Blueberry season calls for my favorite blueberry cake! ♡

I first shared this blueberry cake recipe here ten years ago. And now, over a decade later, it still continues to be a favorite tradition of ours each spring when blueberry season rolls back around. It’s loaded up with a full two pints of fresh blueberries, which add a burst of vibrant sweetness to each bite. Then when mixed with a simple vanilla white cake batter, baked up in a bundt pan, and drizzled lightly with a sweet glaze, this cake is downright lovely through and through. Always such a beautiful cake for springtime!

In the years since I first shared this recipe, I’ve come to love adding a hint of lemon to brighten up the cake batter and glaze. And while I love this cake with fresh blueberries, I’ve also updated the notes below with instructions on how to make it using frozen blueberries too if that’s what you have on hand.

This recipe is always a winner in our house, so I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

(more…)

Trust me, this flourless chocolate cake recipe belongs in your dessert repertoire. ♡

I actually first shared this recipe here on Gimme Some Oven over a dozen years ago, and have probably made it at least a few dozen times ever since. It has turned into one of my back-pocket dessert recipes because it calls for 3 simple ingredients that I almost always keep stocked in my kitchen — eggs, butter and chocolate. It’s easy to prep and bake in under 1 hour. It’s naturally gluten-free. And who can argue with a decadent, fudgy, flourless chocolate cake?! People always adore this recipe!

After having made this cake so many times, I can vouch that this classic recipe welcomes fun ingredient twists as well. So if you feel like adding in a dash of cinnamon and cayenne, a spoonful of espresso powder, or a splash of bourbon, go for it! I’ve also made this cake using everything from the fanciest chocolate bars to store-brand semisweet chocolate chips and all have turned out to be absolutely delicious. Please just take a minute to read a few of my tried-and-true tips below (turns out the type of aluminum foil can make a big difference here!) so that your flourless chocolate cakes are a success each and every time.

Let’s make some cake! (more…)

This is one of those recipes where I so wish I could just pop over and serve you a warm slice to try. ♡

Because if you love gingerbread as much as I do this time of year, I’m telling you, this gingerbread cake needs to be part of your life. It’s made with the classic rich mix of molasses and warming spices that we all love in a good batch of gingerbread. And I’m partial to this particular gingerbread cake recipe because it bakes up to be incredibly moist and fluffy. You can either serve it up solo, dust it with some powdered sugar, or go all out and top it with whipped cream or cream cheese frosting — all will be delicious. And of course, cake for breakfast the next morning is always an excellent idea too.

I’ve included a few extra customization ideas below, if you would like to mix in some orange zest, chocolate or bourbon for a slightly different twist on this recipe. But however you make it, you can count on the fact that this cake is going to make your home smell extra cozy and festive this time of year…and taste even better.

Alright, let’s make some gingerbread cake!

Gingerbread Cake Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Gingerbread Cake Ingredients

Here are a few quick notes about the gingerbread cake ingredients that you will need to make this recipe:

• Flour: We will use basic all-purpose flour here, which gives the cake its structure and fluffy texture.
• Butter: The recipe is written with unsalted butter, which needs to be room temperature in order to cream well with the sugar. If you only have salted butter on hand, no worries, just subtract 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt from the recipe.
• Molasses: Unsulphured molasses is the classic ingredient that gives gingerbread its distinctly rich and sweet flavor.
• Egg: An egg will serve as our binding agent to help hold all of these ingredients together and add extra stability to the cake.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar will serve as our primary sweetener, which also adds its own extra hint of molasses flavor to the cake.
• Spices: I’ve used a classic mix of ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to spice this cake. But please feel free to customize this recipe with whatever types and amounts of warming spices you prefer in your gingerbread.
• Salt: A hint of fine sea salt will help to bring out the best of these delicious flavors.
• Vanilla extract: We will also add a hint of vanilla extract to enhance the flavor of the spices and add a bit of warmth to the cake.
• Baking soda: Baking soda will serve as our primary leavening agent, to give the cake and light and airy texture.
• Boiling water: Yes, we will use an entire cup of boiling water to help dissolve and meld the ingredients together and give the cake plenty of moisture.
• Toppings (optional): This cake is delicious on its own. But if you’d like to go the extra mile, it is also absolutely heavenly topped with whipped cream, cream cheese frosting or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Gingerbread Cake Tips

Detailed instructions for how to make gingerbread cake are included in the recipe below, but here are a few additional tips to keep in mind:

• Use room temperature butter. As always, it’s important to use room temperature butter here so that it can properly cream with the sugar to make the cake nice and fluffy.
• Don’t worry about the runny batter. Heads up that the batter for this cake will be quite runny once the boiling water is mixed in. Don’t worry — the cake will bake up to be perfectly after some time in the oven.
• Grease your knife. This cake is definitely (and wonderfully) quite moist and can have the tendency to stick a bit when cutting. So if you want clean slices, I recommend lightly greasing the knife with a bit of butter.
• Adjust the spices to taste. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to gingerbread spices, so feel free to adjust the amounts of ginger, cinnamon and cloves to taste.

Recipe Variations

Here are a few more variations that you’re welcome to try with this gingerbread cake recipe:

• Add orange zest: Add the zest of 1 medium orange to the batter for a citrusy twist.
• Add cocoa powder: Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the batter for a chocolatey twist.
• Add rum or bourbon: Replace 2 to 3 of the tablespoons of boiling water with rum or bourbon (or your favorite liquor) for a boozy twist.
• Add nuts, chocolate chips, sprinkles: Unfortunately most of these add-ins would sink to the bottom of the batter if you try to add them to the actual cake, but feel free to sprinkle on top of the whipped cream or frosting!
• Add caramel sauce: My favorite bourbon caramel sauce would be absolutely heavenly drizzled on this cake too.

More Ginger Recipes

Looking for more sweet ginger-loving recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:

• Ginger Shots
• Gingerbread Cookies
• Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
• Ginger Beer Mojito

Gingerbread Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 14 reviews

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: 16 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This gingerbread cake recipe is easy to make, perfectly moist and fluffy, and made with a delicious blend of molasses and warming spices.

---

Ingredients

• 2 cups (184 grams*) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup boiling water
• optional toppings: whipped cream, cream cheese frosting or a dusting of powdered sugar

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Prep oven and pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and sea salt until combined.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients. In a separate large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), use an electric mixer to cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, vanilla extract and egg and mix on medium-low speed until combined, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredient mixture and mix on medium-low speed until evenly combined. Add the boiling water and (very carefully) mix on low speed until evenly combined. The batter will be quite thin and liquidy – don’t worry.
4. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
5. Serve. Slice, top with any of your desired toppings if desired, then serve and enjoy!

---

Equipment

9×9″ Baking Pan

Buy Now →

Molasses

Buy Now →

Vanilla Extract

Buy Now →

---

A few months ago when we were spending the weekend with friends on the Costa Brava, I sampled an orange olive oil cornmeal cake at the local farmers market that was love at first bite. ♡

To be honest, I’d never had a cake quite like this one before. The local baker explained that it was a gluten-free cake made with cornmeal and almond flour, which accounted for its beautiful golden color and light almond flavor and surprisingly hearty texture (kind of similar to a light cornbread). It was incredibly moist and very lightly sweetened. And best of all, it was brightened up with a generous amount of fresh citrus, which made it taste so light and refreshing and sunshine-y. I honestly couldn’t stop thinking about this cake for weeks afterwards and wished I’d had the chance to ask the baker more about the recipe. But after a bit of experimenting, I’m happy to say that I’ve come up with my own version that our entire family now adores.

I’m happy to report that this recipe is incredibly easy to make with just 1 bowl and about 15 minutes of prep time. And while I love using both a fresh lemon and orange in the cake (both zested and juiced), you’re welcome to swap in a grapefruit, mandarin, Meyer lemon, or whatever other citrus you might prefer. Please note that this cake is intentionally designed to be sweet-but-not-too-sweet, making it perfect for dessert, snacking, or even a lovely breakfast to go with your coffee. But if you feel like adding an extra hint of sweetness, a side of fresh fruit (or fruit compote), a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, or light glaze drizzled on top would all be absolutely delicious here too.

This citrus cake is definitely one of those recipes that has a way of growing and growing on you. So I hope you all love it as much as I do!

(more…)

I realized the other day that it has been two decades since my college roommate, Natalie, first taught me how to make her family’s famous sour cream coffee cake. No idea how that’s even possible, because it feels like just yesterday that we were baking up a storm together in our tiny college kitchen. But all of these years later — and countless batches of coffee cake later — I have to say that this nostalgic recipe remains one of our family’s all-time favorites. ♡

It features a simple batter made with basic pantry ingredients and reduced-fat sour cream, whose tangy flavor perfectly balances the sweetness here and helps the cake bake up to be incredibly moist. Then in between the layers of cake, we’ll add in a crunchy sprinkling of cinnamon sugar (plus some chopped nuts, if you’d like). And then for one final layer of indulgence, I always love drizzling a quick 2-ingredient glaze on top. This cake is guaranteed to make your home smell absolutely heavenly as it’s baking up in the oven. And once it’s sliced served up nice and warm with a hot cup of coffee on a lazy weekend morning, well, I don’t know if there’s a more delicious way to start the day.

Let’s bake up some coffee cake together, friends!

(more…)

If any of you happen to be craving carrot cake for Easter this year — but mayyybe don’t want to commit to a full-sized layer cake while we’re all stuck at home and can’t easily share with family and friends — I have the perfect alternative this year.

These carrot cake bars! ♡

I made a quick batch this weekend by halving my favorite carrot cake recipe (with a few small tweaks) and baking the bars in a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. And they ended up being so ridiculously delicious that I thought I would snap a few quick pics to share the recipe with you today.

These carrot cake bars are made with a homemade carrot cake base that is quick and easy to make, perfectly soft and moist, made with a few simple warming spices, plus lots and lots of fresh carrots. The bars are then topped with my favorite cream cheese frosting, which you’re welcome to make as gooey or as firm as you prefer. And together — I’m telling you — the combo is just perfection.

I highly recommend serving these carrot cake bars with a cup of strong coffee or hot tea. And as lovely as they are for dessert, my husband and I will be the first to admit that they make for a fabulous breakfast the next day too.

So who’s in for some carrot cake bars?!

(more…)

Oh hey. ♡ Just thought I would casually slide this recipe right here at the top of your feed in time for Easter. Because if you happen to be looking for the world’s best carrot cake recipe to make this weekend — or any delicious day of the year — look no further. Hundreds and hundreds of our readers have agreed over the years that this homemade carrot cake recipe is a hands-down winner!

I mean, I should admit right off that I will forever-and-always be on Team Carrot when it comes to my favorite kind of cake, so I am extra-partial to carrot cake in any form (including cupcakes or carrot cake bars). But because it’s my favorite, I hold extra high standards when it comes to exactly what constitutes the perfect slice.

First off, the perfect homemade carrot cake must always be fluffy and legit extra-moist — no dry cakes allowed.  It must also be made with the coziest warming spices, but just enough so that the flavor of all of those fresh carrots can shine through. And speaking of fresh carrots, a good carrot cake recipe must include lots of them speckled in every slice. Most importantly, though, a good carrot cake recipe must be accompanied with a rich and buttery cream cheese frosting in every single bite. Because in my book, a good moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is the ultimate dessert match made in heaven.

The other good news about this recipe? It’s much easier to make than it looks. You can make the entire recipe — both cake and frosting — 100% by hand if you would like. (No mixer required.)  You can also save yourself a step and purchase store-bought grated carrots or grate them in the food processor, if you don’t want to grate them by hand. And if you’ve never made a three-layer cake before, have no fear — it’s easier than it looks, and I’ve added a brand new video below to walk you through each step of the way.

Alright, let’s make some carrot cake together!

The BEST Carrot Cake Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Homemade Carrot Cake Ingredients:

Alright, let’s make our shopping list! To make this homemade carrot cake recipe, you will need:

• Oil: Any mild-flavored oil will do. I typically use avocado oil, but vegetable or canola oil would work too.
• Sugars: Both granulated (white) and brown sugar.
• Eggs and vanilla extract: Because…cake.
• Flour: I always indulge here with classic all-purpose flour. But you’re welcome to sub in white whole wheat flour instead.
• Spices: Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
• Baking soda and baking powder: This recipe uses both.
• Salt: I used fine sea salt. If you only have iodized (table) salt, I would recommend using a little less.
• Freshly-grated carrots: Either grate them by hand with a box grater, use the shredding attachment on a food processor, or save yourself a step and buy them pre-grated.
• (Optional add-ins): Feel free to also include chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts), shredded coconut, and/or raisins if you would like.
• Cream cheese frosting: Made easily with cream cheese, butter, salt, vanilla and powdered sugar.

Ingredient amounts and full instructions included in the recipe box below.

How To Make Carrot Cake:

To make this homemade carrot cake recipe, simply:

1. Prep your baking pans. Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. (Or save yourself a step and just use baking spray, which already includes flour.)
2. Make the cake batter. Mix together the oil and sugars, followed by the eggs and vanilla, then the dry ingredients, and then the shredded carrots.
3. Fill and bake. Portion the batter evenly into your three baking pans. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool on a wire baking rack until they reach room temperature. Meanwhile…
4. Make the frosting.  See notes below.
5. Assemble and frost the cake.  Once the cakes reach room temperature,* use a cake leveler or a bread knife to slice off the rounded tops of the cakes so that they are completely flat on top. Place the first cake on your serving platter, add a large scoop of frosting on top of it, and spread the frosting so that it covers the cake evenly and extends a bit over the edges. Repeat with the second and third layers of the cake. Then use the remainder of the frosting to frost all around the side edges of the cake.
6. Serve and enjoy. Then once you’re ready to serve the cake, slice it up and enjoy!

*I find that it’s easier to frost the cakes when they are slightly chilled. So I recommend popping them in the fridge for 15 minutes before frosting if you have the time.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting:

This dreamy cream cheese frosting recipe can either be made by hand in a mixing bowl or in a stand mixer — you choose! Just be sure that both the cream cheese and butter are both room temperature. (And if you want your frosting to be super-smooth, I also recommend sifting the powdered sugar in advance.)

To make cream cheese frosting, simply stir the cream cheese and butter together with the vanilla until completely smooth. Then add in however much powdered sugar is needed to make the icing nice and firm. (You may need more/less powdered sugar than the recipe calls for.)

Carrot Cake Variations:

If you would like to customize your carrot cake, feel free to:

• Add nuts: Feel free to stir 1/2 cup chopped nuts (such as pecans, walnuts, pepitas or hazelnuts) into the batter, and/or sprinkle extras on top of the frosting.
• Add raisins: You could also stir in up to 1/4 cup of raisins.
• Add coconut: Or up to 1/4 cup of toasted shredded coconut.
• Spice the frosting: If you would like a bit of extra flavor in the frosting itself, I recommend stirring 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger into the frosting.
• Make the recipe gluten-free and vegan: Use this recipe!

More Carrot Recipes:

Looking for more delicious sweet carrot recipes? Here are a few of my faves! ♡

• Carrot Cake Bars
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Wholesome Carrot Muffins
• Carrot Patch “Dirt” Cups
• Carrot Cake Smoothie

The BEST Carrot Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 233 reviews

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 60 minutes
• Yield: 16 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This classic carrot cake recipe is moist, perfectly-spiced and made with lots of fresh carrots and a cream cheese frosting.

---

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup avocado oil (or vegetable oil, or any mild-flavored oil)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 pound finely-grated* fresh carrots
• optional: 1 cup chopped nuts or 1/2 cup raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 (8-ounce) bricks cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 cups powdered sugar (or more, if needed to thicken)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans.  (Or to save a step, you can coat them with baking spray, which already contains flour.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the egg mixture, and stir until smooth. Fold in the grated carrots and stir until combined. If you would like to add nuts and/or raisins, stir them in at this time as well.
4. Portion the batter evenly into the prepared baking pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.  Transfer the baking pans to a wire cooling rack and let the cakes cool until they reach room temperature.
5. Meanwhile, to make the cream cheese frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined and smooth.  (You can either do this with a spatula, or with a hand or stand mixer.)  Gradually stir in the powdered sugar and mix until it is completely combined.  You want the frosting to be pretty firm for a 3-layer cake, so add more/less powdered sugar as needed to reach the correct consistency.
6. Once the cakes reach room temperature,* use a cake leveler or a bread knife to slice off the rounded tops of the cakes so that they are completely flat on top.  Place the first cake on your serving platter, add a large scoop of frosting on top of it, and spread the frosting so that it covers the cake evenly and extends a bit over the edges.  Repeat with the second and third layers of the cake.  Then use the remainder of the frosting to frost all around the side edges of the cake.
7. Once you’re ready to serve the cake, slice it up and enjoy!  Or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

---

Equipment

8-Inch Cake Pan

Buy Now →

Box Grater

Buy Now →

Mixing Bowls

Buy Now →

---

Notes

*You can either grate fresh carrots by hand with a box grater, or grate them with a food processor by using the shredding disk.

*I find that it’s easier to frost the cakes when they are slightly chilled.  So I recommend popping them in the fridge for 15 minutes before frosting if you have the time.

Recipe instructions updated (with no ingredient changes) in April 2019.

This post contains affiliate links.

Meet…the chocolate molten lava cakes of your dreams. ♡♡♡

These retro little individual lava cakes have been one of my back-pocket entertaining desserts for years. I’m telling you, that rich chocolate cake with its legendary ooey, gooey, molten chocolate filling never fails to dazzle a dinner table full of friends or family. Yet the good news behind the scenes is that these little lava cakes are ridiculously quick and easy to make. And, bonus, you can even prep up them up to a day in advance if you’d like!

All you need are 7 easy ingredients, a set of ramekins or a muffin pan, and about 20-25 minutes total. Then these dreamy individual chocolate lava cakes will be ready to go and steal the show in no time. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, your next dinner party, or any regular night when life calls for a serious chocolate fix.

Let’s make some!

(more…)

And…the third roll’s a charm.

Guys! Since posting my favorite pumpkin roll recipe last fall, followed by this irresistible carrot cake roll recipe this past spring, I have had sooo many of you write and ask for a third roll recipe…a chocolate roll! Or as it’s also called, a chocolate Swiss roll. I must have been living in my own little pumpkin roll bubble for too long because I had no idea these were such a thing. But I suppose that with chocolate involved, I shouldn’t have been surprised. ?

By contrast to traditional pumpkin rolls, though, it seems like there are about a bajillion different ways you can go about making a chocolate roll. Some fill theirs with cream cheese filling, some with buttercream, some with mousse, some with straight whipped cream. Some flavor their filling with chocolate, some with raspberry, some with peppermint, some with a shot of their favorite liqueur. Some top theirs with powdered sugar, some with cocoa powder, some with chocolate ganache, some with any number of random toppings. Basically…the chocolate cake sky is the limit here.

I did some tinkering around with a few various recipes and landed upon a chocolate cake base that will get you off to a good start. And then because I’m a creature of baking-roll-habit, I stuck with my trusty cream cheese filling and dusting of powdered sugar on top. (<– So good.)  But feel free to make this recipe your own, and go ahead and do yourself a favor and make a double batch. Because:

1. these rolls can be made ahead of time, and chill in the refrigerator (for a few days) or freezer (for a few months) beautifully
2. they are always, always, always a hit at a gathering
3. CHOCOLATE.

So grab your cocoa powder, and let’s make some!

(more…)

Alright, my fellow pumpkin roll lovers. (And I know you’re out there, based on the fact that 10 million — yes, million — of you watched this video last Fall.)  I have a new recipe that you’ve absolutely gotta try:

A Carrot Cake Roll!

You guessed it. This recipe is everything you love about a traditional pumpkin roll — the delicious spice cake, a decadent cream cheese filling, all bundled up together in one cute roll — but this one is made with a fantastic carrot cake instead of pumpkin. And when I say carrot, I mean lots of carrots. Because, believe it or not, there are two full cups of shredded fresh carrots hidden in there! Bugs Bunny would be so proud.

So if you love carrot cake, grab some fresh carrots, and let’s rock and roll this cake!
(more…)