930 vanilla cake recipes

Tangy banana bars with apricot preserves, brown sugar, chopped nuts, and sliced bananas, dusted with powdered sugar. A soft, fruity bar cookie that makes 36 pieces.

Four-layer double-chocolate torte with unsweetened chocolate cake, chocolate filling, and whipped cream frosting in alternating layers. A tall, impressive celebration cake with intense chocolate flavor and a light cream finish.

Tall honey cake (lekach) baked with 1¼ cups honey and a full cup of strong coffee for moisture and depth. Walnut-studded with warm spices, traditional for Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish New Year.

Italian biscotti with toasted walnuts, orange zest, and black pepper. The savory-sweet hybrid that pairs with dessert wine, cheese, or after-dinner coffee.

Pepper biscotti with black pepper, toasted walnuts, orange zest, and almond extract. An Italian twice-baked cookie with grown-up complexity and a subtle peppery kick. Perfect with coffee or red wine.

Oats cranberry muffins use prune puree instead of oil or butter, keeping them low in fat but moist and tender. Hearty oats, tart cranberries, and just egg whites make a wholesome muffin that doesn't taste like a compromise.

Apple raisin walnut quick bread: diced apples, plump raisins and toasted walnuts in a buttermilk batter, topped with cinnamon sugar streusel. Makes two loaves perfect for fall gifting.

Waldorf red velvet cake with buttermilk, cocoa, and a cooked flour frosting that tastes like whipped cream. The original Waldorf-Astoria recipe from scratch.

Malted coconut marble cake baked in a tube pan with swirled vanilla and chocolate malt batters, topped with coconut frosting browned under the broiler. A retro bakery-style cake with a toasty malt flavor.

Dense, moist German apple cake loaded with four cups of sliced Pippin apples, cinnamon, and chopped nuts, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. A fall baking favorite.

Drop sugar cookies with cardamom or nutmeg, soft and tender with lightly browned edges. No rolling or chilling needed. Makes six dozen and freezes beautifully.

Old-fashioned cake doughnuts made from scratch with nutmeg and vanilla, deep-fried and dusted with sugar. No yeast, no rising time, no fuss.

Traditional New Mexican biscochitos made with lard, egg yolks, anise, and vanilla. Rolled, cut into shapes, and baked until tender. New Mexico's official state cookie and a holiday staple.

Mrs. Lincoln owned a copy of Directions for Cookery in its Verious Branches by Miss Leslie, which was one of the most popular sources of recipes of the time.

Buttery anise-scented cookies with star anise seeds and extract, chilled overnight and baked golden for traditional New Mexican biscochitos.

Soft banana sour cream bars baked in a jelly roll pan with ripe bananas, butter, and vanilla. A tender sheet pan cookie bar that makes a generous batch for sharing.