Dessert, Cake Recipes

Greek semolina cake with almonds soaked in cinnamon-orange syrup, scored into diamonds. Traditional Mediterranean dessert.

Five-ingredient pound cake with seven eggs, butter-flavored shortening, and no leavener. Baked low and slow in a tube pan for an ultra-dense, velvety crumb with a golden crust.

Italian-style ricotta cheesecake with orange zest and buttermilk on a ginger graham cracker crust. Lighter than cream cheese cheesecake with a delicate, fluffy texture.

Sad Face Cake made with Bisquick, brown sugar, coconut, chopped nuts, and eggs. A dense, chewy dump cake with a brownie-like texture and no frosting needed.

Easy apple cinnamon bundt cake made with yellow cake mix and applesauce instead of oil or butter. A moist, swirled cake with just five simple ingredients.

Easy butterscotch poppy seed cake made with yellow cake mix, butterscotch pudding mix, and a generous helping of poppy seeds. Moist, rich, and done in 35 minutes.

Self-filled chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese and chocolate chip center baked right in. No frosting needed when the filling does double duty.

Shaker honey almond cake bakes a spice-warmed honey-sour cream batter under a crown of almonds, then ripens 2 days for deeper flavor. Heritage New England keeping cake.

Old-fashioned apple cake loaded with sliced apples, walnuts, and cinnamon in a moist oil-based batter. No mixer needed for this rustic 9x13 sheet cake.

Texas-style sheath cake (sheet cake) baked on a cookie sheet with cocoa, buttermilk, and a full half pound of butter. Thin, fudgy, and frosted while still warm. A potluck legend.

Chocolate sheet cake (Texas sheet cake) with hot cocoa-buttermilk batter and a poured cocoa-buttermilk icing finished while the cake is still hot. The Southern church-supper crowd-feeder cut into 24 squares.

Shrewsbury cakes, a traditional English rolled cookie with ginger, citrus rind, and caraway seeds. Crisp, lightly spiced, and chilled overnight before baking.

Vintage 1930s special cocoa cake: a tender chocolate layer cake made with bloomed cocoa, brown sugar, and cake flour. Old-fashioned recipe that beats most modern boxed mixes.

Old-fashioned griddle spice cakes made with sour milk, nutmeg, and baking soda, stacked with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. A heritage breakfast treat served pie-style in wedges.

Spiced banana cake loaded with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, topped with a crunchy cinnamon-walnut crumble. Baked in a springform pan for an impressive, warmly spiced dessert.

Spiced sheet cake with brown sugar and warm spices gets topped with walnut meringue frosting that bakes on for a crunchy, marshmallow-like finish.