that if you substitute the orange juice concentrate, it has a nicer flavour.

Cocoa cookies with semisweet chocolate chips, pecan-crusted tops, and a gooey caramel center pressed into each one. Soft, fudgy, and done in 35 minutes. Makes 4 dozen.

Mandelbreit is a Jewish almond bread sliced twice-baked style with three fillings: cocoa, walnuts, and candied fruit. Aging the rolls in foil for a week deepens the flavor.

Holiday cheddar date cake bakes a tube of brown sugar batter loaded with shredded sharp cheddar, dates, pecans, candied cherries, and golden raisins. A surprising savory-sweet fruitcake that keeps for 6 weeks.

Loaded drop cookies packed with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, oatmeal, nuts, and candy-coated chocolates on top. These kitchen sink cookies have everything but the sink.

Fruit basket cookies packed with candied cherries, dates, dried apricots, golden raisins, pecans, and walnuts in a brown sugar butter dough. A chewy, fruited holiday cookie.

Toffee crunch chocolate chip cookies with oats, chopped toffee candy bars, pecans, and semi-sweet chocolate. Made in a food processor for fast, even mixing and chewy-crisp texture.

Myrtle's fruit cake bakes a brown-sugar-and-golden-syrup batter loaded with currants, sultanas, candied orange peel, and warming spices. British-style heritage Christmas loaf cake.

An elegant German zucchini cake with coconut, candied cherries, rum, and lemon, lightened with whipped egg whites and finished in a glossy chocolate glaze. Baked in a traditional Rehruecken mold for a stunning presentation.

A scrumptious and decadent fruitcake made with golden raisins, candied fruit and delicious blackberry cordial wine.

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, candied cherries, and toasted almonds. A bakery-style drop cookie with almond extract for extra depth.

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding with cognac-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, suet, and warm spices, steamed in a mold and served with brandy butter sauce. A Victorian holiday classic.

Chocolate fruitcake with cocoa, candied cherries, pecans, golden raisins, and mixed dried fruit, topped with a semisweet chocolate-almond glaze and toasted almonds.

Oatmeal pumpkin cookies fold pumpkin puree, rolled oats, chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts into a cinnamon-spiced dough. Drizzle with lemon glaze or top with chocolate candies. Makes 96.

Traditional Sicilian fruit-filled pastries stuffed with figs, dates, chocolate chips, nuts, and warm spices, glazed with a lemon icing. A holiday cookie tray showstopper.