68 vanilla cheese cake recipes

"A tall, impressive cake that showcases the flavors and smells of the holidays. A three-layer extravaganza with a touch of molasses and shredded apple to keep it moist. It fills the house with a fragrance that beats the most expensive holiday-scented candle. It will be talked about long after the party is over." Source: The Pastry Queen Christmas, by Rebecca Rather

Chocolate cream cheese gooey butter bars with a chocolate cake mix base, chopped pecans, and a sweet cream cheese topping. A St. Louis-style gooey butter cake in bar form.

Rich and creamy squares with a buttery yellow cake mix base topped with sweetened cream cheese and pecans. An easy two-layer bar cookie that feeds a crowd.

Red velvet cake with buttermilk and vinegar baked in three layers, topped with cream cheese pecan frosting. An oil-based cake with a tender crumb and classic tangy finish.

Chocolate zucchini tube cake using a cake mix hack with shredded zucchini folded in for extra moisture. Topped with cream cheese frosting and chopped nuts.

Hawaiian cake starts with a yellow cake mix base topped with a cream cheese pudding layer, crushed pineapple, chopped nuts, maraschino cherries, and flaked coconut.

A layered pineapple coconut poke-style cake starting with a box mix, topped with coconut milk cream cheese pudding, crushed pineapple, whipped topping, and shredded coconut. Potluck-ready and crowd-sized.

Rich chocolate bundt cake studded with nuts and crowned with a velvety mocha cream cheese frosting. Inspired by the legendary Waldorf Astoria, this showstopper is pure old-school elegance.

California ricotta cake: devil's food cake layers brushed with orange liqueur, filled and frosted with sweet ricotta whipped with cream, orange zest, almonds, and chocolate chips.

Cream cheese dough rolled with apricot preserves and walnuts, sliced into crescent-shaped cookies and baked until golden.

Layered bar cookies with an oat-almond-tahini crumb crust and a rich carob filling made from tofu, ricotta, and maple syrup. A wholesome, caffeine-free treat for health-conscious bakers.

Two-tone sheet cake with a vanilla cream cheese batter and Hershey's chocolate syrup topping baked together for a marbled, fudgy finish using egg whites only.

Reduced-fat carrot cake swaps most of the oil for prune purée, then layers three moist spiced cakes with light cream cheese frosting. Toasted walnuts, grated carrots, and crushed pineapple build full carrot cake flavor with less fat.

This three-layer coconut cake starts with a yellow cake mix shortcut, then gets loaded with shredded coconut, crunchy walnuts, and a from-scratch cream cheese frosting with toasted golden coconut on top. Ready in about an hour.

A layered Italian cassata cake with orange-ricotta filling, chocolate, candied citron, and vanilla frosting topped with pistachios. A Sicilian bakery classic you can make at home.

Chocolate hazelnut mascarpone torte layering a coffee-deepened chocolate butter cake with framboise-spiked mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries, and caramelized hazelnuts under a glossy chocolate ganache glaze.