This recipe proves that the perfect summer pound cake takes no special equipment or skill to pull off. Once you've prepared the peaches, this is essentially a dump-and-whisk cake. Puréed peaches (plus...
Author: Jerrelle Guy
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
Blitz means "lightning" in German, referring to the lightning-quick way this old-fashioned cake comes together, at least compared with the more ornately frosted tortes popular a century ago. Buttery, nutmeg-scented...
Author: Melissa Clark
Upside-down cakes are easy, adaptable and beautiful no matter what kind of fruit you use. This one calls for any kind of summer stone fruit - peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums - whatever looks ripe...
Author: Melissa Clark
This almond cake is based on financiers, the small, usually ingot-shaped cakes first made in Paris in the late 1880s. The pastry chef Lasne created and named them for his stockbroker clients, keeping them...
Author: Dorie Greenspan
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 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.
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
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 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 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
This dense and deeply figgy cake, adapted from Eli's Table in Manhattan, gets its complex flavor from a combination of fresh figs and fig jam, seasoned generously with cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. It's...
Author: Melissa Clark
This creamy mango cheesecake has the unmistakable scent and taste of fresh limes and cardamom - and, best of all, it doesn't require you to turn on the oven. Avoid using fresh mango pulp here: An enzyme...
Author: Nik Sharma
This buttery cake is filled with soft, caramel-infused apples and topped with an easy caramel frosting. It's better to err on the side of underbaking the cake slightly, since it makes for a gooier end...
Author: Erin Jeanne McDowell
Making biscuits is a combination of technique, faith and magic. You pull the dough together with your hands, pass through a stage where only a belief in the baking gods keeps you from ditching the mess...
Author: Dorie Greenspan
Why doesn't maple syrup find its way to American cheese platters the way chestnut honey does to Italian ones? We think it works particularly well with subtle, creamy cheeses, a conviction that inspired...
Author: Matt Lee And Ted Lee
This lightly spiced apple cake comes together in no time at all, and a few swoops of fluffy cinnamon cream cheese frosting dress it up for dessert. As written, this recipe yields a modest amount of frosting,...
Author: Yossy Arefi
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
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
By substituting pecans (or other nuts) for the usual maraschino cherries, this twist on a classic upside-down cake is less sweet and crunchier than the usual recipe. Caramelizing the brown sugar in a skillet...
Author: Melissa Clark
This buttery, chamomile tea-scented loaf is a sweet pop symphony, the Abba of cakes. A pot of flowery, just-brewed chamomile isn't required for drinking with slices of this tender loaf but is strongly...
Author: Eric Kim
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
Don't mistake this impressive layer cake for a modest banana bread. It's a billowing, head-turning dessert covered in white swirls of coconut frosting. Roasting the bananas before mashing them into the...
Author: Melissa Clark
This cake appeared in The Times in 1954 as Halloween Cake, the centerpiece for a children's party. When you strip away the original instructions for decoration (dyed yellow frosting and a black cat of...
Author: Sara Bonisteel
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
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
The flavor of this ultrabuttery layer cake, adapted from Odette Williams's "Simple Cake" (Ten Speed Press, 2019), can be as mild or pronounced as you like, depending on the variety of honey you use. Clover...
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
Like a cross between bananas Foster and pineapple upside-down cake, this homey dessert is topped with caramelized banana slices and crunchy walnuts. Cooking the brown sugar in a skillet before adding the...
Author: Melissa Clark
These happy-looking cupcakes, with swirls of pink in the frosting, are only improved by a generous sprinkling of fun - in the form of popping candy, of course. The cream soda flavoring gives these cupcakes...
Author: Yotam Ottolenghi
Chunks of juicy, caramelized pineapple are strewn throughout this sour cream coffee cake, adding bright, fruity notes to the tender crumb. The streusel topping is suffused with ginger - both candied and...
Author: Melissa Clark
This Technicolor cake is a project, but one you can pull off with a little elbow grease and lots of butter (nine sticks, to be exact). Most rainbow cakes call for coloring the individual layers of cake...
Author: Erin Jeanne McDowell
Softer and more fruit-filled than a coffeecake, but with a higher percentage of buttery batter than a cobbler, buckles are harder to classify than they are to make. This one is tender, moist and filled...
Author: Melissa Clark
Layer cakes are pretty, but for many, they require far too much work to make on a regular basis. This cake, adapted from "Modern Baking: Cakes, Cookies and Everything in Between" by Donna Hay, may find...
Author: Margaux Laskey
If you think you don't need another Bundt cake recipe, this one exists to prove you wrong. Adapted from Nell Lewis of Platte City, Mo., who entered the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest in 1963, it is a favorite...
Author: Margaux Laskey
This version of Linzer torte, a classic Viennese pastry, has a dough with a high proportion of ground hazelnuts and almonds. It is usually filled with a raspberry or apricot jam, but cranberries make it...
Author: David Tanis
Stella Parks developed this recipe for an all-butter triple-layer chocolate cake with a shockingly tender crumb and deep, fudgy flavor. The cake looks intimidating at first, but Ms. Parks's technique involves...
Author: Tejal Rao
In the 1990s, when home bakers started putting rainbow sprinkles in their cakes, as well as on their cakes, the Funfetti craze was born. Pillsbury introduced its Funfetti cake mix in 1989, and the idea...
Author: Julia Moskin
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
A dulce de leche swirl adds caramel sweetness to this light, moist pound cake, adapted from Margarita Manzke of République in Los Angeles. Although Ms. Manzke makes her own dulce de leche, the jarred...
Author: Melissa Clark
Susan Levin Turner has taught many Southerners, both professional chefs and home cooks, how to bake a proper cake. She has made cakes for politicians and celebrities, and turned out five when the chef...
Author: Kim Severson
You can use any kind of berries - fresh or frozen - for this jammy twist on the classic pineapple upside-down cake. Just note that adding all or mostly blueberries and strawberries will create a sweeter...
Author: Melissa Clark
This simple cake is studded with large pieces of fruit, so that each slice has its own piece of tender baked apple. Press the apples gently into the batter and be aware that the pound cake-style batter...
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
This tender cake is different from all the banana breads out there - possibly because Jim Lahey brings his celebrated skills as a bread baker to the recipe, which we adapted from "The Sullivan Street Bakery...
Author: Melissa Clark
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
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
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 classic British bakewell tart is a threesome: a crust; a layer of raspberry jam - one chockfull of seeds; and a sponge cake redolent of almonds. Sliced almonds and a drizzle of icing may or may not be...
Author: Dorie Greenspan
The name of this cake is somewhat deceiving, since most apple cakes are easier than pie (which is actually never that easy if you're making it from scratch). In any case, it's a simple, excellent cake...
Author: Melissa Clark