Delicious Cakes That Are Incredibly Simple To Make
Whether you want to throw together a quick cake from scratch using items you already have in your fridge and pantry, or want to jazz up a store-bought cake mix, there are a plethora of delicious and simple cake recipes out there that will make you look like a baking superstar. Not sure where to start? I have compiled the best of the best of the sure-fire, easy cake recipes from You Tube and beyond, that will wow your friends and family in no time. So what are you waiting for? Let's get baking!
Ice cream sandwich cake
Think it would be tricky to make an ice cream cake? Not at all — if you happen to have a box of rectangular ice cream sandwiches lying around. Yes, the kind you could buy in your grammar school cafeteria. The ice cream sandwiches are layered in cake-like fashion, and drizzled with your favorite combo of chocolate and caramel sauces. Freeze the entire creation, then cover liberally with whipped topping. Freeze again and decorate with more sauce. Look at you! You just made an ice cream sandwich cake.
Icebox cake
Nothing could be simpler than a cake that you don't even need to bake. And that's the brilliance of an ice box cake — all that cakey magic happens right there in your refrigerator, for a cool, refreshing summertime, or anytime cake. The most basic of recipes, like Grandma Jo makes in the video above, layers graham crackers with vanilla and chocolate pudding. But you can get much more creative than that. Variations include s'mores icebox cake, oreo icebox cake, strawberry icebox cake...once you have the basic formula down, you can take it in almost any direction you like.
Pound cake
If you're ready for some real baking, but want to start out gently, consider a classic pound cake. The original recipe from way back in the 1700s called for one pound each of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs, hence the pound cake name. Modern recipes have tweaked the measurements somewhat, but it's still a buttery and versatile cake that can be topped or glazed in a delicious variety of ways, or simply served plain. The video above shows the most basic of pound cake recipes, and employs a food processor for mixing the batter, though you will be fine using a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer as well. Helpful hint: all-purpose flour, not cake flour, is the best choice for a dense pound cake. If you are aiming for lighter and fluffier, choose cake flour.
Poke cake
Poke cake, the easy and delicious favorite of pot-lucks and barbecues, is a dream-come true for anyone looking to get their baking on without having to make anything from scratch. All you need is a store-bought cake mix that you bake up in a cake pan, and poke liberally with holes. The holes are filled with your preference of sauce, gelatin, syrup, or pudding. The cake is then frosted and topped with whatever your little heart desires. Try a banana pudding poke cake, strawberry poke cake, Boston cream poke cake, or even the gorgeous Skittles poke cake from the video above. Want to make it even easier on yourself? Skip the part where you bake the cake, and simply make a poke cake from a ready-made boxed cake, or a stale cake that was just waiting to be resurrected.
Crumb cake
If you're just starting to get your feet wet with baking, a simple crumb cake (sometimes called a New York crumb, or a coffee cake) is a great recipe to have in your arsenal. This moist and tender cake is topped with a delectable streusel topping, made by pouring melted butter over flour and brown sugar, then lightly mixing until it forms those drool-worthy bites of buttery crumb few people can resist. In the above video, Meredith shows us how we can take the basic recipe for crumb cake a step further with the addition of fresh berries and a zippy lemon glaze.
Sponge cake
At first glance a sponge cake doesn't appear all that different than a pound cake...after all, the basic ingredients are all there in both — flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. The difference, however, lies in the measurements of each ingredient. A sponge cake is made with far less butter than a pound cake, and the eggs are beaten until they resemble an airy foam, which makes for a lighter, sponge-like cake that bounces back when pressed upon. The basic recipe, as seen above, can be further enhanced with layers of jam for a classic tea-time Victoria sponge cake. A sponge cake's lighter cousin, the angel food cake, uses no butter or egg yolks, and employs cream of tartar as a whipping aid.
Upside down cake
So what makes it an upside down cake? The unbaked cake is layered in it's pan in reverse. The caramel and fruit top of the cake goes on the bottom, with the cake layer on top. Once baked, the cake is carefully flipped upside down and plated, for a golden and moist topping. The most popular upside down cake is a pineapple upside down cake, like seen in the above video, and is made simple with the use of canned pineapple rings and maraschino cherries. You don't have to stop with pineapple, however. An upside down cake can also be made with a variety of other fruits like peach, or apple.
German apple cake
German apple cake, or German "apfelkuchen," if you want to be precise, is a super-easy variation on sponge cake. What I love about the above video is Miss Streusel's method of blending cut apples right into the cake batter, for a moist and flavorful cake throughout. She then tops the cake with more apple, and bakes it to perfection. The cake is glazed liberally with apricot jelly. Speaking of jelly... anyone else totally jelly of her uber cool, bright purple stand mixer? Or was that just me?
Tres leches cake
While the precise origins of tres leches (three milk) cake are something of a debate, there is no debating how delicious a sponge cake can be when you soak it in not one, but three different kinds of milk — evaporated, condensed, and heavy cream or milk. For a beautifully simple version, try the one in the video that smartly utilizes a store-bought cake mix, and is topped with fresh fruit. If you prefer to make yours from scratch, follow this handy dandy tutorial.
Dump cake
Dump cake? Yes, dump cake. Because you literally dump all of the ingredients into a greased cake pan and then dump the pan in the oven. Boxed cake mix is sprinkled over your choice of crushed, canned fruits and/or pie fillings. Layer some sliced or melted butter on top, and you're good to go. Noreen, in the above video, makes her dump cake with peaches and pineapple, but variations for dump cake abound. You could try a black forest dump cake, a blueberry dump cake, a salted caramel dump cake, or a pumpkin dump cake... to name a few.
No bake cheesecake
A traditional cheesecake recipe, while rewarding, can be a bit daunting, and nobody's got time for that. Enter the no bake cheesecake. Watch in the above video how to set a classic graham cracker crust in the fridge, and top it off with a beaten mixture of cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar, and heavy cream. The cake chills in the fridge overnight and emerges as the no bake cheesecake you've always dreamed of. Get even more creative by trying an Oreo no bake cheesecake, or one made with Nutella.
Mug cake
And now for the granddaddy, or should I say grandbaby, of all easy cake recipes. Enter, the mug cake. The perfect, single-serving, fast-cooking cake that uses the very same vessel for all of your mixing, baking, and serving needs. You Tube sensation, Gemma, seen above at Bigger Bolder Baking, shares her taste-tested and approved recipes for not one, but five, mug cakes that can all be cooked in one minute. And the best part? You don't have to preheat your oven — all of Gemma's one-minute mug cakes are cooked in the microwave. Try her delightfully merry recipe for a funfetti mug cake, topped with her homemade bubblegum icing. She even offers a gluten-free mug cake recipe that uses mashed bananas and peanut butter, that can be enjoyed as soon as you hear the beep. What could be easier?