Homemade Cake Recipes

If you haven’t found your go-to chocolate c ake, or favorite old-fashioned pound cake, amongst so many other classics…I pinky swear you will come back here again and again. These are the BEST homemade cake recipes you’ll make. Many come straight from my Grandma’s recipes. Or I have adapted from a cookbook I found from the 19th century (I had to recipe test a few times to figure out how to sub out lard :)).

These are tried and true, straight from my family, FAVORITE cake recipes. My hope is that your family will have great memories around these cakes, just as mine has.

Pro Cake-Making Resources

Homemade Cake Recipes

• This homemade carrot cake recipe is a reader favorite. It is an easy, classic carrot cake recipe that can easily be adapted for pineapple, nuts, or whatever is a must have in your carrot cake. I’ve been making this recipe as long as I can remember. It came from an older lady in my church, years ago. A winner!
• Having a good white cake recipe in your back pocket is essential for birthday parties, summer cakes piled high with fruit, and even the wedding shower here or there (I even made this cake for an anniversary party!). White cake with white frosting is about as classic as it gets. And this one turns out beautifully every time!

How do I make a Cake Extra Moist?

1. Use only the yolk of the egg and do not include the white.
2. Use butter even if the recipe calls for margarine.
3. Add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil.

• This chocolate cake recipe is the most popular on the site, for good reason. It’s just that good. Simple to make, moist, just the right amount of chocolate, and the perfect size…this chocolate cake is a favorite for birthdays and cupcakes and anywhere a good chocolate cake is needed. You’ll never make another chocolate cake again. Plus, the combo of the cake and the frosting is killer!
• Pound cake is an old-fashioned recipe that gets its name from combining a pound of “this” with a pound of “that”. This is an easy pound cake recipe combined with a beautiful orange glaze that will have you grabbing your friends and a cup of coffee to enjoy it with.
• If you have never tried baking squash into a cake, you must. This butternut squash cake is without refined sugar but is packed full of flavor. Always a fall favorite for readers, you’ll be wanting to add squash to all of your cakes after trying this butternut squash cake recipe.
• All it takes is one try of this recipe and you’ll be hooked! Use your slow-cooker and a really good bottle of stout beer to make this crazy easy and totally decadent Chocolate Stout Cake. It even frosts itself!

• My personal favorite cake here on NellieBellie is this homemade Strawberry cake. It is just gorgeous!! Luckily it tastes as good as it looks. This cake is a must make every time berries are in season. Although I make it in the winter, as well, for a quick shot of summer. It is just so delicious!
• The Tres Leches Cake sounds and looks difficult but that is the furthest from the truth. Always popular at family gatherings and potlucks, this is an easy cake to make ahead and tastes absolutely decadent!
• Should a bundt cake be included with traditional cakes? I think so. It does, after all, have the word cake in its title. Anyways, this Chocolate Chip Marble Bundt cake is stunning. Gorgeous to look at and gorgeous to eat!
• And since we are talking about stunning bundt cakes, let me introduce you to a personal favorite…my Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake. I could eat this all day every day. Sooo good!
• Is there anything better than a good, old-fashioned Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Not for our family, my grandma’s recipe is a family favorite and asked for all the time!
• My daughter is genius at these little cakes and makes them fairly often. They are easy to make and taste like a chocolate lovers dream! Grab this easy Molten Lava Cakes recipe and make them today.

• Here in MN, Swedish recipes are well-loved. This Swedish Almond Pear Cake is a beloved recipe that isn’t overly sweet and perfectly full of yummy pear flavor!
• Have you ever tried making a cake out of beets? This is a Chocolate Beet Cake  with a coconut buttercream that you’ll be so surprised at how yummy it is!
• Banana cake is full of warm, comfy flavors and easy to make. I top it with a yummy penuche frosting!
• Butter everywhere! And oh gosh, it’s yummy! This Butter Cake with Browned Butter frosting is absolutely lovely. You’ll want to make this for a weekend dinner and serve it with fresh fruit.
• We like to cover our Homemade Angel Food Cake with strawberries and cream. But hey, this cake doesn’t last long regardless of how it’s served!

• Christmas just isn’t the same unless I make this Homemade Gingerbread Cake at least once. And oh my…the house smells so amazing after this is made!
• This Old-fashioned Brownie Cake tastes just like Grandma’s old-fashioned brownies but in yummy cake form. Top it with the chocolate ganache and you’ll be in brownie heaven!
• Have you ever tried baking with black cocoa? It’s an amazing ingredient…you’ll be hooked! This cake using black cocoa and espresso for an amazing dark chocolate flavor. Guess what though… this Black Cocoa Homemade Chocolate Cake is so much easier to make than you might think!
• Bright and lovely Lemon Sponge Cake with Rosemary Buttercream Frosting is a simple cake that punches you in the face with it’s gorgeous flavor!

Give one of these cake recipes a try with your family this weekend and be sure to use #NBRecipes so we can see and share it, too!