Welcome to BA Bake Club, a community of curious bakers. Each month senior test kitchen editors Jesse Szewczyk and Shilpa Uskokovic share a must-make recipe and dive deep on why it works. Come bake and learn with us—ask questions, share pics, listen to our podcast, and lots more here. This one-bowl, no-mixer-needed chocolate cake has … Read more
Sticky toffee pudding recipes first appeared in English kitchens and cookbooks in the late 20th century. It became a signature of Cumbria, England, and proudly sits alongside plum pudding and other classic British desserts. However, some sweet tooth scholars believe the cake recipe originated in Canada. As one story goes, a WW II–era Canadian Royal … Read more
This cocoa cake asks little and gives so much. But you don’t have to take our word for it: This is “hands down my favorite cake to bake,” writes one reviewer, who goes on to say it’s “always reliable and always delicious.” Another reports to have made the recipe no less than five times, and … Read more
The titular ingredient in this Italian-style olive oil cake recipe provides most of its flavor, so choose yours with care. Extra-virgin olive oil gives the dessert a vibrant taste, while lesser grades will produce subtler results. Both are reliably delicious so long as you use a high-quality olive oil. Adding lemon juice and zest elicits … Read more
This vegan Coca-Cola cake is a delightful twist on a retro dessert, which dates back to the 1950s. Like me, this recipe was born in the South. The combination of rich cocoa with the subtle sweetness of Coca-Cola creates a moist, tender crumb and a pleasantly bittersweet flavor. Using hot Coca-Cola mimics the boiling-water method … Read more
My mother is many things, including being a gifted cook, but she is decidedly not a baker. Her roll call of desserts has remained the same over 30 years: no-bake cheesecake, apple crisp (always made in collaboration with my dad), and lemon drizzle cake. The hotly requested cake was baked in a tube pan and, … Read more
Sometimes summer fruit needs a landing spot, a gentle cushion of cake or crust when there’s just too much fruit, or it’s too ripe, or too raw to eat out of hand. This sturdy almond-polenta cake is the answer, the rubbly texture of the corn echoed in the delicate crunch of the figs. Using instant … Read more
Caramel cake is hyper-regional, an icon of the American South thought to have originated in the Mississippi Delta region. For the uninitiated, picture a cloud-soft yellow cake encased in a golden frosting with the taste and texture of fudge, the kind you might buy on holiday in a seaside town. It’s the frosting that gives … Read more
For some events, nothing but a towering layer cake will do. But most of the time, we want fuss-free sheet cake recipes that easily feed a crowd or carve neatly into snacky slivers and slices. While there are good reasons to construct a multilayered situation using cakes baked in a sheet pan, this collection is … Read more
A good crumb cake—like the ones I grew up with in New Jersey—is top heavy. The simple vanilla cake supports a thick second story of tender, cinnamon-laced, brown sugar streusel and a snowcap of powdered sugar. At New Jersey bakeries, crumb cake is typically sold by the rectangular slice directly from the sheet pan; at … Read more