Poundcakes, bundt cakes, fruit cakes, oh my! The cooling weather means it’s officially time to heat up the ovens and get baking. With National Baking Week fast approaching, we gathered up a selection of delectable cake recipes to make on your own or with others. Baking is a fun, communitive activity for the entire family that results in something irresistible… sweet treats!

14 Cake Recipes for National Baking Week and Beyond

Carrot Cardamom Bundt Cake

Imagine the warmth of ginger and the delicate aroma of cardamom infusing into every moist crumb, complemented by the sweet essence of almond extract and orange zest. You’ll find all that and more in our tantalizing Carrot Cardamom Bundt Cake recipe — a symphony of flavors that will awaken your taste buds.

Savory Zucchini Crepe Cake

Assemble a savory layer cake made with crepes and zucchini jam. Dust it with cheese and lardons before baking it to perfection in the oven. Serve it to the oohs and aahs of appreciative eaters. Even veggie-resistant kids may find this “cake” too good to push away.

Chocolate, Tahini and Honey Cake

This unusual and rich chocolate cake makes a great centerpiece for any celebratory spread. It’s easy to make yet tastes delicious.

Asian Pear Poundcake

A magnificent butter-free Pear Poundcake recipe that works best with Asian pears, but can be made with any ripe pear variety.

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Apple Cider Layer Cake

Classic holiday spices and a hint of whiskey combine in a moist apple cake with a dark chocolate frosting. It’s gluten-free to please a holiday crowd.

Strawberry Cake

This recipe adds to the dozens of versions we’ve read (and of the many we’ve made and enjoyed) of Marian Burros’s legendary 1979 Italian Plum Torte. Her dry batter absorbs fruit liquids in a gorgeous way, even as it rises and reaches up to blanket the fruit placed on top before baking.

Gluten-Free Pound Cake with Stewed Fruit and Mascarpone

This cake is whole-grain and gluten-free, but don’t let that scare you. Whole grains do add a little more texture, but It’s not cardboard. The main whole-grain flour is sorghum, often used in its sweetener form in southern cooking, whole-grain sorghum adds an earthy, nutty, mild, and sweet flavor to baking.

Granola Breakfast Cake

A flavorful and energy-rich breakfast cake recipe the entire family will love.

Savory Cheesecake with Roasted Grapes

This unique appetizer combines the richness of cream cheese, the umami of blue cheese, the crispy crunch of phyllo, and the wonderful flavor of roasted grapes. The dish makes an excellent starter or a Meatless Monday entrée served alongside a simply dressed green salad.

Olive Oil Plum Cake

If plums aren’t in season, any stone fruit works in this easy orange olive oil cake recipe.

Triple Lemon Poundcake

This poundcake recipe includes a familiar twist: lemon. Lemon gives a lively, complementary boost to the sweetness of desserts, making it a wonderful addition to many sweet dishes.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

We didn’t start off wanting to develop a gluten-free chocolate cake. But partway through the testing process, we ran out of all-purpose flour, and had to finish a version with Caputo gluten-free baking flour from Italy. The difference in texture was wonderful… rich, smooth, and moist.

Cranberry Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Perfect for a winter afternoon, this delicious cake recipe channels the sweetness of pineapple and the tartness of cranberries into something special.

Stone Fruit Polenta Cake

We like this polenta cake recipe with the last of the season’s red plums, but peaches and nectarines are great, too. (Don’t tell anyone, but sliced pears or apples work, as well!) The results are a perfect “wake up” treat for the house during the holidays, or something to serve with coffee later in the day.

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This unusual and rich chocolate cake makes a great centerpiece for any celebratory spread. It’s easy to make yet tastes delicious. The addition of runny honey and crunchy sesame snaps in the layers really enhances the texture. The decoration can be kept simple with broken sesame snaps and cake offcuts scattered across the top. In addition, I used a chocolate ganache drip topping, candied orange slices, chocolate-dipped frosted cranberries, and a Schleich moose. The perfect mountain scene for my son’s 5th birthday.

Chocolate, Tahini and Honey Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake:
250g butter (9oz)
125g chocolate (4.5oz)
185g soft light brown sugar (6.5oz)
75g caster sugar (2.5oz)
Sea salt
5 large eggs
1 tsp good-quality vanilla extract
75g ground almonds(2.5oz)
150g wholemeal self-raising flour (5oz)
100g rye or wholemeal flour (3.5oz)
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

For the Buttercream:
300g butter (10.5oz)
600g icing sugar (1lb 5oz)
4 tbsp tahini
125g runny honey (4.5oz)
2 packets sesame snaps (60g/2oz)
Black sesame seeds to decorate

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Cake:

1. Grease and line a 20cm/8-inch cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4 then place a large pan on low heat and pour in 125ml water. Dot in the butter and break in the chocolate. Add the soft light brown sugar, caster sugar, and a pinch of salt. Melt over a low heat and whisk until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 12-15 minutes before whisking in the eggs, vanilla, and ground almonds.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) then slowly pour into the molten chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until you have a smooth batter. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and pop in the oven for 55 minutes. When done, leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack, leaving to cool completely. When cooled, cut off the top if it has peaked a little (keep this to one side for decorating). Slice horizontally into 3 equal layers.

For the Buttercream:

1. Beat the butter in a freestanding mixer until pale and creamy. Sift in half the icing sugar and beat until smooth, then repeat with the remaining icing sugar. Beat for a further 4 minutes, then add the tahini and 50g (2oz) of honey, beating for 1 more minute until smooth.

Layering the Cake:

1. Dot a little buttercream on a cake stand and place one of the layers on top. Spoon on a quarter of the buttercream and use a spatula to level it. Drizzle with a little honey, sprinkle over a layer of the smashed sesame snaps, and top with the second sponge. Repeat, then top with the final sponge. Finish the cake by covering it with the remaining buttercream.

Decoration

Break up the remaining sesame snaps to decorate, along with any extra sponge.

Photograph and recipe adaptation by Ruth Greany. The original recipe from Olive Magazine appears here.

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Why should the littles have all the fun at Halloween? Those of us who’ve achieved our age of majority might like a treat that isn’t wrapped in foil or a garish-branded wrapper. We might like something hauntingly delicious… and we might even like seconds and thirds if what’s on offer has layers of Earl Grey caramel filling and rich chocolate ganache nested into a cocoa crust and drizzled with honey caramel. The flavors will revisit your mind when you least expect it. But since this specter will simply drive you into the kitchen rather than into madness, you will welcome the experience!

Earl of Darkness Chocolate Tart

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• Author: Anna Franklin

Print Recipe

Description

A darkly delicious tart for Halloween!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the crust:

• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 bag dried beans, for blind baking

For the earl grey caramel:

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 4 bags of Earl Grey tea
• ½ cup water
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp honey

For the chocolate ganache:

• 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Flaky sea salt, for garnishing

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

For the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, flour, egg yolks, and salt. Pulse until combined and a dough forms (it may not fully form into a ball, but easily pinches together to hold its shape between two fingers).
3. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 ½-10-inch tart plate with a removable bottom.
4. Prick the crust all over with a fork. Crunch up a piece of parchment paper and lay into the tart shell. Fill the shell with baking beans (this process is called blind baking). Bake for 15 minutes with the beans, then remove the tart shell and place the beans into a heatproof bowl. Return the tart shell to the oven for another 2 minutes to gently bake the bottom crust that was covered by the beans. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire baking rack to cool completely.

For the earl grey caramel:

1. Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Swirl around with your finger until the sugar is the consistency of wet sand. Be sure not to get sugar crystals on the side of the pot, they can burn and break the caramel. Just swirl the pan occasionally to help the sugar evenly cook.
2. While the sugar is cooking, microwave the heavy cream for 1½ minutes or until the cream is very hot; steep with 4 Earl Grey tea bags.
3. Once the caramel turns blonde in color, remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the heavy cream into the mixture and whisk to combine: the mixture will sputter, so be sure to hold the whisk with an oven mitt to avoid burning yourself! When you begin whisking, the mixture may seize up, but continue mixing and return the pan to low heat. The cream will soon melt into the caramel and become smooth and creamy.
4. Gently whisk in the butter and the salt. The mixture will bubble. Continue to simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes, whisking frequently.The caramel should be glossy and you see nice ribbons of caramel when whisking. To see if the caramel is ready to remove from the heat, dip a metal spoon into the caramel; it should easily coat the back of the spoon nicely. Allow the caramel on the spoon to cool slightly, then carefully run your finger down the center of the caramel on the back of the spoon and the canal in the caramel should be able to hold its shape.
5. Remove from the heat and whisk another 2-3 minutes to allow the caramel to begin cooling. The caramel will continue to thicken as it cools. Whisk in the honey once it’s slightly cooled and allow the caramel to cool for another 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, before pouring into the tart shell; this allows the caramel to thicken even more. Pour into the tart shell and refrigerate for an hour or two until set.

For the chocolate ganache:

1. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Once simmering, pour the cream over the chocolate and allow the chocolate to sit for a couple of minutes, then stir to combine until a smooth ganache forms.
2. Pour over the chilled tart and top with flaky sea salt. Place back into the fridge to set for another hour.
3. When ready to serve, remove the tart from the tart shell, slice,and serve. After slicing, feel free to let the slices sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes or so. Store the tart covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Recipe and Styling by Anna Franklin
Story by Keith Recker
Photography by Laura Petrilla

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