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February 6th marks exactly one year from when I made the Red Velvet Cake to start this project. As of this post, I have only made 53 of the 240 cakes from the America’s Test Kitchen The Perfect Cake cookbook. There are so many tasty-looking recipes I look forward to making. That being said, I’m going to use the one year anniversary as a milestone of success but, dial back my ambition going forward....

364 days ago I decided I would spend my pandemic weekends working through America’s Test Kitchen’s “The Perfect Cake” cookbook. It sounded like a fun project that would also sate my sweet tooth. Using only recipes from this cookbook, the plan was to bake one cake a week. Somehow, I was able to keep pace and as of this particular bake, I’ve made 53 recipes (out of 240) from the cookbook....

I finally remembered to buy bananas early enough in the week so they’d be ripe enough to use in a cake. In addition to the bananas, this cake is also full of pineapple and pecans. It’s topped with a cream cheese frosting that I FINALLY managed to get perfectly smooth. The inclusion of the fruit means this cake is extra moist. And the pecans add a bit a texture to each bite....

This cheesecake recipe has always intimated me even though it’s listed as “foolproof”. But my mom loves cheesecake so it seemed like a good one to make for her birthday cake. This bake taught me a lot… But mainly that this is NOT a cake to make on a weeknight after work. The cake baked for nearly 4.5 hours in total. That doesn’t include the time the crust par-baked. Or the time mixing all the filling ingredients together and straining it and letting it sit so the bubbles would rise and pop....

Next week I have to make a cake that requires a bit more skill and time, so this week I wanted to find something that would be quick to make. This cake stood out for its short ingredient list. I couldn’t find any California apricots, as listed, but prunes were suggested as an alternative. So far, I haven’t really been a huge fan of the cakes that lack some form of frosting....

The temperatures the last few days have been downright frigid, which seemed like a good enough reason to attempt a cake meant to evoke the taste of hot cocoa. The cake layers are standard chocolate cake. It’s the filling and frosting that give this cake it’s name. The frosting is whipped cream, enhanced and stabilized by some melted white chocolate and cocoa powder. The filling is marshmallow and compliments the chocolate cake nicely....

I’ll preface this by saying I’m really not a huge fan of coconut. The flavor is ok when it’s not too overpowering, but the texture of raw coconut just doesn’t do it for me. That being said, the picture for this cake caught my eye. After quickly reading through the recipe I noticed that the only actual coconut in this cake was toasted and on the outside and it used cream of coconut which I actually really enjoy....

The cookbook has an entire chapter dedicated to Holiday Cakes. Christmas Eve seemed like the perfect time to try one of the numerous Christmas-themed recipes. Since I was already making an apple pie for Christmas dinner, I settled on this Bundt Cake as it seemed to be the least time consuming. Like other bundt and pound cakes, there’s not a whole lot of steps to making this cake. The ingredients come together and then you bake it for a while....

I’m grateful this cookbook has a number of pound cakes as they are all quick to make when I’m in a rush and turn out tasting delicious. This one is no exception. The fresh cranberries and sour cream add a bit of tanginess to the and otherwise normal pound cake. It comes together quick and makes a great breakfast cake. Definitely one I would make again.

I made an apple pie a couple weeks ago and got my hand-cranked apple peeler out and in working order for that project. So since it’s ready to go, I figured I’d throw a few more apples at it. I actually really enjoyed making this cake. The apples cook down nicely and just get dumped into the pan. The cake batter can be brought together with just a whisk; there’s no need to break out the stand mixer....