Ina Garten’s Beattie’s Chocolate cake is our family’s chocolate cake recipe. Instead of icing we put banana slices and whipped cream in the center and strawberries and whipped cream on top. Yum!
@anomander This Cal grad would go to Cocolat in the gourmet ghetto in Berkeley, near Chez Panisse. I think that may have been the original location, but then again, maybe I’m just competitive with that other school in the south with the legendary tuba player 
I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try a Cocolat cake… but you’ve certainly given me something to mull over!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/irish-whiskey-cake/9997/?utm_term=.1b4018e1c7e6
Although it starts with a box cake, you add a lot to it and it is delicious. I don’t use as much whiskey in the glaze as it calls for.
Thanks @BunsenBurner. I am attending a dinner party in early March and that looks like a contender for dessert.
My mom’s apple cake:
Cut several (depending on apple size and your preferences) apples into small pieces and spread on the bottom of a buttered and floured pan. Beat 1 cup of sugar with 5-6 eggs with a standing mixer until white. Gently mix in 1 cup of flour. Pour the batter over the apples and bake. Turn upside down to serve.
@katliamom - https://loveswah.com/2015/03/guinness-layer-cake-with-whiskey-ganache-and-baileys-icing/
I had to hide the Irish whiskey from my husband so that I would have it available for the cake. The cake was delicious!
@yucca – your mom’s apple cake recipe is simplicity itself!
My favorite is a fruit flan cake. It’s covered on top with your favorite fruit. I like it with mandarin oranges, strawberries, blueberries and kiwi with a coating of slithered almonds all around the cake. Instead of a plain gelatin on top it’s yummy with a mango puree.
@raclut – I’ve never used a cake ring… necessary?
I don’t think a cake ring is necessary.
Groan! You terrible people, why do you post these delicious dishes, to torment those of us watching our weight? The problem is, if I made one of these tasty cakes, I would singlehandedly eat it all. For.breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But I can dream… 
These look so good!!
@busdriver11 - there is a reason I do not bake as often as I used to… with only two of us in the house, I would keep eating that darn cake dawn to dusk. 
I now bake vicariously through my CC buddies!
I like that…vicarious baking!
Maybe if I do some exceptionally challenging long distance exercise, I will feel like I can make one of these incredibly delicious cakes! Time to get off my butt
@BunsenBurner , I’m going to try your Napoleon cake this weekend… frozen puff pastry is sort of against my own from-scratch rule, but it sounds SO tempting!
Samin Nosrat’s Ginger Cake is so easy and so good. It’s in her Salt Fat Acid Heat cookbook. It also makes amazing cupcakes; halve the recipe for 12 cupcakes and cook for 20 minutes.
Ginger and Molasses Cake
1 cup (4 oz) peeled, thinly sliced fresh ginger (about 5 oz unpeeled)
1 cup (7 oz) sugar
1 cup neutral tasting oil
1 cup molasses
2 1/3 cups (12 oz) flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp coarse salt or 1 tsp regular
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water
2 large eggs at room temperature
Whipped cream, to serve
Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Set a rack in the upper third of the oven. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake tins.
Purée fresh ginger and sugar in a food processor til completely smooth. Pour mixture into a bowl and add oil and molasses. Whisk to combine.
In another bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper, salt and baking soda and set aside.
Add boiling water to the sugar-oil mixture and whisk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour into it the oil-water mixture. Gradually whisk in eggs and stir til smooth. The batter will be thin.
Divide batter between two tins. Tap filled tins against the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles, then bake for 38-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool cakes completely on wire rack, then turn them from tins.
Frost one layer with plenty of whipped cream and top with the second layer.
This Blueberry :Lemon Pound Cake from Epicurious is a family favorite–my daughter always wants it for her birthday:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/blueberry-lemon-pound-cake-10533
The lemon and berries keep it from being too sweet. (And I’ll take my bonus points for including fruit, thanks.) No icing, but a lemon syrup is poured over the cake after it comes out of the oven and holes have been poked all over with a skewer. It’s filling, so the recipe serves a lot of people.
This recipe meets the parameters of Not Too Sweet, Made From Scratch, Bonus Points for Inclusion of Fruit.
This is a favorite summer dessert in our family. We skip the lemon glaze, and use fresh whipped cream. This recipe works well for gluten free adaption. It’s a pretty dessert, even without the lemon glaze. Easy to make and good to bring to a party.
Upside-Down Berry Cornmeal Cake (from 2007 Better Homes & Garden magazine)
2-2.5 c. fresh blueberries and/or raspberries and/or blackberries (frozen berries work too).
1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
1 T. finely snipped fresh basil
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
Fresh basil and/or mint for garnish, optional
For added sweetness, whisk together 1/3 c. powdered sugar, 2 t. milk, 1 t. lemon juice and lightly brush on warm cake.
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8-inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper, grease. Arrange 1.5 c. berries in bottom of pan; set aside. In bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, basil, baking powder, salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until combines; pour over berries. Spread evenly.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan five minutes. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen sides. Invert. Remove parchment. Top with remaining berries, basil, and mint.
I’ve used coconut oil in this recipe for the vegetable oil and it turned out well. I’ve never tried it with butter. I’ve baked this too long and boy, it really diminishes the yumminess when it’s on the dry side, so try not to over-bake!
Woo-hoo, more recipes! Thank you!
Cornmeal cake with berries!!! Yummmm! ?
Does anyone have recipes appropriate for vegans (e.g., no eggs, dairy, or honey)? I sometimes bring treats to the office, and I like to be able to accommodate my vegan coworker. I know there are lots of cookbooks with recipes for vegans but I have a hard time finding cake recipes that don’t use expensive substitutes, such as vegan butter and coconut oil. I do have flaxseed, which can be used an egg substitute, on hand. Thanks.