Baking

Appalachian apple stack cake is communal cooking at its finest. Originally, each layer was baked at home by individual cooks, likely in cast-iron skillets, then brought together and assembled for church suppers and gatherings. Instead of the spongy cakes we're used to today, these layers are more like cookies—firmer, so they slowly soften beneath liberal applications of apple butter and cooked apples. This recipe stays mostly true to those principles. Instead of individually baking the layers one skillet at a time, though, use a cake pan to trace a pattern on parchment paper and trim circles of rolled dough to fit it. Bake two layers simultaneously (more if you have a convection oven). The edges of the cake layers won't be as perfectly neat as if you'd baked them in skillets or cake pans, but that's all right. This is a rustic cake.

I do love a good Bundt cake—they're just so elegant and beautiful! This easy melt and mix recipe is flavored with chai and pumpkin pie spice.

Repeatedly folding and rolling the biscuit dough yields lots of flaky, individuated layers that pull apart neatly when you eat them.

You can't beat the classics when it comes to desserts, and this is one of my best. Zesty, creamy and light-as-air, this cake is completely heavenly. It's impossible to stop at one slice!

Sandwiching the puff pastry between two baking sheets ensures that the pastry rises perfectly even.

Whole wheat flour gives this brown sugar–oat topping a nutty flavor that perfectly complements the sweet-tart apples beneath.

You don't need a bowl or even beaters for this treat. Just mix all the ingredients in your food processor, then bake—so clever! I can never turn down an excellent cream cheese frosting either, and this is one of the best.

Make sure the cake pan you're using is at least 2" deep; the batter will rise to the very top while baking and will overflow in a shallow pan.

The gooey toffee sauce is both absorbed by the cake and served on the side. For a glossy, polished presentation, brush the still-warm cake with a clean pastry brush after it comes out of the pan, which will remove some of the excess syrup.

You don't have to use a vegan chocolate to make this decadent tart—any bittersweet baking bar will be great. But if you want to go dairy-free, be sure to read the label.

Dark chocolate and ripe plums make a sweet match in this decadent late summer dessert.