“Let them eat cake,” said Marie Antoinette, neatly solving centuries of crippling social inequality in a single, genius substitution of carbohydrates. If only it were always so easy. But why can’t it be? Cakes, being the bread of dessert, deserve a place on every table, and we’ve got the recipes to prove it.
Cakes are perhaps the ultimate dessert for hosting parties and get-togethers. This is because they can be prepared ahead of time, are infinitely customizable, and of course, are great for a quick breakfast the morning after. With the multitude of cake recipes out there, how is a cake-eater to choose? We’ve collected some great cake recipes over the years, from quick and easy cakes to complex, elaborate cake recipes. Read on.
Basic chocolate cake without baking powder
Don’t have baking powder? Did you know it’s totally possible to bake a cake completely without it? Not brownies, either: real, moist, fluffy chocolate cake. The secret to this cake’s incredible texture? Plain yogurt. The natural tanginess of the yogurt perfectly complements the bittersweet chocolate, bringing a remarkable complexity to this basic cake. Check out our recipe for chocolate cake without baking powder.
Soft white grape cake
Not a chocolate fan? Do you want to eat cake, but still feel healthy? If so, we understand, and we have the cake for you. This easy white grape cake is light, sweet, and fluffy, with a hint of natural fruitiness from the fresh grape flavor. It’s also a real looker: the grapes on the top cook and reduce, leaving their skins behind in little depressions, while the grapes on the bottom of the cake pan cook and caramelized, releasing their browned juices and flavors into the crispy bottom of the cake. It’s a pastry that is truly more than the sum of its parts. Add a bit of fruit to your cake with our easy grape cake recipe.
Buckwheat cake with lingonberries and meringue recipe
These cakes all too easy for you? Are the ingredients too easy to find at a standard grocery store? Have no fear. We’ve got a great cake recipe that will require visits to at least two different specialty shops. This buckwheat cake ups its exotic ingredient chops by making use of rare lingonberries from Scandinavia, a type of red, tart berry native to the scrubs of the northern tundra there. Next time you feel like being challenged, try making our buckwheat cake recipe. Bonus: this is one of our favorite gluten-free cake recipes!
One for the holidays: Eggnog cake
Don’t you just love eggnog? Sitting curled up by the fire with a nice book, sipping some eggnog… is there anything better? Well, it turns out there is: behold the recently discovered magnificence of eggnog cake. One part egg, two parts nog, all parts cake! It turns out that eggnog is the perfect ingredient for adding some extra decadent moistness to your favorite vanilla cake recipe (chocolate might drown out the subtle eggnog flavor). Enhance the characteristic taste by using eggnog spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, and don’t forget the frosting! What’s an eggnog cake recipe without delicious eggnog flavored frosting?
Simnel Cake: a cake for Easter
If you’ve been making your way down this list and are finding the cakes all a bit too easy, never fear. We have the overly-complicated and involved cake of your dreams! This Easter cake is a real stunner: the pleated decoration brings a twirling petticoat to mind, while the marzipan, nuts, and candied cherries add visual and textural interest. It’s truly a cake to impress: bring this one out for grandma to show her that you’re keeping things respectable in the family. A simnel cake is a special fruit-and-nut cake traditional to Easter, not quite as dense as a fruitcake, not as light as a normal cake, and complemented by plenty of marzipan. Tip: the decorations are what make this cake, so make sure you leave time for them!
Rocky road fridge cake recipe
The word cake has been stretched to its limits. Indeed, the boundaries of this word seem to blur and stretch at all times: witness this fridge cake, a cake that must not be baked. Instead of needing to be baked, these cakes hold themselves together thanks to the binding power of chilled butter and chocolate. If you get right down to it, recipes for fridge cakes have a lot more in common with frosting recipes than cake recipes… but who’s counting? This one draws inspiration from the famous chocolate, marshmallow, and walnut ice cream.
A cake by any other name
In this article, we have seen how far the modern cake has come. From its basic origins as a sweet type of bread, all the way down to gluten-free fridge cakes, the real lesson here is that a cake is what you want it to be. So go forth, young baker, and do not fear judgement: cakeness, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.
