Cake

The kouign aman (pronounced QUEEN-ah-man) is a traditional Breton pastry whose name means “butter cake” in the local dialect. Our recipe was inspired by an appearance by pastry chef Florian Bellanger on Martha’s syndicated television show.

A babka can be frozen in the pan for up to a month before baking. When ready to bake, remove from freezer; let stand at room temperature for about five hours. Be careful not to underbake; otherwise, the center may not set properly.

This recipe is extremely versatile. We love to use it for cupcakes, but it makes an equally impressive layer or sheet cake; either is a perfect choice for kids’ birthday parties, swirled with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. For a more grown-up flavor, try icing the cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream (page 213).

Martha loves the combination of fluffy white frosting and fresh coconut curls that adorn this cake. You can also top the cake with more sweetened or unsweetened coconut, toasted or not. If you don’t have square cake pans, use 9-inch round ones; the baking time will be the same.

An abundance of grated carrots makes these cupcakes moist, while granulated sugar, instead of the traditional brown, keeps them light.

Maple Buttercream is the perfect complement to these walnut cupcakes, but you can also frost them with Brown Sugar Buttercream (page 386).

The applesauce in this cake makes it exceptionally moist. Although homemade applesauce is best, you could also substitute an all-natural store-bought variety. If you would prefer a larger cake, prepare the batter as directed and bake in two nine-inch pans for forty to forty-five minutes.

Half of the ganache is used for the glaze, which should be cool to the touch but pourable. If necessary, warm it over a pan of simmering water.

Bananas vary greatly in size. The six bananas called for in this recipe should weigh a total of about four pounds. Once cut, bananas will discolor rapidly, so it’s best to slice them just before using.

You can assemble this showstopping dessert up to eight hours ahead of serving; leave off the last layer of cream and fruit, and refrigerate along with the partially assembled cake. Just before serving, top the cake with the remaining cream and berries, and garnish with the mint leaves. If you can’t find beautiful small strawberries, halve or quarter larger ones.

The combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour produces a very tender crumb. You will need a paper cornet to pipe the dots and lines of lemon curd that top the buttercream frosting. Fully decorated, the cake looks fresh and whimsical-a perfect choice for a birthday party, baby shower, or other celebration.

This is the kind of classic, all-American layer cake that birthday memories are made of. It’s guaranteed to please a crowd.

We like the way this cake looks glazed with white chocolate, but you can substitute semisweet chocolate in the glaze recipe, if you prefer. Be careful not to over swirl the vanilla and chocolate batters when you are running a knife through the two; the marbling won’t look as beautiful if you overdo it.

If you are using the miniloaf pans, place them on a baking sheet, and bake cakes for about forty-five minutes.

Poppy seeds give these cakes an interesting texture and appearance, but you can certainly omit them if you prefer.

This recipe does not contain the traditional pound each of butter, eggs, flour, and sugar, but its proportions produce the most delicious results.

This is a slight twist on applesauce cake, relying instead on a homemade pear sauce. The cake can be made a day ahead. Keep it at room temperature, then glaze it and garnish it with pear chips just before serving

This foolproof cake is perfect for beginning bakers.