18 Delicious Cake Recipes to Make Every Day Feel Like Your Birthday

These easy cake recipes prove that baking a cake doesn't have to be a big production.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
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and
The Serious Eats Team
The Serious Eats Team
At Serious Eats, we’re a team of self-proclaimed food nerds who are ever-curious about the “why” behind cooking. The staff has worked in restaurants, test kitchens, bakeries, and other notable publications, bringing extensive culinary and editorial expertise to the table.
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Published December 16, 2024
Side view of cake

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

Cake has always been my jam, ever since I was a kid watching a schoolmate pop adorable little cakes out of her Easy-Bake Oven. Alas, my mom refused to buy me one, insisting I crack open a Betty Crocker cookbook and learn how to use a real oven—thus setting me on the path to becoming a pastry chef. While I loved making fancy-pants creations at work, I almost always baked simple cakes at home.

Let's face it, sometimes we just want cake, and these easy cake recipes provide ways to satisfy those cravings any time of the day or night. Many of them are one-pan deals—from streusel-topped skillet coffee cake with warm spices to Texas sheet cake with fudgy glaze and chewy, coconutty Filipino rice cake. We also have foolproof recipes for angel food and olive oil cakes that will appeal to beginners and pros alike. So, crank up those ovens and let us eat cake!

  • Classic Pound Cake

    Overhead view of classic pound cake

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    A thick slab of a well-made pound cake is a thing of beauty on its own, but also a wonderful canvas for a dusting of powdered sugar, dollops of whipped cream, or the season's best fruit. We slightly retooled the classic recipe to create a foolproof, ultra-plush version.

  • Hot Milk Cake

    Side view of hot milk cake

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    The tender, airy cake is almost as delicate as a chiffon cake or genoise, but with just enough heft to feel like a lighter version of a vanilla butter cake. It's a dessert that’s delicious on its own, as an accompaniment to ice cream, used as a base for an icebox cake, or layered with buttercream. Plus, it's fantastically easy to make. 

  • Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

    Side view of cake

    Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

    Made with flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and a few other pantry staples, this rich, fudgy cake is what recipe developer Rebecca Frey makes when she finds herself short on eggs or having a late-night chocolate craving.

  • Pumpkin Skillet Coffee Cake With Streusel Topping

    A wedge of pumpkin skillet coffee cake on a plate

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    This one-pan ode to fall is the love child between a hearty muffin and nutty, streusel-topped coffee cake, with pumpkin pie and blondie vibes thrown in.

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  • Chocolate Skillet Cake With Milk Chocolate Frosting

    Chocolate skillet cake iced with milk chocolate frosting and sprinkled with tri-colored chocolate pearls

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    A 10" cast iron skillet is the ideal vessel for this fudgy no-mixer-required chocolate cake slathered in milk chocolate frosting (all you Reese's lovers can opt for peanut butter frosting instead). It's just the right size for a small family dessert.

  • Hummingbird Skillet Cake

    A plated wedge of Hummingbird cake served from a skillet

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    There's no rule that says this Southern classic has to be tall layer cake. Puréed banana and pineapple gives this moist, hearty cake a tropical twist, while tangy cream cheese frosting provides an appropriate amount of richness.

  • Easy One-Bowl Coffee Cake

    Digging into a piece of coffee cake on a plate

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    It doesn't get any easier than Stella's foolproof one-bowl method of achieving a perfectly buttery, tender crumble-topped cake that's sure to have you lingering over your morning coffee.

  • Texas Sheet Cake

    A square of pecan-topped Texas sheet cake on a white plate

    No Texas barbecue—or any large gathering, for that matter—is complete without a big slab of fluffy chocolate cake gloriously drenched in a fudgy glaze and showered in toasted pecans.

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  • Gingerbread Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

    Overhead shot of a fork piercing a piece of gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting on a plate

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Although deceptively simple, this tender, fluffy sheet cake has a bold flavor profile thanks to molasses and a heady mix of ginger, black pepper, Chinese five-spice powder, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon—deliciously offset by tangy, rich cream cream frosting.

  • Old-Fashioned Jelly Roll

    A classic jelly roll cake dusted with powdered sugar

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Executing that perfect swirl of jammy filling is actually pretty easy if you follow Stella's method for making a flavorful stable sponge that you can roll effortlessly without a hint of cracking. Once you get the technique down, any combination of cake flavors and fillings will be a snap.

  • Classic Chiffon Cake with Vanilla Chantilly

    Serving up a slice of classic chiffon cake with vanilla chantilly and berries

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Classic Chiffon was the very first cake I learned how to bake from scratch as a kid, from a vintage 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook my mom bought at a garage sale. Stella's update makes for an even lighter, airer cake that can be paired with any number of frostings and fillings, including her super-thick and fruity food processor whipped cream.

  • Maple Angel Food Cake

    A slice of maple angel food cake served on a plate

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Like its cousin chiffon, angel food cake is all about simplicity, a light, airy texture, and, best of all, versatility. The technique for whipping the egg whites is the same as the one for basic angel food—here, Stella swapped out plain sugar for natural maple sugar to match the cooler seasons.

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  • Olive Oil Cake

    Digging into a slice of olive oil cake garnished with citrus segments

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Olive oil takes the spotlight in this ridiculously moist and tender cake that's so easy to make, it needs to be in every baker's repertoire. Neutral flavorings in the cake allow you to play with different types of olive oil.

  • Pistachio Cake

    A plated slice of pistachio cake

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik.

    Here, adding high-quality pistachio oil elevates the basic olive oil cake, while orange zest and orange flower water enhance the pistachio aroma.

  • Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake

    A plated slice of dairy-free chocolate cake dusted with powdered sugar

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Once again olive oil is the secret ingredient that keeps this easy-to-make chocolate cake impossibly moist, while also providing fruitiness and astringency that complements the cocoa. Whole wheat flour also adds toasty notes.

  • Basque Cheesecake

    Overhead shot of a Basque cheesecake with the parchment lining peeled back

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    In my opinion, this is hands down the easiest cheesecake to bake—and arguably one of the most delicious. There's no crust to fiddle with and no water bath. You mix the batter, pour it into a parchment-lined springform pan, sprinkle on some sugar, and bake at high heat. To quote Ina Garten, "How easy is that?"

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  • Bibingka (Filipino Rice Cake)

    Overhead view of bibingka in cast iron pan

    Serious Eats / Rezel Kealoha

    Traditionally a Christmastime treat in the Philippines, Yana Gilbuena's version of bibingka, or Filipino rice cake, is baked in a banana leaf-lined cast iron pan and topped with caramelized young coconut.

  • Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

    Overhead view of a whole Apple Cider Dough Cake

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    Want the flavors of apple cider doughnuts without all the mess and effort of frying? This buttery, warmly spiced bundt cake has all the fall apple-y, cinnamon sugar goodness and none of the hassle.

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