31 Easy Cake Recipes Every Home Baker Will Love From simple loaf to snacking cakes—and everything in between. Close Credit: Chris Simpson When you need a simple dessert for a party, birthday, or just because, turn to this collection of easy-to-make and easy-to-love cakes. From coffee cakes to snacking cakes to single-layer cakes packed with fruit, our easy cake recipes are light lifts for the baker but always deliver on flavor. Some have a simple glazing or a quick frosting; others are so good-looking straight out of the pan that no decoration is needed. We recommend giving each one a try. 21 Easy, Crowd-Pleasing Sheet Cakes for Any Occasion 01 of 31 Red-Velvet Sheet Cake Credit: Con Poulos We cut back on the food coloring, but not on the flavor for this sheet cake rendition of the popular dessert. The balance of cocoa powder, butter, sugar, eggs, and sour cream gives it an almost fudge-like flavor. Swoops of tangy cream cheese frosting finish this cake in style. View Recipe 02 of 31 Strawberry Shortcakes Credit: Christopher Testani These shortcakes are actually vanilla cupcakes—not the biscuits you might typically expect. Easy to make, they don't require a mixer and you can skip frosting and serve with macerated strawberries and whipped cream instead. View Recipe 03 of 31 Apple-Cider Donut Cake Credit: Jonathan Lovekin Essentially, this is a giant cakey donut made in a Bundt pan. It's a tad healthy, too, thanks to the combination of whole-wheat flour and applesauce. The latter keeps the cake moist. View Recipe 04 of 31 Spiced Snacking Cake Credit: Lennart Weibull This casual cake is spiced with cinnamon and cardamom, and is as good with a cup of coffee as it is after dinner. An easy lemon glaze is all the decoration it needs. View Recipe 05 of 31 Lemon Snack Cake With Raspberry-Cream Cheese Frosting Credit: Chris Simpson This single-layer confection skips the fuss and saves you the fun of frosting. The easy cream cheese icing is colored by and flavored with ground freeze-dried raspberries—and you can apply it in generous swoops (then hide any flaws with fresh raspberries). View Recipe 16 Easy Baking Recipes for When You're Craving Something Homemade 06 of 31 Simple Layer Cake With Vanilla Frosting Just the thing for birthdays (or just because!), this all-purpose yellow layer cake with vanilla frosting is a classic. View Recipe 07 of 31 Chocolate Bundt Cake Credit: Con Poulos This bundt cake's elegance belies its simple make-ahead preparation. View Recipe 08 of 31 Lemon-Olive Oil Cake Credit: Paola + Murray Extra-virgin olive oil adds moisture and a fruity flavor to this simple yellow cake. Use a mix of summer berries as a colorful topping, along with some whipped mascarpone cream. View Recipe 09 of 31 Martha's Skillet Plum Cake Credit: Mike Krautter This moist plum cake is bound to become your go-to recipe when you need a speedy, tasty dessert. A one-bowl skillet cake is as easy as it gets, and it's so versatile that you can serve it alongside homemade whipped cream, fresh fruits, or even a dollop of sour cream on top for a tangy kick. View Recipe 10 of 31 Vanilla Pound Cake Credit: Reed Davis Classic pound cake made from scratch with just six ingredients and three simple steps—is there anything better? The result is a cake that hits the sweet spot. View Recipe 11 of 31 Strawberry Cake The ultimate cake for strawberry lovers, this easy, buttery treat contains a whole pound of berries—and smells as good as it tastes. View Recipe 12 of 31 Gingerbread Snacking Cake If you love ginger, but worry that making gingerbread seems complicated, try this simpler alternative. View Recipe 13 of 31 Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake It's simple, yes, but this tropical cake is also exciting and delicious. Toasted coconut balances the sweetness of pineapple and provides a delectably crunchy topping. View Recipe 14 of 31 Chocolate Pudding Cake Credit: José Manuel Picayo Rivera Made with just six ingredients, this delicate flourless cake has a decadent, pudding-like center. View Recipe 15 of 31 Banana-Pecan Cake Here's another one-layer cake that's as easy to make as it is lovely to look at, not to mention a clever way to use ripe bananas. View Recipe 16 of 31 Warm Almond-Cherry Cake Frozen cherries are juicy and intense when baked into this tender cake, and they're easy enough to find at your local supermarket no matter the time of year. View Recipe 17 of 31 Applesauce Cake What makes this favorite cake so delightful? It's full of apple flavor and super moist, thanks to the applesauce and honey. Plus, it's tall, good-looking, and doesn't need filling or frosting. View Recipe 18 of 31 Blueberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake With Lemon Cream Blueberries, sour cream, and a lemon-cream topping: These few extra ingredients and flavors make this cake all the more varied and exciting. Your guests will never guess you simply jazzed up a classic pound cake recipe. View Recipe 19 of 31 Cinnamon-Raisin Pound Cake With Basic Glaze Add cinnamon and raisins to our classic pound cake recipe and you've got yourself a treat worth bragging about. View Recipe 20 of 31 Spiced Carrot Cake If you can shred carrots (you can!), you can make a carrot cake. Trust us. The only thing missing from this light dessert is a guilty conscience. View Recipe 21 of 31 Cinnamon Coffee Cake Meaning "something strewn" in Old German, streusel is easy to put together—and then to throw on top of this sour-cream coffee cake. View Recipe 22 of 31 Walnut Honey Cake There's nothing fancy to prepare here—just one layer of cake—but the fragrant toasted walnuts and sweet honey make it extra sophisticated. View Recipe 23 of 31 Cherry Sheet Cake Feed a crowd with this easy sheet cake. We used frozen cherries to make a fruit-studded cake that you can throw together even when fresh cherries aren't in season. Spruce it up with a bit of simple whipped cream, and you're set. View Recipe 24 of 31 Pear Upside-Down Cake Juicy Bartlett pears and sweet pineapple give this skillet cake a fruity, punchy twist. Plus, you can make it in a skillet and serve it straight away from the oven. How's that for an easy dessert? View Recipe 25 of 31 Orange Cornmeal Cake Easy to make, but sophisticated, too, this is just the type of cake you'd enjoy after lunch in Italy. View Recipe 26 of 31 Blueberry Crumb Cake Since the blueberries are distributed throughout the cake and the crumbs are simply scattered atop it, you don't have to worry about being a perfectionist with this recipe. View Recipe 27 of 31 Apple-Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake Credit: John Kernick Take a few minutes to arrange the apple slices in neat circles on the bottom of the pan—when the cake is baked and inverted, you'll find them decorating the top. It's as simple and pretty as that. View Recipe 28 of 31 Easy Chocolate Cake It's all in the title. You don't have to be a master baker to deliver a high-quality chocolate cake for your next celebration. View Recipe 29 of 31 Pumpkin Spice Cake With Honey Frosting Credit: David Loftus Show off this seasonally appropriate and deliciously spicy pumpkin cake at your next fall gathering. Don't forget to top it with the honey-infused cream cheese frosting for a mesh of delicate, autumnal flavors. View Recipe 30 of 31 Chocolate-Vanilla Marble Cakes Credit: Romulo Yanes When chocolate meets vanilla, the result is a cake with twice the appeal. The marble effect is so easy to recreate—all it takes is a simple swirl of the batters with a knife, and these mini versions are just the right size to share or snack on. View Recipe 31 of 31 Easy Lemon Cake Credit: Jake Sternquist Two whole lemons—rinds and all—are the secret to this simple cake. Serve it as is or dress it up with a little whipped cream, raspberries, or lemon glaze. 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