Cake

Double down on chocolate and orange with this vegan dessert that gets a little help from the freezer aisle.

This is possibly the simplest strawberry cheesecake you’ll ever make: It requires no mixer, no springform pan, and it bakes in 30 minutes.

A one-bowl vanilla cake, doctored store-bought ice cream, and quick raspberry curd make this impressive dessert totally achievable.

A slice of this spiced cake with buttermilk-cinnamon glaze feels like a warm hug, and the best part is, it takes less than an hour to make.

However you look at boxed cake mix—a desperate measure for desperate times or a jumping-off point for an infinite number of delicious desserts—here are our best strategies to make it taste better than you ever imagined.

The decoration is built right in.

This plushy almond cake with toasted-sugar edges is the perfect match for sweet fruit and a dollop of softly whipped cream.

Aromatic and flavorful, this tender butter cake features both coconut and cardamom for a floral, tropical take on classic yellow cake.

With six layers of spice cake and an orchard’s worth of apple butter, this Appalachian apple stack cake IS the party.

In case it’s not clear: We really like cake. A lot.

Calling all project bakers: Here’s a recipe for building a beautiful dome cake, just like the ones you’ve seen all over the internet. 

Inspired by Brazilian bolo de cenoura, this carrot cake skips the tedious step of grating carrots and blends them right into the batter instead. 

Cleverly designed to be gluten-, dairy-, and mixer-free, this brownie-like dessert is a great choice for anyone, anytime.

If there’s only one cake you ever learn to make, let it be this: a classic with soft, colorful vanilla cake layers and a rich chocolate-sour cream frosting.

Indulge your “Great British Baking Show” yearnings with this jam-filled, cream-slathered classic best enjoyed with a cup of tea. 

A smidge of almond extract delivers a boost of flavor to our best vanilla cake recipe, and the cream cheese buttercream frosting takes it over the top.

In case the blood orange caramel cascading over this cake isn’t tempting enough, the tender crumb is also delicately perfumed with woodsy rosemary sugar.

This flourless chocolate cake features meringue both in the batter and on top, which bakes into a light and crispy shell with beautiful swirls.

This light, coffee-flavored cake is a fun twist on the decadent classic, with layers of Kahlúa-soaked ladyfingers set between a sweet mascarpone filling.

Your regular old crumb cake gets a fall makeover with this pumpkin and spice-spiked version.

Classic caramel apples get reimagined as a cake, complete with a glossy top and soft, custardy interior.

Salted whipped cream, a sweet coconut soak, and a slick of jam make this tres leches cake extraordinarily good.

Sick of summer squash? Not with this ultra-moist, fudgy chocolate zucchini bread.

Luscious lime caramel is the star of this gooey, show-stopping, peak summer dessert.