156 layer cake recipes

No-bake ice cream cake layered with a chocolate chip cookie crust, fudge sauce, and 2 quarts of ice cream. Just 4 main ingredients, no oven needed. A freezer-friendly crowd pleaser.

Easter basket cake built from stacked round layers with green-tinted coconut grass, a foil-ribbon handle, and candy-studded sides. A showstopping family Easter dessert kids help decorate.

No-bake peach ice cream cake layered with gingersnap crumbs, toasted almonds, crystallized ginger, peach frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream, and caramel sauce. Frozen overnight and sliced like a loaf.

Molasses shoo-fly cake is the iconic Pennsylvania Dutch pie: alternating layers of dark molasses custard and spiced brown-sugar crumbs in a flaky pastry shell. Coffee, dunked, no negotiation.

Light lemon blitz cake with a tangy lemon curd filling made from skim milk, and a yogurt whipped topping frosting. A low-point layered dessert that tastes rich without the guilt.

Rabbit cake is an old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch comfort bake: tender deboned rabbit layered with creamy potato filling and a simple stock gravy, then baked until golden and bubbling. Frugal, deeply savory.

Light fudge brownie sundae with a self-saucing chocolate cake baked over a built-in fudge layer, topped with frozen yogurt. A reduced-fat dessert that uses applesauce in place of butter.

A self-saucing chocolate cake that creates its own gooey pudding layer as it bakes. Pour the cocoa-brown sugar topping right over the batter and let the oven work its magic. One pan, zero fuss.

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.

Potato and sweet potato torte: thin-sliced Yukon gold and sweet potatoes layered with buttery thyme-scented leeks, baked into a tender, stacked round cake you flip out and slice at the table. A stunning vegetable side.

Vegan brownies with chocolate sauce bake into a self-saucing pudding cake with no eggs and no dairy. Soy milk and oil keep the crumb tender, while a layer of cocoa, brown sugar, and boiling water poured over the batter sinks down into a fudgy hot sauce as it bakes.

COMMENT: What makes this dessert so irresistible? As it bakes, a pudding sauce forms beneath the cake layer. Cocoa-based and made without eggs, its an old-fashioned treat that should be served with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a big spoon.