CAKES
Olive oil cakes are, at their best, incredibly fragrant, moist, flavorful creations. They lend themselves to all manner of tweak and topping: you can load them with citrus elements, or stud them with chocolate (as Boyce does here); you can let them be and top with macerated cherries and any other fruit compote. They are a lovely combination of sweet and savory which makes them as good for breakfast as they are for dessert. And this one incorporates some spelt flour which pairs marvelously with the chocolate.
This is a perfectly moist, wonderfully chocolate cake with a great crumb. It holds up well over time and under frosting. I've tweaked the original Hershey's recipe only slightly to include a bit less sugar and some whole wheat flour which no one has ever noticed.
This is such a delicious apple cake: incredibly moist, perfectly spiced, and as good for breakfast and a snack as it is for dessert!
This is a really yummy, not too sweet, unique cake from Food & Wine. I love the glaze and think the cake is terrific served with fresh strawberries.
This is my go-to basic buttercream frosting. Delish and easy to tint with food coloring.
I adapted this from an Andrew Knowlton yogurt cake recipe in the May 2012 Bon Appétit. AK's used more yogurt and did not include the strawberry-rhubarb compote. If you don't incorporate the fruit swirl, up the yogurt to 3/4 cup. You can make this cake up to three days in advance.
A rich, firm pudding-like cake that hails from Sicily. I found this recipe in a Cook's Illustrated special edition, Heirloom Recipes. Cook's Illustrated suggests serving this warm. I actually enjoyed better cold, after it sat in the fridge for a full day.
This is the moistest, vanilla'iest, perfect-for-birthday-cakes white cake recipe out there. No one ever knows it's vegan. It's just delicious.
This is a scrumptious pumpkin cheesecake. It's creamy, well-spiced, and the gingersnap crust is the perfect base. Serve this after your Thanksgiving (or any winter holiday) meal, and you'll be a hit!
For those looking for an alternative to buttercream or cream cheese frosting, this frosting, by Food52 cook, inpatskitchen, is absolutely divine!
Wanting a more natural alternative to Nanny's Lemon Lime Refrigerator Sheet Cake, I created this, a delicious, intensely lime cake with equally intense lemon-sugar glaze.I adapted this from a Bon Appetit recipe published in 2009.
The combination of black pepper and sour cherries in concert with the cream and goat cheeses and crème fraîche is magnificent! Another Melissa Clark gem!
This is an old-school refrigerator cake with a psychedelic marbled hue. I grew up eating this enthusiastically whenever my Nanny made it. Although this might sound like a cake made of fake, it is truly delicious and you will not be able to stop eating it.
An amazingly light, lemony cheesecake studded with raspberries and topped with raspberry curd.
This all-natural strawberry cake is both unbelievably delicious and one of the most popular cakes I make. Every bite makes you close your eyes and sigh with contentment. Ice it with whipped cream-mascarpone frosting, and you'll be a star.