246 top cake recipes

Quick apple streusel coffee cake made with Bisquick baking mix and sweetened applesauce. Topped with cinnamon brown sugar crumble in under 45 minutes.

Fresh peach sauce with orange juice and nutmeg, thickened with cornstarch. A warm fruit topping for pancakes, waffles, ice cream, or pound cake.

Low-fat fudgy chocolate cake made with buttermilk, strong coffee, and cocoa powder, topped with a glossy cooked chocolate icing. No butter needed.

Scotch whisky trifle layered with espresso-caramel custard, Scotch-soaked pound cake, raspberry jam, fresh raspberries, bananas, and whipped cream topped with chocolate.

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

A traditional Swiss Appenzell honey cake made with wholemeal flour, warm honey, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and cinnamon. Dense, fragrant, and beautifully scored on top, this European classic is finished with icing.

Small-batch date cake with cocoa in the batter and a chocolate chip, nut, and sugar topping pressed on before cooking. Ready in 7 minutes in the microwave. A quick, nostalgic treat when you want homemade cake without heating up the oven.

Soft banana cookies with brown butter penuche frosting: mashed ripe bananas in a cake-like dough, topped with a boiled brown sugar icing that hardens into a shiny, fudgy shell.

Hot fudge pudding cake that makes its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. Bisquick, cocoa, sugar, and hot water create a cakey top over a pool of gooey fudge. No eggs, no butter needed.

Boston cream pie from scratch with a sponge cake split and filled with vanilla custard, topped with a glossy chocolate ganache glaze. The classic American dessert done right with three handmade components.

James Beard's hands-on masterclass in a three-layer cake: beating butter by hand, folding egg whites like a soufflé, and mastering classic technique for a fluffy golden crumb with citrus filling.

A marbled angel food cake with swirled white and lemon-yellow batters, topped with a tangy lemon glaze. Light as air and gorgeous for spring.

Light angel food cake topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh blueberries macerated in Grand Marnier for an effortless summer dessert in 10 minutes.

Light upside-down cake with canned apricot halves on the bottom, topped with a sponge-like batter made from separated eggs and bread crumbs.

Smooth apricot cream made by cooking canned fruit with flour and sugar, then folding in whipped cream for a light topping or cake filling.

Buttery shortbread base topped with raspberry jam and broiled almond meringue. Two-stage baking creates layers of tender cake, fruity jam, and golden meringue.