Classic Cake Recipes

Serious home bakers will want to master these crowd-pleasing recipes for cheesecake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, and more.

First up: What could make traditional red velvet cake even better? Chocolate, of course!

Great swoops of glossy frosting make this a wonderfully exuberant cake for chocoholics -- at birthdays and other times.

Watch how to create a swoopy finish with the frosting.

The classic sponge cake is not just plain vanilla, it's an essential recipe in every baker's repetoire. It's a versatile cake that can be customized with a variety of fillings and icings.

The name of this old-fashioned cake comes from its simple measuring formula: one cup butter, two cups sugar, three cups flour, and four eggs. Our take on this classic comes with sweetened whipped cream, custardy lemon curd, and fresh mixed berries.

Moist, mildly spiced cake flecked with carrots and pecans and enveloped by a generous coating of cream-cheese frosting -- it doesn't get better than this.

This American classic, not a pie at all, first made by a Boston chef in the 1850s, is a cake: two magnificent sponge layers with custard-cream filling and a shiny chocolate glaze.

Six layers -- yes, six -- of moist, flavorful cake sandwiched with a decadent coconut cream and flaked coconut, then frosted with our classic Seven-Minute Frosting: This cake is totally the tops.

The combination of yellow butter cake and rich chocolate frosting is classic for a reason and a favorite for many.

Light on effort (the mixer does the work) and heavy on flavor, a good pound cake is rich and buttery; dense but not heavy. This is our favorite, definitive vanilla pound cake recipe.

Learn more about pound cake.

A crumbly graham-cracker crust and silky cream-cheese filling make this New York-style cheesecake a winner.

Some cakes just don't need frosting. Why hide the marble glory of this simple loaf cake?

Luscious layers that are a combination of banana, pineapple, and coconut give this cake its tropical sweet taste. Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Pineapple Slices complete the glorious picture.