Dessert, Cake Recipes

A light sponge cake rolled around sugared fresh strawberries and billowy whipped cream. Looks like it came from a French patisserie, but you made it in your own kitchen.

Chocolate Twinkie cake with a fluffy homemade cream filling sandwiched between layers of chocolate pudding cake. Uses a box mix for easy baking but the from-scratch filling is where the magic happens.

Striking chocolate triangle cake with thin sponge cake strips frosted and stacked into a layered triangular log. Vintage architectural showpiece for dinner parties and birthdays.

Dark chocolate marshmallow cake with sour cream for moisture, topped with a fluffy cooked marshmallow frosting. Two layers of rich, fudgy cake under a cloud-like finish.

Low-fat s'mores cake bakes all the campfire flavor into a light graham-cracker crumb cake. Applesauce stands in for the butter, with broiled marshmallows and chocolate chips melting over the top.

No-bake pineapple cheesecake: a lightened version using nonfat cream cheese, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt folded with crushed pineapple, set with gelatin on a graham and Grape-Nuts crust. Creamy tropical dessert without the oven.

Chocolate potato cake made with hot mashed potatoes for an incredibly moist crumb, cocoa, cinnamon, and folded egg whites. Finished with tangy cream cheese frosting.

Tropical mango-pineapple-lime cheesecake on a gingersnap and macadamia nut crust with crystallized ginger, topped with fresh mango, kiwi, and pineapple slices.

Paskha: the traditional Russian Easter cheesecake, an unbaked pyramid of sweetened farmer's cheese studded with candied fruit, raisins, and almonds, served with a madeira-rum lemon sauce. Orthodox Easter in every bite.

Vegan no-bake pumpkin cheesecake with silken tofu, almond butter, maple syrup, and agar for setting. Dairy-free, egg-free, and set overnight in the fridge.

Slow cooker apple cake layers a biscuit-style base under sliced tart apples, cinnamon-sugar dust, and apricot jam. A vented crockpot lid keeps the cake from steaming dense.

Old-fashioned chocolate coconut tea cakes with a sour cream crumb and a cinnamon-scented chocolate glaze spread while warm. Twelve dainty cupcakes for afternoon tea or coffee with a friend.

Lebkuchen (German honey cakes) blend honey, brown sugar, lemon, almonds, citron, and warm spices into a chewy spice cookie cut into fancy holiday shapes. Traditional Christmas cookie from Nuremberg.

Pina colada sheet cake: a yellow poke cake soaked with cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and rum, topped with crushed pineapple, whipped cream, and coconut. The cocktail in cake form.

A buttery ginger pound cake baked in a ring mold, splashed with rum, and crowned with a garland of poached pears, candied orange peel, and grapes glazed in apple jelly. A showpiece holiday dessert.

Flourless chocolate cake with a full pound of butter, 20 ounces of dark chocolate, 10 eggs, and Grand Marnier. Baked low and slow for 3 hours into pure fudge.