68 Best-Ever Thanksgiving Cake Recipes

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Bourbon-Chocolate Cake with Browned Buttercream Frosting

Recipe: Bourbon-Chocolate Cake with Browned Buttercream Frosting

Introducing a standard chocolate cake made lively (and maybe a tad naughty) by a generous splash of bourbon. We're not talking tablespoons, but rather a whole half cup. Combine with the nuttiness of the browned buttercream, and you've just found a suave and sophisticated addition to the dessert table.

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Cranberry-Orange Cake with Orange Buttercream

Recipe: Cranberry-Orange Cake with Orange Buttercream

Cranberries aren't only for sauce. Case in point: This cranberry-orange cake with orange buttercream. The zingy fruit is a great way to top off a decadent meal, thanks to the addition of fresh orange juice, orange zest, and sugared cranberries on top.

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Classic Chocolate Pound Cake

Recipe: Classic Chocolate Pound Cake

Dusted with powdered sugar, this classic pound cake can't be beat. This go-to crowd-pleasing dessert is only a handful of ingredients and 30 minutes of hands-on time away. Whether you're a long-time baker or a novice cake-maker, this recipe is a winner.

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Bananas Foster Cake with Rum Buttercream

Recipe: Bananas Foster Cake with Rum Buttercream

The beauty of this bananas fosters cake is that you can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want. If you're juggling other Thanksgiving dishes, keep it easy and skip the banana roasting. If this is your only contribution to the table, go all out and brûlée banana slices for the garnish.

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Chocolate Water Cake

Recipe: Chocolate Water Cake

More decadent than it sounds, chocolate water cake is all about simplicity. The cake is dairy-free, vegan, and a one-bowl concoction. Top it off with a gooey ganache and call it an evening.

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Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Recipe: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Cranberry deserves to shine on Thanksgiving in cake on the dessert table just as it does as sauce on the dinner table. This tart berry confection comes together using fresh cranberries and classic cake ingredients, just as all the best recipes do.

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Battenberg Cake

Recipe: Battenberg Cake

The Battenberg cake is the wow cake in your repertoire. Also known as a church window cake, checkerboard cake, and domino cake, it's a delight to cut into, if only for its distinct pattern. This particular edition includes raspberry jam sandwiched between alternating cake blocks.

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Carrot Bundt Cake

Recipe: Carrot Bundt Cake

The Bundt pan makes even the simplest of cakes feel extraordinary, and this carrot bundt cake is a show-stopper in itself. With a swoopy maple syrup cream cheese frosting and sprinkling of toasted pecans, crystalized ginger, and carrot chips, it'll look like you spent hours (when it was really nothing at all).

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Carrot-Walnut Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe: Carrot-Walnut Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It doesn't get much easier than an 8-inch square pan for this carrot-walnut snack cake. It belongs just as much on the dessert table as it does the grazing table, as you nibble on it while preparing for Thanksgiving dinner.

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German Chocolate Cake

Recipe: German Chocolate Cake

Another Southern classic (this one hailing from Dallas), the German chocolate cake commands a presence on your dessert table. The towering three layers of cake are slathered in a thick, coconut-pecan concoction that provides a contrasting crunch.

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Ocracoke Fig Jam Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

Recipe: Ocracoke Fig Jam Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

Don't overlook figs as a fall dessert star this year. Fig jam whips into a delightfully sweet cake, best topped with a simple buttermilk glaze to tie it all together.

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Really Good Fruit Cake

Recipe: Really Good Fruit Cake

Polarizing? Yes. Iconic? Absolutely. Hey Y'all host Ivy Odom has made a fruit cake to end all fruit cakes. She calls it "a show-stopper beauty." Her secret? Luxardo maraschino cherries.

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White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf Cake

Recipe: White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf Cake

A white chocolate cake studded with raspberries, glazed in snowy-white frosting, and topped with more pieces of the jewel-toned fruit? It feels like a white Christmas to us! Give it a test run at your Thanksgiving table.

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Pistachio Pound Cake

Recipe: Pistachio Pound Cake

For this pistachio pound cake, you'll toast the nuts, giving them a deep, rich flavor and delicious, crumbly texture. Fold it all into the buttery batter that's punctuated with lemon zest and almond extract for a unique addition to your Thanksgiving dessert spread.

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Hallmark's Honey Almond Cake with Berries and Mascarpone Crème Fraiche

Recipe: Hallmark's Honey Almond Cake with Berries and Mascarpone Crème Fraiche

Hallmark and the holidays are nearly synonymous. This cake was created by the Hallmark team for the movie The Secret Ingredient. Three layers of rich buttermilk cake are doused in a vanilla-honey glaze and iced in a mascarpone and crème fraiche frosting.

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Orange Peel Pound Cake

Recipe: Orange Peel Pound Cake

With whole wheat pastry flour, a healthy pouring of fresh orange juice, and the punch of the peel, this orange peel pound cake by Jerrelle Guy is a refreshing end note to a Thanksgiving feast. Substitute blood oranges that excite with ruby red color and tartness.

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Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Recipe: Chocolate Strawberry Cake

You can't go wrong with the chocolate-strawberry combination. Tender chocolate cake meets bursting, bright strawberries in this classic pairing.

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White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream and Seven-Minute Frosting

Recipe: White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream and Seven-Minute Frosting

Pillowy white icing, bright sugared fruits, and three layers of fluffy white cake. Add a dose of bourbon and you've got a pretty, attention-commanding dessert for your Thanksgiving table.

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Spiked Eggnog Bundt Cake

Recipe: Spiked Eggnog Bundt Cake

The beauty of the Bundt is its deceptive simplicity. With the assistance of just one pan, an elaborate cake can be yours. We suggest this twist on the classic eggnog beverage: a spiked eggnog Bundt. With the addition of heavy cream, a quarter cup of bourbon, and a drizzle of glaze, it's a rich cake that announces the arrival of the holidays.

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Persimmon Cake

Recipe: Persimmon Cake

If you want an easy cake for your Thanksgiving menu, this persimmon cake is a sure winner. Only one bowl and some elbow grease required for this nutty, spicy cake that includes cinnamon and toasted walnuts.

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Pumpkin Cake

Recipe: Pumpkin Cake

This pumpkin cake is homey and old-fashioned but packs the charm between thick layers of cake and frosting. Buttermilk adds a tang, and the spiced whipped cream complements the dense layers for a lightness in every bite.

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Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Recipe: Pumpkin Crunch Cake

This cake gets its crunch from the spiced cookie crumble and toasted pumpkin seeds that adorn the pumpkin-cream-cheese-slathered top. It's an excellent contrast of textures to the tender, oil-based cake packed with ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.

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Georgia Pecan Mist Cake

Recipe: Georgia Pecan Mist Cake

No need to worry about the pie crust for this nutty delight. With just pecans, eggs, powdered sugar, and salt, you'll have this airy concoction ready in no time—meaning more time to focus on the more complicated dishes.

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Brownstone Front Cake

Recipe: Brownstone Front Cake

It looks rustic, but don't be fooled. You'll want to whip out your candy thermometer for this one. If you're short on time, opt for the fluffy chocolate filling—but the cooked icing is well worth the effort.

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Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Recipe: Hummingbird Bundt Cake

This Bundt cake features all of the great ingredients found in classic hummingbird cake, such as pecans, pineapples, and cream cheese, but in an updated version that doesn't require frosting layers. Top with a rich cream cheese glaze for your icing fix.

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Apple Spice Cake

Recipe: Apple Spice Cake

Nothing quite screams fall like apples and spices. This simple cake is no-fuss, packed with Granny Smith apples, whose tart acidity is tapered with sour cream, light brown sugar, and a dollop of whipped cream.

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Cranberry-Apple-Pumpkin Bundt

Recipe: Cranberry-Apple-Pumpkin Bundt

Tying together quintessential and well-loved autumn flavors, this Bundt takes seasonal tastes a step further with not only the ultimate cranberry-apple-pumpkin trio, but crunchy pecan and maple glaze, too. What more can you ask for?

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Carrot Cake Quick Bread

Recipe: Carrot Cake Quick Bread

It may have bread in the name, but this carrot cake quick bread has all the soft richness of a cake. Instead of a typical cream cheese frosting, the buttermilk glaze drizzle keeps things fancy, fun, and fresh.

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Flourless Pecan-Chocolate Cake

Recipe: Flourless Pecan-Chocolate Cake

Decadent, glossy ganache and fudgy cake (no flour here) are sure to dazzle the most devoted chocolate fans who gather around your Thanksgiving table. Pecans break up creamy textures with a satisfying crunch.

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Hummingbird Cake

Recipe: Hummingbird Cake

A beloved Southern classic is back in style. All the usual signature ingredients—banana, pineapple, and pecans—find their way onto the Thanksgiving table.

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Tennessee Jam Bundt

Recipe: Tennessee Jam Bundt

We are firm supporters of a jam cake revival. This Appalachian classic deserves to grace this year's Thanksgiving tables with blackberry jam batter and caramel frosting.

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Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake

Recipe: Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake

You'll certainly impress with this beautifully iced and garnished cake. Sugared pecans, kumquats, and bay leaves make it shine, but take a bite and you'll find the marbled pumpkin and cream cheese cake and pecan-praline filling are the real showstoppers.

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Caramel Apple Cake

Recipe: Caramel Apple Cake

This is one of the prettiest cakes you can make for the fall—and it requires only 20 minutes of hands-on prep time. Drizzled and dripping with a delicious apple brandy-caramel sauce, this cake looks great and tastes even better.

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Pecan Spice Cake with Caramel-Rum Glaze

Recipe: Pecan Spice Cake with Caramel-Rum Glaze

This decadent holiday dessert is as easy as it is tantalizing. No matter if you prefer your glaze thick and creamy or sheer and saucy, this easily customizable, spiced cake is a dream.

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Pumpkin-Spice Bundt with Brown Sugar Icing and Candied Pecans

Recipe: Pumpkin-Spice Bundt with Brown Sugar Icing and Candied Pecans

Nothing screams fall like pumpkin-spice anything. Everyone will love this classic-style Bundt cake even more with its candied pecans and rich, buttery icing. It's a true grand finale dessert.

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Coconut Cream Cake

Recipe: Coconut Cream Cake

A sweet coconut filling takes this coconut cake to the next level—it's seriously good. Top with a super creamy, fluffy coconut frosting and toasted coconut shavings, and you're set with a dessert almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

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Mama's German Chocolate Cake

Recipe: Mama's German Chocolate Cake

We love that this German chocolate cake gives a little something more than a typical chocolate cake with its rich, sweet frosting that's gloriously chunky with pecans and flaked coconut. Mama would be proud.

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The Ultimate Carrot Cake

Recipe: The Ultimate Carrot Cake

You can't really go wrong with a classic carrot cake. Your Thanksgiving crew will love this one, complete with brown sugar-cream cheese frosting.

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Pineapple-Upside Down Cake

Recipe: Pineapple-Upside Down Cake

This dessert is always a winner in the fall with the Southern crowd. Butter, brown sugar, and pineapple cook together at the bottom of the skillet to make a deliciously gooey topping for this cake.

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Caramel Cake

Recipe: Caramel Cake

A classic caramel cake is about as Southern as it gets, so why not feature it this year at the Thanksgiving family meal? The frosting is the most important thing to get right in a caramel cake, so pay attention and don't stop stirring.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Recipe: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

If you want simple, old-fashioned, and delicious, this chocolate-mayo cake is as good as it gets. Southerners know Duke's mayonnaise is as useful in desserts as it is on a sandwich. This ultra-moist cake proves it.

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Mini Apple Cider Pound Cakes

Recipe: Mini Apple Cider Pound Cakes

There are three different delicious toppings you can make for these mini pound cakes. Mix and match the streusel topping, bourbon glaze, and lemon-sugar glaze as you please.

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Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

It doesn't get any cuter than this, folks. Our homemade Maple Whipped Cream makes these Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes absolute showstoppers.

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Pecan Pie Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Recipe: Pecan Pie Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

There's no need to choose between a pecan pie and a decadent layer cake when Pecan Pie Cake with Browned Butter Frosting is on the table. This show-stopping dessert will wow your Thanksgiving crew.

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Thyme-Cornmeal Pound Cake

Recipe: Thyme-Cornmeal Pound Cake

This rustic cake isn't too sweet but comes packed with flavor thanks to nutty cornmeal and woodsy thyme. If the glaze seems too thick, just trust the process. You won't be disappointed. Let the cake cool completely before drizzling it overtop.

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Apple Pie Cake

Recipe: Apple Pie Cake

Boxed cake mix gets paired with all of your favorite apple pie ingredients to create one of the easiest Thanksgiving cakes you'll ever make. It only takes 15 minutes of hands-on time.

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Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

Recipe: Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

Here's how to make a foolproof cheesecake in no time at all: Bust out your trusty Instant Pot. That's right, the wonder appliance can do it all, including churning out a delicious holiday dessert.

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Apple Butter Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting

Recipe: Apple Butter Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting

Pound cake and caramel apples meet in this fall favorite that combines delicious pound cake with an Apple Butter filling and sweet caramel frosting.

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Sock It To Me Cake

Recipe: Sock It To Me Cake

This from-scratch recipe calls for simple pantry ingredients to create a buttery cake that's flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans. A 1960s favorite, Sock It To Me Cake deserves a revival on your Thanksgiving dessert spread.

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Praline Cake

Recipe: Praline Cake

Light and airy vanilla sponge cake is given a decadent, salty-and-sweet praline glaze. The result? One stellar cake.

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Texas Pecan Cake

Recipe: Texas Pecan Cake

Pound cake meets fruit cake in this holiday favorite that'll convince you to indulge just a little early this year. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Southern Sweet Potato Cake

Recipe: Southern Sweet Potato Cake

Now here's an idea: Skip the casserole and save those potatoes for a cake instead. This sheet cake is full of all the seasonal flavor your taste buds can desire before being topped off with decadent Brown Sugar Icing.

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Pumpkin Pie Cake

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Cake

This cake is as easy as 1-2-3. Start with a graham cracker layer that gets topped with a sweet and creamy pumpkin layer. Finish it off with a cake layer that come together in a cinch thanks to packaged yellow cake mix and a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

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Brown Sugar-Rum Cake

Recipe: Brown Sugar-Rum Cake

Rich dark brown sugar and a decadent rum frosting make this sheet cake the comforting dessert the fall season is just begging for. It's just the right amount of sweet and just the right amount of boozy—but the alcohol can be swapped with vanilla extract for the kids at family Thanksgiving.

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Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

Recipe: Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

There never was a more Southern cake than our Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake. It serves wonderfully as a dessert or decadent breakfast when an indulgence is requested. And when better a time to indulge than Thanksgiving?

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Praline Mini Cakes

Recipe: Praline Mini Cakes

This recipe churns out 12 mini cakes, each drizzled with dreamy brown sugar icing. If you want to kick things up, sprinkle a bit of chopped toffee onto the warm icing before serving.

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Pumpkin Dump Cake

Recipe: Pumpkin Dump Cake

Does it get any easier (or more seasonal) than our Pumpkin Dump Cake? We think not. Set aside just 10 minutes of hands-on time for a show-stopping dessert that is bound to be your new favorite fall dessert.

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Pumpkin Spice Battenberg

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Battenberg

Set your homemade Pumpkin Spice Battenberg on the dessert table and bask in the "oohs" and "ahs" as guests cut themselves a slice. This pretty cake is uber impressive and showcases some of the best flavors that fall has to offer.

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Fresh Apple Cake

Recipe: Fresh Apple Cake

One of our all-time favorite dessert recipes, this cake is sure to be an instant hit and new classic to close your Thanksgiving feast. A fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting coats apples, cinnamon, and nuts with very little prep time and just a bit of elbow grease. You may break a sweat stirring this thick batter, but it'll be well worth it.

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Butter Toffee-Pecan Layer Cake

Recipe: Butter Toffee-Pecan Layer Cake

Brown Butter Toffee Frosting is the star of the show in this buttery vanilla layer cake. Toasted pecan halves and flaky sea salt are the cherry on top of this winning Thanksgiving dessert.

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Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Recipe: Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Dessert doesn't get more moist than this rich, gala apple-filled cake. Cream cheese filling, homemade praline frosting, and toasted pecans will call your Thanksgiving guests back for seconds.

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Caramel Apple Coffee Cake

Recipe: Caramel Apple Coffee Cake

A Thanksgiving cake so good, you'll want to whip up a couple batches. Coffee cake shines any time of day and this recipe is worthy of a repeat for Thanksgiving dessert, then again for morning-after breakfast.

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Pumpkin Layer Cake with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe: Pumpkin Layer Cake with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting

The delicately swirled frosting will draw intrigued Thanksgiving guests in, and just one bite of decadent pumpkin cake will get them hooked. It stores well, too, for easy transport and to make until after the dinnertime feast looking and tasting good as new.

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Apple Stack Cake

Recipe: Apple Stack Cake

This make-ahead cake is as convenient as it it delicious. Apple Stack Cake tastes best after sitting pretty in your cupboard for two to three days.

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Apple-Pecan Carrot Cake

Recipe: Apple-Pecan Carrot Cake

As if carrot cake needed a fall makeover, this recipe is as good as it gets. Use a heavy hand to spoon on the luscious Mascarpone Frosting and swirl on the Apple Cider Caramel Sauce with your heart.

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Pumpkin Spice Cake

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cake

If you're anything like us, you can't get enough of pumpkin spice in the fall. This occasion-worthy cake kicks up seasonal spices in an exciting dessert that stuns as a hybrid between silky flan and moist pumpkin spice cake.

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Butter Toffee-Pecan Layer Cake

Recipe: Butter Toffee-Pecan Layer Cake

Toasted pecans and toffee bits jazz up a classic vanilla layer cake batter. Elevate the brown butter toffee frosting with a little bourbon, dark rum, or cognac if you'd like. To step up the presentation, toasted pecan halves and flaky sea salt will do the trick.

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