37 simple cake recipes

Diabetic-friendly Black Forest bars made with just three ingredients: no-sugar chocolate cake mix, sour cherries, and sugar substitute. Quick, simple, and guilt-free.

No-fat no-cholesterol coffeecake with cherry pie filling and a crumb topping, made with egg substitute and yellow cake mix. A lighter breakfast cake ready in 1 hour using simple pantry ingredients.

Red and golden raspberries marinated in a honeyed raspberry puree. A simple, elegant fruit dessert or topping for ice cream and angel food cake.

Simple walnut raisin cake with brown sugar and warm spices, simmered then baked low and slow for moist tender squares ready in an hour.

Low-fat carrot fig cake that replaces oil and butter with pureed dried figs for moisture. Loaded with grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and raisins, drizzled with a simple pineapple juice glaze.

A simple three-ingredient vanilla sugar glaze, just sugar, milk, and vanilla whisked smooth and poured over pound cake. Quick to make and easy to drizzle over berries for a finishing sweet sheen.

Simple orange glaze made with powdered sugar, fresh orange juice, and orange zest. Tinted with food coloring for a bright finish on cakes, cookies, and pastries.

Cinnamon flop is an old-fashioned coffee cake made from a simple no-egg batter topped with brown sugar, cinnamon, and chunks of butter that melt into gooey pockets as it bakes.

Old-fashioned boiled fruitcake with raisins and warm spices. Simple one-bowl method where you boil fruit first then fold into spiced flour for incredibly moist cake.

Easy Bake Oven chocolate cake made from scratch with just six pantry ingredients. A simple homemade mix replacement so kids can bake without the store-bought packets.

Depression-era eggless, milkless, butterless cake with brown sugar, raisins, ginger, and cinnamon. A simple wartime recipe that bakes into a spiced, dense loaf with minimal pantry staples.

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.

Simple European fruit cake with pastry crust topped with sliced apples or stoned plums. Bake until golden, then dust with sugar for a rustic dessert that highlights seasonal fruit.

Old-fashioned spiced raisin drop cookies with brown sugar, buttermilk, and cake flour for a soft, cakey texture. A simple, homey cookie with warm mixed spices and plump soaked raisins.

Cherry upside down cake made from scratch with sour cherries caramelized in sugar and margarine, topped with a simple one-bowl batter. Flip it out immediately for a glossy fruit top.

A classic Baltimore sheet cake with a soft, simple batter topped with rows of fresh peach slices, cinnamon sugar, and melted butter. This old-school Mid-Atlantic bakery favorite is summer in every bite.