Cake

Meet your new favorite show-stopping Christmas dessert: a spiced chocolate cake topped with a cream cheese mousse studded with dried fruit and nuts and glazed with brandy-spiked melted chocolate. Serve it with sparklers on top for a memorable entrance.

Top this dense and decadent ricotta cheesecake with a crackly, crunchy almond candy for an easy and elegant presentation.

Using melted white chocolate in the vanilla portion of this marble cake adds a complex toastiness, and makes a luxurious textural match for the chocolate swirls—even if you don't like white chocolate, give it a try.

This festive winter cake relies on applesauce and—believe it or not—mayonnaise to make a dairy-free chocolate dessert that’s perfect for the holidays.

An addition of goat cheese makes for a cheesecake that tastes perfectly authentic, but without the gumminess that can plague some recipes. Thanks to an initial burst of high heat, it puffs gently in the oven, creating a uniquely light but creamy consistency.

Instead of the usual apple pie, opt for this spiced apple cake for Thanksgiving. Grated apples give it a moist, dense texture, while a caramel glaze and candied walnuts make it truly showstopping.

Serve these Thanksgiving cupcakes at a holiday potluck, or on a party dessert buffet.

Even die-hard butter devotees admit that olive oil makes exceptionally good cakes.

These cranberry orange cupcakes with an orange citrus glaze are the perfect way to surprise your sweetheart on a lazy Sunday morning, and the rest of the family will definitely enjoy them, too.

You don't need mystical powers to conjure the magical swirl in this spooky cake that's perfect for a Halloween party.

This simple berry-studded cake recipe is a real keeper.

Okay, this is actually a cheesecake, but it's so creamy and light that you won't care what it's called, you'll just ask for more.

The sweet, fresh flavor of these orange cupcakes, studded with tart cranberries (fresh and frozen work equally well), makes for a vibrant holiday dessert as worthy of Thanksgiving as any pie.