Tessa Huff

Zucchini bread was one of the first things I learned how to bake from scratch. It was full of oil and topped with a mound of cream cheese frosting. My 20-year-old self was in love. Nowadays, especially since I bake so often, I try to look for healthier options. These apple-zucchini muffins are the perfect compromise — with their oat crumble topping and dollop of sweetened crème fraîche, that super-rich cream cheese frosting is hardly missed.

Let’s get real. Nobody wants to turn on the oven during these hot summer months. But that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying some sweet treats every now and then, especially when they involve sun-ripened berries. While this recipe does require a few minutes spent over the stove, it is completely worth it. Served in individual glasses, this creamy cheesecake custard is paired with a strawberry-raspberry gelee, all atop a graham cracker crust.

The cookie you can totally eat three or four of!

‘Tis the season of gift giving, celebrating, and feasting! Your social calendar is probably filling up with family gatherings, friendly get-togethers, and holiday parties, while the number of shopping days left are disappearing before our eyes. Afraid to face the mall crowds or can’t seem to find enough hours in the day, but hate showing up empty-handed?

This buttercream whips up super fluffy super quickly, and is literally the icing on the cake of any homemade treat.

Julia Child famously said that a party without cake is just a meeting. Preach it, Julia. If you were to take one thing away from our story this week about layer cakes, it is that there is always a good reason to make and eat cake. From elaborate dinner parties to bridal brunches to afternoon tea with a close friend, layer cakes make any occasion better. This week we have five gorgeous cake recipes, each studded with little tips and intelligence on baking better layer cakes. Which is yours?

This Riesling rhubarb crisp cake has it all: tender white cake, rhubarb-strawberry compote and matching buttercream, a crispy oat crumble, and a fanciful, ruffled finish. It’s the perfect cake to bake when you’re feeling like showing off your cake-baking skills or looking for a weekend project to tackle when you want to spend the day in the kitchen.

When you’re looking for something beyond vanilla, but still aiming to please a crowd, try a classic lemon cake. Something as simple as lemon might get overlooked in a world of salted caramel, velvety raspberry, and matcha-everything, but this lemon supreme cake is anything but ordinary. With three layers of lemon-soaked cake blanketed in satiny vanilla buttercream, this little cake makes for an exceptional dessert for anything from a bridal brunch to afternoon tea to a birthday party.

Craving cake, but don’t necessarily have an occasion to make one for? Well then it’s a pretty good thing that you don’t need to wait until your birthday to make this honey-apple cake. This recipe falls under what I call “casual cakes,” meaning cakes that are perfectly suitable for Sunday brunch, afternoon tea, or any random Wednesday night when you need to fulfill a relentless cake craving without having to make something completely over the top.

Strawberry shortcake is the ambassador of summer, showing off juicy berries like jewels. It’s usually a humble dessert built on a biscuit, but here we turn it into a towering showstopper of cake, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Yet it brings drama without fuss; this is layer cake the easy way. This cake stands four-layers tall, each one too gorgeous on its own to be hidden behind a blanket of frosting or smothering of chocolate sauce (although that totally works for other cakes).

Want to make a stunning layer cake, but lack confidence in your cake decorating skills? Well, here’s a secret — you don’t need to be a professional pastry chef to create gorgeous layer cakes at home. Of course, practice makes perfect, but there are some tips and tricks for making beautiful cakes now! If you want an elegant layer cake with some added insurance in the decorating department, then this chocolate coconut cake is for you.

Imagine the tines of your forking breaking through, almost snapping, the velvety crust of a fruit tart. It crumbles a bit, but is far from dry — each bite more rich and buttery than the last. That tender crust is typically known as pâte sablée. Unlike a flaky pie crust, pâte sablée is crisp and more cookie-like. The name literally means “sandy,” although it’s anything but.

It’s a special occasion (or just a random Tuesday), and you are looking for a way to celebrate. We have just the thing: cake. A gorgeous, mouth-watering, decorated layer cake, to be exact! Have you just baked up your favorite cake recipe, made a batch of frosting, and don’t know what to do next? It’s time to learn how to stack and decorate cakes like a pro and start creating sky-high, sugar-filled masterpieces!

Have you graduated from boxed cake mix? Want to step up your cake-making game? Lucky for all of us, baking a cake from scratch is completely doable for the home baker. If you are just starting out, we have some great tips and just the right recipe for you. Classic yellow butter cake straight from your own oven – what’s better than that? Let’s get started!