72 holiday cake recipes

Pineapple lemon fruit filling for Japanese fruitcake, cooked custard-style in a double boiler with toasted pecans. The signature Southern holiday cake glue.

Prune Armagnac gingerbread is a deeply spiced holiday cake loaded with brandy-soaked prunes, three forms of ginger, molasses, and a coffee kick. Served with crème fraîche.

Friendship cake using yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, brandied starter fruit, raisins, and pecans baked in a Bundt pan. The shortcut version of the gifted-starter holiday cake.

Bacardi rum cake made with yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, pecans, and dark rum, then soaked in a buttery rum syrup. A boozy, sticky bundt cake that's a holiday classic.

Lithuanian strawberry torte layers three light butter cake rounds with whipped cream, currant jelly, strawberry preserves, and pecans. Eastern European holiday celebration cake.

Edna's cranberry cake with a layer of whole cranberry sauce baked between two layers of sour cream batter in a tube pan, topped with chopped walnuts. A holiday Bundt cake classic.

Four-layer Celebration Cake stacks chocolate and banana cake with rum-spiked pineapple cream filling and rich chocolate frosting. A showstopper for birthdays and holidays.

Orange butter cakes are petite tartlet-tin cakes perfumed with Grand Marnier and candied orange peel, then dipped in orange liqueur glaze. Elegant 36-cake batch for gifts or a holiday tray.

Nantucket cranberry pie layers tart cranberries and toasted walnuts under a buttery, almond-scented cake batter. A New England holiday classic baked in one bowl.

Pumpkin cranberry bars with a buttery spiced cake-mix crust, tart cranberry filling, and creamy pumpkin custard topped with pecan streusel. A holiday-friendly Thanksgiving dessert that slices cleanly and feeds a crowd.

Buttered rum pound cake: a tall, tender sour cream pound cake with vanilla and lemon notes, lightened by whipped egg whites folded in at the end. A Southern holiday classic for slicing and sharing.

Holiday mint log is a light chocolate sponge cake rolled into a classic yule log shape. Separated eggs keep the cake airy enough to roll without cracking, baked in just 12-15 minutes.

Layered chocolate torte with a dried sour cherry and Marsala filling, coffee-soaked cake layers, and a cream cheese whipped cream. A multi-component holiday showpiece that tastes like Black Forest cake's sophisticated Italian cousin.

Patty Ann's cheese cake tarts: bite-size cream cheese pastry shells with two fillings, pecan and coconut. Muffin-tin desserts for holiday cookie trays.

Fresh gingerbread cake paired with whole pears poached in ruby port with ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. Served with ginger-scented whipped cream for an elegant holiday dessert plate.

Sweet potato pancakes with creamy mushroom ragout pair crispy panko-crusted sweet potato cakes with a sage-and-shallot wild mushroom cream sauce. An elegant vegetarian appetizer or holiday side.