Editors’ Collection

Lovely Layer Cakes

They’re not just for birthdays.

Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.

Recipes

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake
Yossy Arefi
47 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
47
About 2 hours
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Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake
Lisa Donovan
135 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
135
2 hours 20 minutes
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Chocolate Layer Cake
Claire Saffitz
936 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
936
2¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Classic White Cake
Yossy Arefi
196 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
196
2 hours 20 minutes
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Strawberry and Cream Layer Cake
Claire Saffitz
2393 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,393
2 hours
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S’mores Layer Cake
Yossy Arefi
35 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
35
3¾ hours
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Strawberry Layer Cake
Lisa Donovan
177 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
177
2 hours 40 minutes
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Hummingbird Cake
Vallery Lomas
1752 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,752
1 hour
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Easy Chocolate Cake
Yossy Arefi
711 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
711
About 2 hours
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Lemon Layer Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Yossy Arefi
172 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
172
About 2 hours
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Gingerbread Layer Cake With Mascarpone Cream
Samantha Seneviratne
162 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
162
3 hours 25 minutes
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Chocolate Irish Cream Cake
Yossy Arefi
150 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
150
3 hours
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Birthday Cake
Eric Kim
280 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
280
1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooling and chilling
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Rainbow Sprinkle Cake
Julia Moskin, Candace Nelson
4356 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
4,356
1½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream
Melissa Clark
668 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
668
2½ hours
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Rum-Raisin Carrot Cake
Vaughn Vreeland
197 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
197
2¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Baked Alaska
Lidey Heuck
103 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
103
About 7 hours 20 minutes
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Vanilla Cake
Lidey Heuck
329 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
329
1 hour and 50 minutes
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Toasted Sesame and Citrus Wedding Cake
Natasha Pickowicz
175 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
175
18 hours
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Classic Birthday Cake
Alison Roman
2248 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,248
About 1 hour 15 minutes plus chilling
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Alabama Lemon ‘Cheese’ Cake
The New York Times, Tracy K. Smith
448 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
448
About 3 hours, including time to cool
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Lane Cake
Yewande Komolafe
884 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
884
1¼ hours, plus cooling
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Strawberry Jelly Cake
Vallery Lomas
315 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
315
1½ hours
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Southern Red Velvet Cake
Kim Severson, Adams Extract Company
3554 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,554
1 hour
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Cranberry-Lemon Stripe Cake
Tejal Rao, Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh
556 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
556
2 hours, plus baking/cooling
or to save this recipe.
Coconut Layer Cake
Melissa Clark, Larissa Raphael
1692 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,692
2 hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Buttermilk Layer Cake
Jennifer Steinhauer, "Joy of Cooking"
1127 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,127
1 hour and 20 minutes, plus cooling time
or to save this recipe.
Easy
Almond Birthday Cake With Sherry-Lemon Buttercream
Melissa Clark
612 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
612
1½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate-Pumpkin Layer Cake
Florence Fabricant, John Down
1444 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,444
1 hour 30 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Yellow Layer Cake With Chocolate Frosting
Alex Witchel, Junior’s
287 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
287
1 hour 45 minutes
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Chocolate Little Layer Cake
Martha Meadows
489 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
489
2½ hours
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Neapolitan Cake
Christine Muhlke, Gail Monaghan
68 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
68
About 45 minutes, plus 2 hours' refrigeration
or to save this recipe.
Red Velvet Cake
Florence Fabricant, Elisa Strauss
1404 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,404
1 hour 30 minutes
or to save this recipe.
All-in-One Chocolate Cake
Nigella Lawson
1310 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,310
1 hour 15 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Cardamom Cream Cake
Melissa Clark
951 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
951
2½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Coffee Walnut Layer Cake
Nigella Lawson
1839 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,839
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
Classic Coconut Cake
Alison Roman
1590 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,590
1¼ hours, plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Lemon Cake With Coconut Icing
The New York Times
648 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
648
1 hour 15 minutes
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Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake
Alex Witchel, Alice’s Tea Cup
1001 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,001
1 hour
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German Chocolate Cake
Samantha Seneviratne
1211 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,211
1¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Boston Cream Pie
Samantha Seneviratne
1370 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,370
About 1 hour, plus chilling
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Chocolate-Chocolate Birthday Cake
Dorie Greenspan
3326 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,326
Baking and cooling: About 3 hours
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Pumpkin Layer Cake With Caramel Buttercream
Yossy Arefi
1631 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,631
2 hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Brown Sugar Layer Cake With Cranberry Buttercream
Yossy Arefi
1772 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,772
2 hours plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Rainbow Cake
Erin Jeanne McDowell
677 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
677
2 hours, plus 1½ hours’ chilling
or to save this recipe.
Blackout Cake
The New York Times, Ebinger’s
2268 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,268
3 hours plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Devil’s-Food Cake With Toasted-Marshmallow Frosting
Tejal Rao, Stella Parks
386 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
386
1 hour plus baking/cooling
or to save this recipe.
Devil’s Food Cake With Hazelnut Praline
Yotam Ottolenghi
671 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
671
1½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
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Lovely Layer Cakes

Recipes

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake

Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake

Chocolate Layer Cake

Classic White Cake

Strawberry and Cream Layer Cake

S’mores Layer Cake

Strawberry Layer Cake

Hummingbird Cake

Easy Chocolate Cake

Lemon Layer Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Gingerbread Layer Cake With Mascarpone Cream

Chocolate Irish Cream Cake

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Rainbow Sprinkle Cake

Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream

Rum-Raisin Carrot Cake

Baked Alaska

Vanilla Cake

Toasted Sesame and Citrus Wedding Cake

Classic Birthday Cake

Alabama Lemon ‘Cheese’ Cake

Lane Cake

Strawberry Jelly Cake

Southern Red Velvet Cake

Cranberry-Lemon Stripe Cake

Coconut Layer Cake

Buttermilk Layer Cake

Almond Birthday Cake With Sherry-Lemon Buttercream

Chocolate-Pumpkin Layer Cake

Yellow Layer Cake With Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Little Layer Cake

Neapolitan Cake

Red Velvet Cake

All-in-One Chocolate Cake

Cardamom Cream Cake

Coffee Walnut Layer Cake

Classic Coconut Cake

Lemon Cake With Coconut Icing

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake

German Chocolate Cake

Boston Cream Pie

Chocolate-Chocolate Birthday Cake

Pumpkin Layer Cake With Caramel Buttercream

Brown Sugar Layer Cake With Cranberry Buttercream

Rainbow Cake

Blackout Cake

Devil’s-Food Cake With Toasted-Marshmallow Frosting

Devil’s Food Cake With Hazelnut Praline

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