Our Best Fall Cake Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
September 19, 2013

Savor fall flavors—cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, apples, nuts, cranberries and more—in these delicious, moist cakes.

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Pioneer Wedding Stack Cake

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This wonderfully moist and generously spiced six-layer cake is a showy spin on humble applesauce cake.

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Cranberry Orange Upside-Down Cake

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Invert this moist cake while it's still warm to reveal a fall kaleidoscope of glistening, tart berries and sweet mandarin oranges.

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My My’s Brown Sugar Pound Cake

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Patty's grandmother sifted together the flour and baking powder three times before adding them to the batter. We had good results just whisking them together. This recipe comes from Patty Pinner's cookbook Sweets (crownpublishing.com).

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Quick Black Forest Cherry Cake

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This quick twist on the classic German chocolate-cherry cake uses boxed cake mix and cherry preserves. Don't skip the kirsch or brandy; it adds that signature Black Forest flavor.

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Applesauce Spice Cake

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No granulated sugar is added to this recipe; the sweetness comes from cider, fruit and applesauce.

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Cranberry Layer Cake

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This moist white cake combines toasted pecans and refreshing orange peel with cranberries. Orange peel flavors the thick cream cheese frosting, too.

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Walnut Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream

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Fill layers of walnut cake with caramel whipped cream and drizzle it all with caramel sauce for a rich fall dessert. 

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Chocolate Harvest Fruit-Topped Cake

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This spiced chocolate cake brims with seasonal flavors, including a topping of pears, apples and cranberries.

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Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake

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A buttery-sweet mixture of apples, cranberries and pecans covers cornmeal cake. Try serving with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream for even more fall flavor!

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Fresh Apple Cake

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This nutty comfort cake from Sharon Buckner of Rhineland, Missouri, gets a sugary top and caramelized gooey bottom as it cooks. Don't be surprised by the thick batter; it will bake into a moist, dense cake.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

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This utterly unforgettable autumn cake layers moist chocolate-pumpkin cake, luscious milk chocolate ganache and fluffy pumpkin-spice whipped cream. The recipe comes from Minnesota blogger Amanda Rettke (iambaker.net).

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Ginger Carrot Cake

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Fresh ginger flavors this classic cake, topped with Double-Cream Cheese Frosting.

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Pumpkin-Praline Layer Cake

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This nutty layer cake is a favorite dessert with Midwest Living® readers. Whipped cream topping complements a moist filling of pumpkin, brown sugar, pecans, butter and more whipping cream.

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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

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The famous St. Louis dessert gets a makeover from Emily Hobbs of Springfield, Missouri. She adds pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice to the moist cake.

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Bourbon-Apple-Rye Upside-Down Cake

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We hid shredded apple in the cake for extra flavor and moistness, but the real star here is the gorgeous array of fall fruit, glazed with bourbon-infused caramel.

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Chocolate-Pear Spice Cake

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Cloves and nutmeg scent your home as the cake bakes, but the toppers are what really sets this dessert apart: chopped chocolate, nuts and homemade pear chips. 

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Graham Cracker Cake

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This special-occasion dessert features a moist cake with crushed graham crackers, cream filling between the layers and brown sugar frosting on the outside. Top with additional graham crackers just before serving if you like.

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Gingerbread Cake Roll

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If this isn't a forkful of fall, we don't know what is. The cinnamon, molasses and maple glaze transport us to bonfires and hayrack rides in just one bite.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Sandwich Cake

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A cream cheese layer and rich chocolate frosting make this pumpkin cake a crowd-pleaser. 

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Glazed Gingerbread Cake

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Lemon glaze and a sprinkle of crystallized ginger enhance the flavor and presentation of this old-fashioned gingerbread.

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Apple Upside-Down Cake

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Cinnamon, ginger and apples give robust fall flavor to this gooey upside-down cake. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

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Pumpkin Pie Cake

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Sprinkle moist pumpkin filling with a cake mix topping for a quick and easy cake. The recipe is from Farmer's Inn in Havana, North Dakota.

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Butterscotch Chip Oatmeal Cake

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Chopped pecans and butterscotch pieces crown this easy one-bowl cake.

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Spiced Pecan Sweet Potato Cake

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Deborah Biggs of Omaha completes this amazingly moist dessert with Maple Whipped Cream. 

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Maple Syrup Cake

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Ruth Smiley of Parke County, Indiana, gave us her recipe for Maple Syrup Cake, which she makes in a fluted tube pan. We mixed up an easy maple syrup icing to drizzle over the top. 

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Hummingbird Cake

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This tall layer cake, with a medley of flavors from nuts, fruit and spices, comes from the kitchens of Silver Dollar City theme park near Branson, Missouri. Add a sprinkling of pecans on top for even more crunch.

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Broadway Cafe Apple Cake

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In the Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri, customers at Broadway Cafe can taste samples of that day's baked goods, including frosted scones, biscotti, coffee cake and this moist apple cake. A generous portion of chopped Granny Smith apples adds flavor and moisture. Be careful turning this apple dessert out of the pan; it's a tender coffee cake.

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Pumpkin Cake Roll

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Our  "twist" on the pumpkin craze. Nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon add even more fall flavor.

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Prairie State Oatmeal Cake

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Rolled oats keep this old-fashioned cake moist. You'll love the gooey coconut-walnut topping.

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Apple-Butter Cakelets

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Caramel sauce adds a creamy-sweet finish to individual Apple-Butter Cakelets created by Midwest Living® in honor of Illinois' Amish bakers. You can choose between two Prairie State ingredients, apples or pumpkins, for this treat.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com