Olive Oil–Brown Sugar Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Sugarplum Gingerbread Bundt Cake
New York Apple-Cider Crumb Cake
Peaches and Cream Upside-Down Cake
Honeyed Fig and Pistachio Upside-Down Cake
Upside-Down Pineapple Hummingbird Cake
Strawberry Shortcake with Yogurt Cream
Beet Red Velvet Roulade with Strawberry Cream Cheese
Almond Sponge Cake with Olive Oil Lemon Curd
Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Green Tea Chocolate Cake with Matcha Marshmallow Frosting
Chocolate Mousse Cake with Mocha Mascarpone
Hazelnut Dacquoise with Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Coffee Pavé
Golden Cupcakes with Honey-Mascarpone Frosting
Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
Double-Date Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes
Cakes are the perfect dessert for bringing happiness to any group of people. Whether they’re sliced for a casual family meal, a gathering of friends, or a graduation blowout, they raise the level of joy in every setting. They comfort those who mourn and remind the lonely they’re loved. In the pages that follow, there’s a cake for every occasion.
These cakes have more grains and produce (and less fat and sugar) than the classics, but they are just as tender and comforting.
Although the techniques vary, here are a few general guidelines.
Because some of these recipes use less familiar grains, it’s important to stick to the types and proportions given or follow the substitution instructions.
Prepare the pans as directed so the bottoms of the cakes don’t stick.
If you have a kitchen scale, use it. Ratios matter, and dry ingredients settle differently in different measuring cups.
If you see any clumps when whisking your dry ingredients, sift them instead of continuing to whisk. Cocoa power, almond flour, and confectioners’ sugar are especially prone to clumping.
Overmixing, especially once the eggs and flour have been added, can lead to a gummy or tough texture. Undermixing can leave dry clods in the baked batter or prevent the structure needed from developing.
The baking times that follow were thoroughly tested—but not in your oven. Because ovens differ, the best indicator of when the cake is done isn’t the timer, but the cake’s look and feel. Start checking at the low end of the baking time range, or even earlier if you know your oven runs hot. Pull the cake out as soon as it is done. It will continue baking a bit more from the residual heat in the pan. Butter and sugar add moisture’since those are proportionally lower in the recipes here, an overbaked cake will taste especially dry.
With a few exceptions, these cakes need to be completely cooled before slicing and serving. Warm cakes are hard to cut neatly and can taste pasty or rubbery. These cakes are worth the wait.