66 holiday cake recipes

Old-fashioned prune and pecan spice cake with buttermilk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, topped with a hot buttermilk icing poured on while still baking.

Holiday fruit cake bakes candied pineapple, red and green cherries, golden and dark raisins, pecans, and oats into a nutmeg-mace spiced loaf. Wraps and keeps for weeks.

Old-fashioned prune cake with buttermilk, pecans, and warm spices soaked in a boiled buttermilk-butter sauce. Needs three days to cure for the richest, most intense 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.

Pumpkin layer cake with cooked fresh pumpkin, warm cinnamon, and a tender, moist crumb. A two-layer Thanksgiving and Christmas cake that's lighter than spice cake but just as comforting.

Kwarezimal, traditional Maltese almond cakes with cinnamon, citrus zest, and orange extract. Baked in logs and sliced into crisp biscotti-style cookies.

Pumpkin nut cake (a.k.a. pumpkin dump cake) layered with spiced pumpkin custard, dry yellow cake mix, chopped nuts and melted butter on top. Bakes into a gooey-bottom, crisp-top fall classic.

Rich no-bake fruitcake loaded with dates, candied fruit, cherries, nuts, and marshmallows in a spiced whipped cream base. No oven needed for this easy holiday classic.

Light fruit cake with sultanas, glace cherries, pineapple, almonds, and rose extract baked low and slow. A traditional British holiday cake with citrus and almond flavors.

Old-school dark fruitcake soaked overnight in brandy and orange liqueur with figs, apricots, currants, walnuts, and pecans. Makes four loaves; ages beautifully.

Old-fashioned Christmas fruit cake with boiled raisins, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. No eggs or butter needed, just cold water and shortening for a dense, spiced holiday cake.

Halloween cupcakes decorated with an elegant chocolate spider web and spider made from piped melted chocolate. This impressive edible decoration freezes solid for easy handling.

Pumpkin-shaped Halloween cake made from two chocolate bundt cakes stacked together, frosted orange with a banana stem and fruit roll-up jack-o-lantern face.

Little fruit cake squares packed with chopped dates, candied cherries, and pecans, baked in a 9-inch pan and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite-sized holiday treats.

Buttermilk pecan fruitcake made with dried pears and toasted pecans instead of the usual neon candied fruit. Buttermilk keeps the crumb tender, beaten egg whites give it lift. A gift-worthy Christmas loaf.

Barbadians make Black Cake for weddings, birthdays and at Christimas time. Indeed, no Christmas holiday is felt to be complete without black Cake. People from many of the islands make a similar cake. This Black Cake derived from the British Plum Pudding which is a must on their Christmas menu.