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
149 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
149
About 2 hours
or to save this recipe.
Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake
Lisa Donovan
182 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
182
2 hours 20 minutes
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Chocolate Layer Cake
Claire Saffitz
1202 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,202
2¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Classic White Cake
Yossy Arefi
250 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
250
2 hours 20 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Strawberry and Cream Layer Cake
Claire Saffitz
2451 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,451
2 hours
or to save this recipe.
S’mores Layer Cake
Yossy Arefi
189 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
189
3¾ hours
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Strawberry Layer Cake
Lisa Donovan
197 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
197
2 hours 40 minutes
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Hummingbird Cake
Vallery Lomas
1798 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,798
1 hour
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Easy Chocolate Cake
Yossy Arefi
1614 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,614
About 2 hours
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Lemon Layer Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Yossy Arefi
410 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
410
About 2 hours
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Gingerbread Layer Cake With Mascarpone Cream
Samantha Seneviratne
238 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
238
3 hours 25 minutes
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Chocolate Irish Cream Cake
Yossy Arefi
272 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
272
3 hours
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Birthday Cake
Eric Kim
413 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
413
1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooling and chilling
or to save this recipe.
Rainbow Sprinkle Cake
Julia Moskin, Candace Nelson
4447 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
4,447
1½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream
Melissa Clark
685 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
685
2½ hours
or to save this recipe.
Rum-Raisin Carrot Cake
Vaughn Vreeland
263 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
263
2¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Baked Alaska
Lidey Heuck
134 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
134
About 7 hours 20 minutes
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Vanilla Cake
Lidey Heuck
470 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
470
1 hour and 50 minutes
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Toasted Sesame and Citrus Wedding Cake
Natasha Pickowicz
192 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
192
18 hours
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Classic Birthday Cake
Alison Roman
2300 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,300
About 1 hour 15 minutes plus chilling
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Alabama Lemon ‘Cheese’ Cake
The New York Times, Tracy K. Smith
451 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
451
About 3 hours, including time to cool
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Lane Cake
Yewande Komolafe
892 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
892
1¼ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Strawberry Jelly Cake
Vallery Lomas
317 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
317
1½ hours
or to save this recipe.
Southern Red Velvet Cake
Kim Severson, Adams Extract Company
3565 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,565
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
Cranberry-Lemon Stripe Cake
Tejal Rao, Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh
563 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
563
2 hours, plus baking/cooling
or to save this recipe.
Coconut Layer Cake
Melissa Clark, Larissa Raphael
1743 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,743
2 hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Buttermilk Layer Cake
Jennifer Steinhauer, "Joy of Cooking"
1142 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,142
1 hour and 20 minutes, plus cooling time
or to save this recipe.
Easy
Almond Birthday Cake With Sherry-Lemon Buttercream
Melissa Clark
619 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
619
1½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate-Pumpkin Layer Cake
Florence Fabricant, John Down
1479 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,479
1 hour 30 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Yellow Layer Cake With Chocolate Frosting
Alex Witchel, Junior’s
289 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
289
1 hour 45 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Little Layer Cake
Martha Meadows
489 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
489
2½ hours
or to save this recipe.
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
1524 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,524
1 hour 30 minutes
or to save this recipe.
All-in-One Chocolate Cake
Nigella Lawson
1333 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,333
1 hour 15 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Cardamom Cream Cake
Melissa Clark
971 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
971
2½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Coffee Walnut Layer Cake
Nigella Lawson
1939 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,939
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
Classic Coconut Cake
Alison Roman
1633 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,633
1¼ hours, plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Lemon Cake With Coconut Icing
The New York Times
661 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
661
1 hour 15 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake
Alex Witchel, Alice’s Tea Cup
1019 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,019
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
German Chocolate Cake
Samantha Seneviratne
1277 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,277
1¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Boston Cream Pie
Samantha Seneviratne
1450 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,450
About 1 hour, plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate-Chocolate Birthday Cake
Dorie Greenspan
3374 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,374
Baking and cooling: About 3 hours
or to save this recipe.
Pumpkin Layer Cake With Caramel Buttercream
Yossy Arefi
1745 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,745
2 hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Brown Sugar Layer Cake With Cranberry Buttercream
Yossy Arefi
1971 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,971
2 hours plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Rainbow Cake
Erin Jeanne McDowell
683 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
683
2 hours, plus 1½ hours’ chilling
or to save this recipe.
Blackout Cake
The New York Times, Ebinger’s
2291 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,291
3 hours plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Devil’s-Food Cake With Toasted-Marshmallow Frosting
Tejal Rao, Stella Parks
391 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
391
1 hour plus baking/cooling
or to save this recipe.
Devil’s Food Cake With Hazelnut Praline
Yotam Ottolenghi
690 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
690
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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