387 sugar cake recipes

Apple nut cake built on applesauce and olive oil with overlapping apple slices and a toasted cinnamon-sugar nut topping. A dairy-free, butter-free autumn cake that bakes into something moist, rustic and crowd-ready.

Spirited fruit macerated in orange liqueur, lemon juice, and sugar. A boozy fruit topping for cheesecake, pound cake, ice cream, or sherbet.

Eccles cakes pack currants, mixed peel and warming spice inside flaky rough puff pastry, glazed with milk and crunchy caster sugar. Classic Lancashire teatime pastry from northwest England.

Simple sweetened whipped cream filling with just three ingredients: heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until stiff in 5 minutes for cakes, pastries, and pies.

Three-ingredient pineapple rum sauce with fresh chopped pineapple, brown sugar, and rum. No cooking required. Spoon over ice cream, pound cake, or grilled meat.

Brown sugar filling with chopped nuts and cinnamon for cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, and sweet breads. A 3-ingredient streusel-style filling ready in minutes.

Pressed angel food cake sandwiches filled with chocolate chips, marshmallows, cherry preserves, or cinnamon sugar. Made in a sandwich maker until golden and gooey. Kids love these.

Overnight coffee cake built from frozen bread dough, butterscotch pudding, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Assembled at bedtime, baked fresh in the morning, and pulled apart by hand.

Russian tea cakes (also called Mexican wedding cookies): buttery nut-studded shortbread balls rolled twice in powdered sugar. A classic holiday cookie tin staple in 30 minutes.

Irish curd cake: a traditional sieved cottage cheese cheesecake in a shortbread crust with lemon zest and a sugar-butter glaze. Light alternative to heavy American cheesecake.

Two-ingredient cream cheese icing sweetened with maple syrup and blended smooth. No powdered sugar needed. Ready in 10 minutes and pairs with carrot cake, banana bread, and more.

Three-ingredient lemon cookies made with cake mix, whipped topping, and an egg, rolled in powdered sugar for a crinkle-top finish. Soft, puffy, and ready in 20 minutes.

Friendship brandied fruit is a perpetual fermented fruit compote built over months by adding peaches, pineapple, cherries, sugar, and brandy to a starter. Spoon over ice cream, pound cake, or yogurt for an instant dessert.

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.

Low-cal brownies: a quick blender batter that swaps applesauce for butter and a sugar substitute for sugar, baked into a light chocolate fix. A guilt-free brownie ready in about 30 minutes.

Matzo meal cookies with coconut and brown sugar, baked until rich brown and filled with jam centers. A Passover-friendly cookie with no flour, no eggs, no leavening.