Now considered a classic Hawaiian dessert, guava cake was created at Dee Lite Bakery in Honolulu, where it became widely popular. This version is adapted from blogger Alana Kysar's "Aloha Kitchen: Recipes...
Author: Kiera Wright-Ruiz
Bundt cakes are classic showstoppers - big, lofty and usually dressed in elegant drizzles and drips of glaze. Here, a dense, moist cake full of warm fall spices and pumpkin purée is encased in a layer...
Author: Yossy Arefi
This is a rich, special-occasion cake that takes the traditional Southern coconut cake to another level, with ground toasted pecans in the batter and an easy-to-make Chantilly cream for frosting. It has...
Author: Kim Severson
This simple sheet cake is packed with three kinds of spicy ginger: fresh, ground and crystallized. The cake is delicious on its own, but cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of crystallized ginger push...
Author: Yossy Arefi
This traditional British layer cake is made up of two buttery, tender spongecake rounds that sandwich a thick layer of jam and, often, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. It's a simple, homey confection...
Author: Melissa Clark
This recipe came to The Times from Marti Buckley Kilpatrick, who adapted it from Dol Miles, the pastry chef at Frank Stitt's Bottega restaurant in Birmingham, Ala. Ms. Kilpatrick describes the cake as...
Author: Melissa Clark
The key to making this exquisite, gravity-defying cake, which comes from Michelle Polzine of 20th Century Cafe in San Francisco, is patience. This cake takes a lot of time! Set some aside to do it right....
Author: Samin Nosrat
This classic rum cake recipe, built around a yellow cake mix, is a favorite of mushers and snowmobilers passing through the village of Tanana, Alaska, in the wintertime. It's hard to mess up, comes together...
Author: Julia O'Malley
With their pleasant tang and gorgeous color, cranberries take this brunch staple to the next level. Here, they're nestled in a sour cream cake batter that's topped with a butter crumb, and cook down to...
Author: Samantha Seneviratne
Alice's Tea Cup, which is owned by the sisters Haley Fox and Lauren Fox, is known for its scones, but the chainlet of teahouses in New York also makes pastries, cakes and other treats. This recipe is an...
Author: Alex Witchel
This absurdly rich chocolate cake came to The Times in a 1991 article by Molly O'Neill about Ebinger's, the legendary chain of Brooklyn bakeries that closed its doors in 1972 after 74 years in business....
Author: The New York Times
This pleasantly zesty lemon cake is baked in a standard 9-by-13-inch pan, no layering or trimming required, and is easy enough to bake on a weekday. Cover the cake with casual swoops of fluffy lemon buttercream...
Author: Yossy Arefi
In this version of the classic Viennese Sacher torte, from Luisa Weiss's cookbook "Classic German Baking," two dense chocolate cake layers are filled and topped with rum-scented apricot jam, then coated...
Author: Melissa Clark
Maida Heatter, the legendary dessert-cookbook author, tested this recipe 20 times before deeming it good enough for publication in The Times in May 1972. Her toil was worth the trouble: Eight months later,...
Author: Margaux Laskey
Buttermilk makes this stir-together cake super tender, but you can use any milk you have in its place. Same goes for the fruit: Use your favorite frozen berries, or a combination, but frozen cherries,...
Author: Dawn Perry
This exquisite recipe came to The Times in a 2001 article by Amanda Hesser about the first meal her now mother-in-law, Elizabeth Friend, prepared for her. The meal ended with this simple almond cake. Ms....
Author: Amanda Hesser
This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it...
Author: Melissa Clark
The ridicule that most fruitcakes face has everything to do with bad recipes, which skimp on fruit and load on the batter. In a good fruitcake the batter should barely be perceptible, acting merely as...
Author: Amanda Hesser
An American classic, Boston cream pie isn't a pie at all. Its base is an old-fashioned hot milk cake, a downy-soft, buttery yellow cake. How you whip the eggs and the sugar is critical, as the tiny air...
Author: Samantha Seneviratne
This simple, lemon-scented olive oil cake is an elegant treat all by itself or topped with whipped cream, fruit or ice cream. The olive oil contributes a pleasant fruity flavor while keeping the cake moister...
Author: Samantha Seneviratne
Strawberries from the farmers' market are tiny, packed with flavor, red all of the way through, and they put their supermarket counterparts to shame. This summery Bundt packs a double dose of strawberry...
Author: Yossy Arefi
Loose Earl Grey tea stirred into buttery cake batter adds a sweet, floral essence that's subtle but lovely. A little dark chocolate and orange zest makes this cake extra special. While you could use chocolate...
Author: Samantha Seneviratne
An easy cranberry jam lends its naturally pink hue and pleasantly tart flavor to this stunning cake. It's also tucked between the layers of a fluffy brown sugar buttermilk cake for an extra hit of cranberry...
Author: Yossy Arefi
Amanda Saab, a social worker and home cook who lives near Detroit, riffs on her Lebanese grandmother's recipe for namoura, a cake made from semolina flour, soaked in syrup while it's still warm. When she...
Author: Tejal Rao
This is a very light cake, similar to a lemon drizzle but with a ton more flavor. The rosemary and orange add delicious floral notes. A fluted Bundt pan looks especially nice. Prepare the crystallized...
Author: Yotam Ottolenghi
Warmly spiced pumpkin cake and toasty caramel are a natural pair in this fall showstopper. The cake is light and fluffy with just enough spice to highlight the pumpkin flavor, while a generous pour of...
Author: Yossy Arefi
This recipe requires a little extra effort - you have to whip the egg whites separately and then fold them into the batter - but the reward is a light, ethereal cake topped with glistening, caramelized...
Author: R. W. Apple Jr.
This recipe looks hard, but it's not. Promise. A very easy chocolate cake is transformed into a version of tres leches cake, the classic Latin American dessert, by drenching it with evaporated milk, condensed...
Author: Margaux Laskey
Now, I love cheesecake and I love mangoes, the mangoes best eaten in their natural state, and preferably in the bath. But the two together make a dessert that manages to be both comforting and elegant....
Author: Nigella Lawson
Coconut oil and coconut milk add a tasty tropical essence to this moist pound cake. Be sure to buy unrefined virgin coconut oil, as it has the best coconut flavor and aroma. Coconut oil is much easier...
Author: Samantha Seneviratne
A lush combination of a Southern upside-down cake and a French tarte tatin, this cake is deeply caramelized on top and light and fluffy beneath. The chef Virginia Willis, who put the recipe together, uses...
Author: Julia Moskin
In most classic coffee cakes, cinnamon plays a starring role, but this recipe puts coffee flavor front and center thanks to the addition of brewed coffee and espresso powder (or instant espresso). Espresso...
Author: Erin Jeanne McDowell
Adding preserved lemon juice to lemon curd is the brilliant brainchild of Samantha Kincaid, the pastry chef of the restaurant High Street on Hudson. It adds a complex brininess to what can be an overly...
Author: Melissa Clark
A traditional flavor combination (butter pecan) melds with a modern one (salted caramel) in this magnificently burnished golden cake. Brian Noyes opened Red Truck bakery in 2008 on the eastern edge of...
Author: Julia Moskin
The tangy, rich cream cheese topping on this cake can travel - even on a hot day. Silky with sour cream, it bakes right over the batter and develops a caramelized flavor reminiscent of Basque cheesecake....
Author: Genevieve Ko
This stacked shortcake gives a classic summer dessert the large-format (think sheet cake and slab pies) treatment with big tender biscuits layered with juicy berries, and tangy yogurt whipped cream. Use...
Author: Yossy Arefi
This humble dessert would never win a beauty contest when pitted against a towering layer cake swirled with frosting, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up in flavor and simplicity of preparation. The...
Author: Molly O'Neill
This moist and springy Persian almond cake is generously spiced with ground cardamom (two full teaspoons). We like it with fresh berries. If you want to serve it for Passover, be sure to use kosher for...
Author: Joan Nathan
Most lemon cakes rely on zest and juice for flavor. This one uses the whole fruit, pith and all, for an intense citrus flavor. There's also almond flour in the batter, which gives the cake a dense richness....
Author: Melissa Clark
Blotkake, layered spongecake covered with drifts of whipped cream and fruit, is a dessert that Norwegians are passionate and possessive about. It is a traditional sweet finish for any festive meal, whether...
Author: Julia Moskin
This deeply moist ginger cake is adapted from David Lebovitz, the former pastry chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., who included the recipe in his cookbook, "Room for Dessert." It's the sort of cake...
Author: Amanda Hesser
This bright and beautiful Southern staple has a hint of chocolate flavor that's paired with a cream cheese frosting, keeping it from being too sweet. Part of red velvet cake's allure is how moist it is,...
Author: Millie Peartree
This nutty sour cream coffee cake is rich enough to stand alone, but the bourbon caramel sauce elevates it to "special occasion dessert" status.
Author: Molly O'Neill
A sweet ending for a summer solstice party, this spongecake is light and not too sweet, and the cream and berries make it seem almost more of an unmolded trifle than a cake. I seem to remember that in...
Author: Nigella Lawson
Although black cake is descended from the British plum pudding, for Caribbean-born New Yorkers and their children, who number more than half a million, it evokes nostalgia for the islands, where the baking...
Author: Julia Moskin
This lovely cake was inspired by the colors and flavors of pink lemonade. Don't be tempted to skip the first step of this recipe, which asks you to rub lemon zest into granulated sugar: The sugar granules...
Author: Erin Jeanne McDowell
Something magical happens when you layer crepes with cream to build a cake. The flavors intensify, you improve the cream to crepe ratio and there are more crispy edges. And then there is the dazzling moment...
Author: Samantha Seneviratne
The fine, feathery crumb of this dessert, which is on the lighter side of chocolate cakes, is balanced by a slather of glossy, fudgy frosting. A topping of shredded coconut provides additional richness...
Author: Melissa Clark
Moist, fudgy and homey, this easy cake is made in a standard-sized food processor (yes, the batter will fit) and adorned with mocha frosting.
Author: The New York Times
This classic poundcake has a boozy twist that's perfect for parties, St. Patrick's Day and beyond. Irish cream liqueur - a rich blend of Irish whiskey, cream, sugar, vanilla and other flavorings - is added...
Author: Erin Jeanne McDowell