The Daily Cake: July 2015

Decorate these easy cheesecake bars as American flags by using blueberries for the star section and piping jelly in thin lines to resemble the strips. It's a great make-ahead dessert for summer entertaining.

American Flag Cheesecake Bars Recipe

Celebrate the 4th of July with a sweet salute! This patriotic spin on ice-cream cake is the coolest dessert of the summer!
Red, White, and Blue Ice-Cream Cake Recipe

This is a real dandy. It would be a great addition to your July 4th celebration spread. The amusing effect of the swirled frosting can be duplicated using any colors for any occasion. It makes a fun Christmas cupcake using red and green or a pretty spring cupcake using pink and green.

Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes Recipe

Fresh fruit hits the dessert table in this delicious, colorful, and patriotic cake. It's beautiful on display and delicious after a hearty dinner.
Red, White, and Blue Cake Recipe

Blackberries flourish all summer long in the South. They grow anywhere and everywhere and are free for the picking. They have prickly thorns, but if you're careful, you can have a bucketful of plump, juicy berries in no time. The only cost may be a few scratches and purple fingers, but you'll have gained lots of berries to share—if you're feeling generous.
Blackberry Summer Cupcakes Recipe

Create a memorable dessert packaged in a pint-size liner. These too-cute-to-eat treats get their vibrant flavor from coconut extract.
Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Fire up your grill for dessert! Keep the flame still going and make luscious Grilled Pound Cake with Lemon Cream and Blueberries. The lightly grilled cake will be a favorite all around.
Grilled Pound Cake with Blueberries Recipe

Enjoy these pound cake bites for breakfast or as a late-night snack by the fire, or split and toast them with butter. Vanilla bean paste, which can be found at specialty food stores, gives these cakes a sublime goodness. And just as with classic pound cake, we loved the crusty top edges on these, too.
Baby Pound Cakes Recipe

We didn't think pound cake could get any better until Mary Allen suggested we grill it. Choose homemade, frozen, or fresh store-bought cake.
Cream-Filled Grilled Pound Cake Recipe

Sweet, ripe strawberries steal the show in this mile-high, must-try dessert.

Strawberry Ice Cream Shortcakes Recipe

Most "Pinned" dessert ever--improved.

Lemonade Layer Cake, developed by Ann Taylor Pittman as a recipe makeover, has been loved by readers since it debuted in April 2002. When we retested it for this story, we felt we could make big improvements in the texture and flavor. Instead of using a lemonade product, we've made a concentrated fresh lemonade syrup that adds zippy citrus hits to the more-tender cake.
Fresh Lemonade Cake Recipe

Coconut Cake makes an indulgent end-of-meal dessert. Coconut milk, found with the Asian foods in the supermarket, makes this cake moist and rich.
Double-Coconut Cake Recipe

Frozen, packaged pound cake works well here; the dense texture cuts evenly and doesn't crumble. Use homemade or deli pound cake if desired, but steer clear of varieties with nuts and chocolate chips, which make skewering tricky.
Grilled Berries and Pound Cake with Bourbon-Butterscotch Sauce Recipe

Turn basic ice cream sandwiches into an impressive frozen dessert in no time with only four ingredients.

Easy Ice Cream Cake Recipe

This creamy cheesecake has a glistening topping of caramelized, candylike orange slices. Prep and Cook Time: about 2 1/4 hours, plus at least 3 1/2 hours to cool and chill. Notes: For the topping, slice the whole orange as thinly and evenly as possible. If this seems difficult, cut it in half lengthwise, then crosswise in thin slices.
Orange Ribbon Cheesecake Recipe

This one-layer cake is so fun to make with your family and the kids. The banana cake is moist and the brown butter icing is full of toasted, nutty flavor. It's the perfect afternoon treat!

Banana Snack Cake with Brown-Butter Icing Recipe

This soft, moist, and super delicious Chocolate Buttermilk Cake can cure even the strongest chocolate cravings. Perfect for any occasion, this cake never fails to satisfy.
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake Recipe

A favorite flavor combination—lemon and poppy seeds—enhances this version of the classic Bundt cake.
Lemon-Poppy Seed Bundt Cake Recipe

This fancy ice cream cake is made with soft ladyfingers and layers of strawberry ice cream, strawberry sorbet, and a creamy strawberry-marshmallow cream mixture. This cake doesn't require any baking, so it's perfect for those hot days in the middle of summer!

Strawberry Semifreddo Shortcake Recipe

"I came up with this recipe for some health-conscious friends, but it doesn't taste too healthy!"

Stephanie Chain, 27, St. Marys, Ga.
Whole-Wheat Banana-Carrot Cupcakes Recipe

This dutch-oven dessert cooks more evenly if you use charcoal rather than wood for fuel.
Coconut and Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

These tiny treats are all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth. They're lemon cupcakes with an easy lemon curd filling, and they're topped with Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting and toasted, shredded coconut.

Mini Lemon-Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

Send your tastebuds to the tropics with this beach-inspired cake. One bite and you'll find yourself sailing away! Stir pineapple into coconut ice cream, layer it all up, and you're good to go.

Piña Colada Ice Cream Cake Recipe

Mark Okumura, executive pastry chef at Alan Wong's Hawaii Regional Cuisine Marketplace in Honolulu, as well as the Pineapple Room, gives cheesecake a triple tropical twist with pineapple, coconut (haupia), and macadamia nuts.
Pineapple Cheesecake with Haupia Sauce Recipe

The combination of blueberries and lemon elevates the flavor of this simple, sugar-glazed bundt cake.  This decadent cake offers triple-good lemon flavor with lemon juice and zest in the cake batter as well as lemon juice in the glaze. 
Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake Recipe

Top strawberry-filled cupcakes with a sweet orange juice glaze and top with a fresh strawberry for bright and cheery dessert.

Orange-Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

Peachy Almond Shortcakes make a divine dessert when using ripe, locally gorwn peaches.
Peachy Almond Shortcakes Recipe

Garnish this strawberry layer cake with fresh strawberry halves for a pretty presentation. You can use fresh orange juice instead of Grand Marnier in the cream cheese frosting.
Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe

As pretty as petits fours, these luscious little two-bite gems can be finished with any kind of berry or preserves. Get ahead, and bake the cheesecakes in advance. After baking, they'll freeze up to one month. Thaw and top with preserves and fruit before serving.
Petite Blueberry Cheesecakes Recipe

The berry and chocolate flavors in Zinfandel pop in sweet, late-harvest versions. You can't go wrong when your dessert includes them too. Prep and Cook Time: about 1 hour. Notes: You can make the shortcakes up to a day ahead of time; just let cakes cool completely, then wrap airtight and store at room temperature. You can also make the chocolate sauce a day ahead of time; to rewarm, stir it gently over low heat.
Chocolate-chip Shortcakes with Berries Recipe