Layer Cake

In England, plum pudding was required at Christmas in the nineteenth century, and it still is today. This luscious cake takes its cues from that beloved dessert. It combines the flavors of a plum pudding in a chocolate cake and iced it with fudge frosting.

In my New York shop, this recipe calls for a trio of chocolate mousses, white, milk, and dark. But in order to simplify — and to give milk chocolate a chance to shine — I have eliminated the white chocolate mousse. It is a simple layer cake consisting of chocolate génoise and the mousses.

A quick one-bowl cake perfect for a last-minute birthday celebration or part dessert. Use the Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting recipe that follows or your favorite purchased one.

It's hard to improve on chocolate layer cake, but we think we've done just that, thanks to a hint of mint. Offer vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt alongside.

For a fancifully tall cake, we used 3 (7-inch) round pans. It can also be baked in 3 (8-inch) pans, though the cake will be slightly lower. We tested this recipe with several different brands of chocolate, and found Lindt and Ghirardelli had the best flavor for this particular cake. Ours is garnished with unsprayed, organically grown rose petals, but be as creative as you'd like with yours.

An old-fashioned layer cake topped with a lusciously sticky icing.

Make two trifles to serve 30 guests, or make one and round out the dessert table with fruitcake and goodies from the bakery.

Like the cake layers, the frosting is made in two separate batches; each batch yields about eight cups. Ivy is for decoration only; please remove ivy before cutting cakes.

The warm caramel flavors in cola complement the molasses and brown sugar in this cake. The remaining candied kumquats are delicious served over vanilla ice cream. For best results, use Philadelphia-brand cream cheese in the frosting.

You'll need a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip to create the decorative rosettes. Begin making this cake two days before you plan to serve it.

The milk chocolate frosting provides a subtle and delicious contrast to the dark chocolate cake. Either imported or domestic milk chocolate works well.

Our spin on the beloved classic, featuring pineapple jam and cream cheese frosting.

Inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s iconic Cake Slice, these three distinct layers start with one simple batter.

This buttermilk layer cake features a cloud-soft crumb and brown-butter-caramel frosting.

Our best gluten-free chocolate cake recipe combines oat and rice flours for a tender fudgy all-occasion dessert. The pudding-like frosting is just a bonus.

This showstopper has confetti cake layers, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, and rainbow sprinkles. Let’s party.

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

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