The Daily Cake: February 2015

No Super Bowl party or tailgate is complete without a spice cake decorated like a football field. Pick the colors of the opposing teams for the end zone frosting and use pretzels and the goal posts.
Super Bowl Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe

There's nothing better than cake with your morning coffee, especially when it's baked with earthy spices and topped with walnuts, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Make-Ahead Coffee Cake Recipe

If cornbread were transformed into a sweet, moist, fluffy golden cake, this would be it. Topped with whipped cream and crème fraîche, and curls of candied orange zest, this unique confection is a conversation piece.

Orange Blossom Chiffon Cake Recipe

If you've never known the glory of a mayonnaise cake, you're in for a treat! The staple ingredient yields an ultra-moist crumb and keeps the sugar from taking over your taste buds.

Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake Recipe

With rich buttercream inside and fluffy white frosting on the outside, this tempting layer cake is truly a masterpiece in the dessert world. The candied fruit garnishes take the cake to another level of beautiful.

White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream and Seven-Minute Frosting Recipe

Two classic dessert favorites collide in this sensational treat that will please the crowds. Vanilla wafers add texture and contrast well with the creamy cheesecake.

Banana Pudding Cheesecake Recipe

Muffin pans make the perfect baking vessels for these little fig cakes. Gussy them up by spooning a dollop or piping a silver dollar of hard sauce on top, and then garnish them with halved fresh figs, fresh herbs, or even pecan halves.
Buttermilk-Glazed Mini Fig Cakes with Vanilla Hard Sauce Recipe

The addition of ground red pepper and ground chipotle chiles gives this pudding cake a tasty kick. Don't worry about it being too spicy because the sweetness from the chocolate balances it well.

Mexican Chocolate Pudding Cake Recipe

A polenta cake was the model for this dense, moist dessert. As the sliced lemons bake under the cake and absorb butter and brown sugar, they take on a marmalade-like quality.

Meyer Lemon Upside-Down Cake Recipe

This downhome dessert gets points for being gluten-free but we also love that it is baked (and served) in a cast iron skillet. It actually tastes better as it sits and can be made up to 4 days ahead.

Gluten-Free Buttermilk-Pecan-Walnut Cake Recipe

Believe it: This gorgeous dessert uses only five ingredients--sugar, butter, eggs, cake flour, and cocoa (we don't count water, salt, and cooking spray). The chocolate sauce that tops the individual cakes is luscious, thick, and glossy, with full-on chocolate flavor.

Five-Ingredient Chocolate Cakes Recipe

There is something so deliciously charming about a perfectly executed upside-down cake. Make this version now while winter pears are at their best.

Pear and Ginger Upside-Down Cake Recipe

This hands-on cake is so fun to make! Alternate spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter in the pan and draw a knife through to create a marbled effect. Don't forget to drizzle with plenty of chocolate icing.

Chocolate Marble Cake Recipe

Turn a classic red velvet layer cake into cupcakes and decorate with candy hearts, red and pink sprinkles, red sugar pearls or white nonpareils for a treat that's perfect for Valentine's Day Parties.

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

This divine spice cake gets a generous smathering of rich, boozy glaze. For a sheer, saucy glaze, use less powdered sugar.

Pecan Spice Cake with Caramel-Rum Glaze Recipe

These adorable mini cakes are the perfect excuse to grab a big bag of cherries when you see them in your favorite grocery store. The fresh ruby-red fruits are the perfect complement to the rich chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Cherry Cakes Recipe

A cajun classic, this spice cake gets much of its sweet flavor from a Southern staple, cane syrup. To dress up the cake for serving, we used a fleur-de-lis stencil to create a powdered sugar design atop this glorious dark and deeply delicious cake.

Acadian Syrup Cake with Roasted Pears and Caramel Sauce Recipe

Old-fashioned buttermilk is an irreplaceable Southern staple. These little chocolate cakes showcase the prized ingredient perfectly in the batter as well as the glaze.

Mini Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes Recipe

Swirls of rich, fluffy marshmallow frosting and flakes of toasted coconut are the crowning glory of this luscious layer cake. Did we mention it's completely gluten-free?

Coconut Layer Cake with Marshmallow Frosting Recipe

These adorable cake pops are always a hit with kids and at parties. You can get creative with toppings and experiment! Find lollipop sticks at craft stores.

Angel Food Cake Pops Recipe

Zucchini squash is available year-round and is the secret to keeping this cake moist.

Chocolate-Zucchini Loaf Cake Recipe

Tart cranberries, sweet cherry preserves and fresh orange juice make a fabulous filling for a classic white cake recipe that always stands the test of time.

White Cake with Cranberry Filling and Orange Buttercream Recipe

An ideal make-ahead breakfast, this coffee cake will win rave reviews at family gatherings. Substitute extra cream for rum in the sauce, if you prefer.

Bananas Foster Coffee Cake with Vanilla-Rum Sauce Recipe

Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg give this gluten-free cake its signature spiced flavor, and applesauce lends moistness while allowing you to use less oil. A drizzle of golden caramel syrup is the finishing touch, making this the perfect "ta-da!" dessert to serve at your next dinner party or ladies' tea.
Spiced Caramel Bundt Cake Recipe

This three-layer strawberry cake gets its delicious flavor from chopped fresh strawberries and strawberry gelatin. Slather with the homemade strawberry buttercream frosting for a rich cake that's truly out of this world. 
Triple-Decker Strawberry Cake Recipe

Unlike their full-fat cousins, which get their softness from oil and butter, light cakes rely less on fat and more on sugar and liquids. These cupcakes bake perfectly light brown around the edges, with a super moist result.

Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Frosting Recipe

Tres leches ("three milks"), a cake drenched in sweet, milky syrup and topped with meringue, has nearly overtaken flan as a favorite dessert in Latino restaurants. We lightened the traditional recipe by about 245 calories a serving by using lower-fat versions of the milks that give the cake its name.
Tres Leches Cake Recipe

Bake a cake that would make mama proud. German chocolate cakes are known for being rich, indulgent cakes, so enjoy a slice with a glass of milk.

Mama's German Chocolate Cake Recipe