59 Ridiculously Easy Cake Recipes for Beginners
Baking acakefrom scratch mightseemoverwhelming, but with the right recipe it can actually be stress-free and fun. There are plenty of easy cake recipes that are straightforward and simple. Here, we've gathered up an all-star collection of easy cakes, including buttery pound cakes,3-ingredientcakes, no-bake cheesecakes, classic Bundts, and so much more. Read on to discover 59 ridiculously easy cake recipes for beginners.
-
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell3/58Olive Oil Apple Cake With Spiced Sugar
Choose your fruitswisely with this one: Gala and Golden Delicious apples will simply melt into the cake, whereas firmer apples, like Granny Smiths, give it a coarser texture. The grated apple and the olive oil contribute moisture to a dessert that features the warm, spicy notes of cardamom and ginger.
-
-
-
-
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell7/58Orange Chocolate Loaf Cake From Florida
Baking legend Maida Heatterpicked this recipe up on a Florida orange grove, where it was served with—what else?—tall glasses of ice-cold OJ. With whipped cream in place of butter in the batter—and an orange-juice glaze applied after baking—it's a perfect afternoon snack.
-
-
-
-
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich11/58Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
This is the easiest chocolate cake in the world—perhaps in the universe! You don't even need eggs, butter, or milk, and you probably have all the ingredients on hand. This is one of the best easy cake recipes to rely on in a pinch because nothing needs to be creamed, beaten, or whipped. You literally just stir things together. It tastes like the best dark chocolate sponge cake you have ever eaten. Plus, you really can please all kinds of people with this one. It happensto be vegan, since there are no dairy products in it.
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks12/58Homemade Dump Cake With Peaches, Blueberries, and Pecans
The appeal of the “dump cake" is right there in the name: You just plop everything into a pan, throw it in the oven, and somehow wind up with a super-easy, fruit-forward crowd-pleaser of a dessert.The recipe Epi developedrevolves around fresh and frozen fruit and our equally easyHomemade Yellow Cake Mix, but you're welcome to use store-bought if you prefer.
-
-
-
-
-
Photo by William Meppem17/58Berry and Ricotta Slice
Preheat your oven to 325°F and create a smooth mixture of sugar, vanilla, ricotta, cream cheese, lemon juice, egg, and rice flour in your food processor. Spoon the mixture into a shallow pan lined with baking paper and pop it into the oven for 20 minutes. After it's cooled completely, top it off with berries and serve.
-
-
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell19/58Swirl Spice Cake
This might look like a relative of coffee cake—but don’t be fooled. The pecan streusel in this marbled loaf cake gets a complex punch of flavor from asavory-sweet spice blendthat includes ground coffee, dried orange peel, cardamom, and fennel seeds.
-
%2520Ben%2520Fink.jpg)
Photo by Ben Fink20/58Whipped Cream Cake
This cake, frombaking deity Rose Levy Beranbaum, contains no butter per se, but the heavy cream provides plenty of butterfat, plus an unparalleled moistness. (Andit can be used straight from the fridge—no softening required.)
-
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone22/58One-Bowl Milk Chocolate Cake With Chocolate-Caramel Frosting
Use yourfavorite milk chocolatefor this one: It's responsible for the rich, creamy flavor of both the cake and the frosting (where it partners perfectly with store-bought dulce de leche or caramel sauce).
-
Photo by Ed Anderson, Food Styling by George Dolese23/58Easy and Delicious Pan Cake
If you ever have to bust out a dessert in a hurry, you can always use this easy cake recipe. It requires minimal gear and cleanup, and you probably already have the simple ingredients in your pantry (sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar, ground coffee beans, unsweetened cocoa, and all-purpose flour).
-
-
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime25/58Grapefruit–Poppy Seed Loaf Cake with Yogurt Glaze
A creamy yogurt glaze ups the tang factor of this loaf cake—and makes it totally suitable to serve forbreakfast.
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi26/58Gooey Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake with Caramel Sauce and Peanuts
-
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova28/58Swans Down 1-2-3-4 Pound Cake
As its name suggests, this classicpound cakerecipe relies on an easy-to-remember formula: 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs.
-
-
-
Teri Lyn Fisher31/58Red Velvet Mug Cake
There's a“natural” way to coloryour red velvet cake, and then there's this recipe—which doesn't think you should feel bad about a little food coloring. Or baking your cake in the microwave.
-
Photo by Johnny Autry32/58Chocolate Sour Cream Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Zucchini is aversatile superhero of the kitchenthat brings an unparalleled moistness to baked goods—including this easy, delicious chocolate cake, which is finished with a rich, ganache-like glaze.
-
-
Erin Kunkel34/58Texas Sheet Cake
When time is tight and you need to throw something together for dessert, this easy cake recipe is the perfect crowd-pleaser. It's a large, thin layer of tender chocolate cake slathered with gooey chocolate frosting and sprinkled with toasted nuts. The frosting gets poured onto the cake when they are both still warm.
-
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Claire Saffitz35/58Lemon Cake with Fruit
Inspired by Marian Burros'sfamous New York Times plum torte recipe, this cake works with a variety of fruits, from pears and apples to peaches and plums to fresh blackberries and blueberries.
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova36/58Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake
-
-
-
-
-
Photo by Lisa Hubbard41/58Cherry-Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake
A little balsamic vinegar balances the sweetness of the cherries and enhances their flavor. Serve the cake withiced coffeein the afternoon or with whipped cream or ice cream for dessert.
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks42/58Crispy Peanut Butter Snack Cake
Imagine all your favorite snacks teamed up and made a whole new snack: a super snack.A snackcake.That's this: A base of peanut butter holds together all sorts of crunchy add-ins, including pretzels, peanuts, and potato chips. Drizzle it—obviously—with chocolate.
-
-
-
-
-
Jamie Chung47/58Coconut Southern Comfort Layer Cake
Don't let the good looks of this eight-layer beauty fool you; it's easy to make. Bake four cakes (we used 9" round metal cake pans, but disposable ones work fine), then slice each in half. Finish with toasted coconut, a knockout garnish that's also forgiving—it'll mask a less-than-perfect frosting job.
-
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks48/583-Ingredient Japanese Cheesecake
This cheesecake—an internet sensation—is one part soufflé and one part custard, resulting in a lightly sweet and airy cake that is super simple to make.
-
-
-
-
58/58Classic Vanilla Cake
The fine, moist crumb of this cake makes it perfect for any type of filling or frosting—especiallybuttercream frosting! But if you're still not surewhich cake recipe to make, check out our interactive matrix, which is arranged by prep time and texture.
