Dessert, Cake Recipes

Easy coffee cake builds a quick monkey bread-style bundt from refrigerated biscuits dipped in melted butter and pecan-brown sugar, then baked into a sticky pull-apart loaf. A four-ingredient brunch shortcut for sleepy mornings.

Election Day cake, a historic New England yeast-raised spice cake studded with raisins, citron and nuts, warmed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mace, and glazed with confectioners' sugar. A colonial American tradition.

Old English yeasted Christmas cake spiced with cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, and caraway seeds. A buttery yeast-risen holiday loaf, closer to brioche than to fruitcake.

English Derby cheesecake folds whipped egg whites into a cream cheese, sour cream, and lemon batter for a tall, cloud-light texture. A classic British baked cheesecake with a slow oven cool that prevents cracks.

Espresso cake is a coffee-infused angel food cake: 12 whipped egg whites, cake flour, and espresso baked in a tube pan, then finished with a coffee-cocoa icing. Feather-light and caffeinated.

Classic county fair funnel cakes fried golden and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. A simple egg, milk, and flour batter swirled into hot oil for crisp lacy edges and a tender middle.

Southern blackberry jam cake spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Buttermilk tang, raisins, and nuts in a moist layer cake straight out of an Appalachian heirloom box.

Eggless chocolate banana snack cake with mashed ripe banana, cocoa, brown sugar, and a vinegar-baking soda lift. Topped with melted chocolate chips. A no-egg, no-dairy 8-inch square cake.

Chocolate mocha sponge cake bakes a tender egg-yolk-lifted cocoa cake in a tube pan, then layers it with a coffee-spiked vanilla pudding buttercream. Three-layer mocha tea cake with vintage charm.

Crazy cake, also known as wacky cake, is an egg-free and dairy-free chocolate sheet cake made with vinegar and oil. Depression-era one-pan recipe that bakes in 35 minutes.

This is a wonderful, dense, almost brownie-like cake.

Jam cake with caramel icing, a three-layer Southern spice cake built around blackberry jam, cinnamon, and allspice, blanketed with soft-ball-stage caramel icing made from brown sugar, butter, and cream.

Lady Baltimore cake is a tender white layer cake filled with boiled frosting studded with walnuts, currants and figs. The famous Southern Charleston confection from 1906.

Popcorn cake binds popped popcorn, mixed nuts, and rainbow gumdrops with melted marshmallows and butter, then molds it all into a tube pan. A no-bake retro showstopper for parties and bake sales.

Rich chocolate cake with cocoa, buttermilk, and a hot-water finish for an extra-moist crumb. The classic one-bowl chocolate sheet cake that bakes up dense, dark, and tender every time.

Washington apple cake packed with three cups of fresh chopped apples and crunchy walnuts, warm with cinnamon and nutmeg. An oil-rich, ultra-moist tube cake served with a cloud of sweetened whipped cream.