Recipe Sifter

Best 1-2-3-4 Cake with Chocolate Icing: a triple-layer butter cake topped with a cooked chocolate icing made from unsweetened squares. Old-school birthday cake at its essence.

Classic butter pound cake: rich, tender, golden loaf made the proper old-fashioned way with butter, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla. Just five ingredients and a long, careful cream.

Chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies made with brown sugar, butter, and rolled oats. Just 9 ingredients and ready in about 20 minutes from bowl to cooling rack.

White Christmas pie with coconut, a chiffon-style holiday dessert with vanilla-almond custard, folded whipped cream and egg whites, set in a baked crust. Topped with candied cherries.

Mary's Milky Way cake melts whole candy bars right into a buttermilk bundt batter, baking up dense, moist and rich with caramel, chocolate and toasted pecans. A Southern potluck favorite that needs no frosting.

Blueberry funny cake is a Pennsylvania Dutch classic: vanilla cake batter and warm blueberry sauce baked together in a pie shell. Part cake, part pie, fully addictive.

A rich, velvety devil's food cake with a secret weapon: tomato sauce that adds incredible moisture and depth. Topped with a billowy classic boiled icing spiked with orange juice and vanilla.

Spiced gingerbread cupcakes topped with tangy lemon cream cheese frosting. The warm spices meet bright citrus in every bite, creating a holiday treat that's cozy and refreshing at once.

Peach and raspberry cobbler with fresh fruit bubbling under golden drop biscuits. A two-stage bake that keeps the fruit juicy and the topping flaky and crisp.

Chewy oatmeal cookies studded with colorful gumdrop pieces and toasted coconut. These fork-pressed treats bake up soft with crispy edges in just 10 minutes for an easy 5-dozen batch.

Apple sheet cake with pecans and a warm brown sugar icing poured straight over the pan. Three cups of fresh apple keep every slice deeply moist.

A creamy Swedish cottage cheese pie with toasted almonds, baked in a flaky crust until set and custard-like. Lightly sweet with a nutty crunch. Served chilled for a Scandinavian take on cheesecake.

Lighter chocolate banana fudge cake made with whole wheat flour, mashed bananas, and egg whites instead of butter and yolks. Topped with a glossy cocoa glaze and chopped walnuts. Rich without the heaviness.

Chocolate nut upside-down Bundt cake with a buttery brown sugar walnut crown. Inverts onto a plate showing off a glossy caramel-pecan top layer.

Versatile yeasted bread dough that bakes into two loaves or shapes into Parkerhouse and cloverleaf rolls. Make-ahead friendly with overnight refrigeration option.

Here I adapted an 18th century English spice cake recipe which also makes nice cupcakes.