Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes 21 Gorgeous Layer Cake Recipes for Every Occasion If you're looking for a showstopping, crowd-pleasing recipe, you're in luck. By Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan is a New York City-based food writer and editor with six years of digital editorial experience in roles at MarthaStewart.com, Food52, and TODAY Show. In addition to her roles, Kelly has seven years of freelance food writing experience with work found in Allrecipes, Bon Appètit, Food & Wine, Real Simple, and more. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 17, 2024 Close Photo: Yuki Sugiura Layer cakes are fan favorites because they're so versatile: Two layers or five? The same frosting to fill the cake and decorate it, or different fillings between each layer? Whatever you decide, we've got layer cakes for everyone—from all-time favorites to seasonal flavors and even layered ice cream cakes that scream summer. Get ready to create your own layered masterpiece. Our Most Popular Cake Recipes of All Time 01 of 21 Chocolate-and-Vanilla Pudding Cake Lennart Weibull Chocolate buttermilk cake layers are oh-so-tender and delectable, especially when they encase a decadent milk chocolate pudding center and are enrobed in a luscious white chocolate frosting. View Recipe 02 of 21 Chocolate-Raspberry Cake Con Poulos What could be more delicious than a dark chocolate layer cake filled and topped with fresh raspberries? One that has light, moist layers baked with a splash of the raspberry liqueur Chambord and is layered with not just the berries but also with a sweet raspberry filling, What really seals the deal though is the chocolate-cream cheese frosting. View Recipe 03 of 21 Ombre Strawberry Cake Mike Krautter Five layers, each one of them tinted with only one pink food coloring, assembled ombré style and a ruffled piping work using the same dusty rose pink frosting—you can't deny this gorgeous cake is truly a masterpiece. View Recipe 04 of 21 Apple Layer Cake With Cream-Cheese Frosting Mike Krautter Packed with fall flavor, this delicately spiced three-layer cake is filled and topped with an irresistible cream cheese frosting. It's sure to go fast. View Recipe 05 of 21 Simple Layer Cake With Vanilla Frosting Johnny Miller Fluffy and moist with a sweet vanilla flavor, this is an absolutely delightful, simple cake. It's a dreamlike base that you can decorate with any toppings that you please to create a special occasion dessert. View Recipe 06 of 21 7-Layer Ice Cream Cake Johnny Miller We're declaring this the ultimate summer dessert. Homemade or store-bought pound cake holds up layer upon layer of raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, and chopped chocolate wafer cookies. The best part is you can customize it with any flavors that you fancy. View Recipe 07 of 21 Maple-Walnut Cake With Brown-Sugar Frosting Looking for a departure from pie in the fall? This nutty cake should do the trick. Toasting the walnuts before chopping and mixing them into the batter brings out their flavor (plus, they'll make your whole kitchen smell wonderful). View Recipe 08 of 21 Salted-Caramel Six-Layer Chocolate Cake Johnny Miller If the look of this widely indulgent cake isn't enough to lure you in to make it, then how about this—a combination of Dutch-processed cocoa and semisweet chocolate. They work double duty to maximize the chocolate flavor in this over-the-top confection. View Recipe 09 of 21 Vanilla Sponge Cake With Strawberry-Meringue Buttercream Ngoc Minh Ngo When strawberries are in season, stock up on 3 whole pounds for this showstopping, three-layer tall sponge cake. View Recipe 10 of 21 Coconut Layer Cake Martha Stewart Bring in the tropical flavor with this impressive six-layered dessert made with sour cream, which makes the cake tender and airy. The coconut cream filling, the billowy seven-minute frosting wrapping the cake around, and the sweetened shredded coconut are simply the best additions and an excuse to help yourself to a second serving. View Recipe 11 of 21 Vegan Chocolate Cake Bryan Gardner No one will miss the butter or eggs in this rich rendition of a classic chocolate layer cake. Dairy-free soy creamer takes the place of heavy cream for the silky ganache topping and mocha icing filling. View Recipe 12 of 21 Carrot Cake With White-Chocolate Frosting Ngoc Minh Ngo We think this the prettiest carrot cake ever—and you don't need to be a professional baker to create the ruffles of frosting—our rich, thick buttercream recipe and a proper pastry tip will guide you as you create the cake decoration of your dreams. View Recipe 13 of 21 Carrot-Ginger Layer Cake With Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting Yossy Arefi Yes, we love the comforting flavor of the cake filled with warm spices, but it's the sweet, edible ribbons wrapping the cream-cheese frosted two-tiered carrot cake that does it for us. View Recipe 14 of 21 Tropical-Fruit Crepe Cake Johnny Miller A very different and altogether spectacular take on the layer cake with 40, yes count them, 40 layers. It's so impressive but doesn't call for any fancy supplies or decorating skills. The secret is that the crepes and the coconut filling for this piña colada-inspired cake can be made in advance, up to three days ahead. Then you can assemble the cake the day of. View Recipe 15 of 21 Coconut-Sugar Hummingbird Cake Jonathan Lovekin This fruity, moist cake has plenty of texture thanks to fresh bananas, pineapple, and pecans. Hummingbird cakes are a staple in the South and now we know why (they're really, really good). View Recipe 16 of 21 Banana Cake With Cream-Cheese Frosting Bryan Gardner We love how something as simple as bananas can be turned into such a spectacular cake. The inclusion of dark chocolate makes it that much more heavenly. View Recipe 17 of 21 Yule-Log Layer Cake Marcus Nilsson Try this festive layered cake as a creative alternative to the traditional bûche de Noël. Both the cake and frosting include a warm, flavorful combination of roasted chestnuts and golden rum. And those raspberry mushrooms are the cutest finishing touch. View Recipe 18 of 21 Berry Layer Cake Mike Krautter This triple-decker layer cake is made for frosting lovers—it is wrapped and filled with swirls and rosettes of Swiss Meringue buttercream with tons of berry flavors and fresh fruit. A tall masterpiece perfect for any occasion. View Recipe 19 of 21 Cloud Cake Marcus Nilsson This cake is just as light and airy as it is totally unique. Delicate meringue layers take the place of traditional cake; nestled between them is a sweet vanilla cream studded with chopped homemade caramel. View Recipe 20 of 21 Chiffon Cake With Strawberries and Cream Marcus Nilsson Light as a cloud and a little bit romantic too, this is a sliceable version of a classic berries and cream combination. In between pillowy layers of cake is a very light whipped cream and fresh strawberry slices. Sweet but not too sweet, it's simply perfect. View Recipe 21 of 21 The Ultimate Devil's Food Cake Yuki Sugiura Devil's food cake is always a crowd-pleaser due to its bewitching appearance, moist cake crumble, and luscious swoops of buttercream. Make it year-round, but especially for Halloween. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit