Layer Cake

Tall and beautiful, sweet and tart, this cake has lots of lemon flavor and plenty of style, too. It's the perfect finale for a St. Patrick's Day dinner or other special occasion.

Root vegetables were often used to lend sweetness to eighteenth-century cakes and puddings. The carrot cake layers in this recipe are sandwiched with marmalade and iced with a cream cheese frosting.

Cream of coconut is added to the batter and the whipped cream frosting. You can make and chill the cake up to one day ahead.

For many Southerners the holidays wouldn't be the same without coconut cake. Because coconuts can be difficult nuts to crack — especially for cooks new to the task — we offer an easy method that involves baking the coconut briefly (which does not alter the coconut's flavor appreciably). If the coconut doesn't crack while in the oven, it will once force is applied.

A thick layer of pure white chocolate truffle separates the amaretto-brushed layers, and a bit more truffle filling is used to flavor the whipped cream icing.

This fluffy Lady Baltimore cake is layered with toasted pecans, dried figs, raisins, and frosted in a thick, luscious Swiss meringue.

You'll need two dozen lemon leaves or camellia leaves to make the chocolate decoration. If you don't have unsprayed leaves from your own or a friend's garden, get them from a florist.

This recipe yields an extra cake layer that can be reserved for another time. Wrap it tightly in foil, and freeze it for up to a month. Keeping the cake wrapped, defrost it at room temperature; then serve it with berries and whipped cream or ice cream.

Lemon curd separates the layers of this fine-crumbed, very-special-occasion cake. Get started at least one day ahead: The frosting base and lemon curd must chill overnight before using. For the frosting, high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina) works best.

Watch everyone’s eyes open wide when you serve this big four-layer cake.

For more information about melting chocolate, see Meltdown.

This recipe, given to me by my aunt, was given to her by her mother. Everyone agrees that it is absolutely delicious. The contrast between a sweet cake and a slightly spicy apple filling is piquant and delightful. The cake layers resemble large sugar cookies.

Hungary is justly renowned for its baked goods, and dobostorte, probably inspired by Turkish layered pastries such as baklava, is one of its best and arguably the favorite. This famous seven-layer cake is purportedly named after a nineteenth-century Budapest pastry master, but the idea of thin cake layers sandwiched with creamy frosting dates much further back. This version uses thin sponge cake layers complemented with a rich buttercream. To create a batter with proper consistency, it is preferable to weigh the flour and sugar. Since most home ovens heat unevenly, it is advisable not to bake too many layers at the same time.