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Cakes to Bake Every Month in 2020

Cakes to Bake Every Month in 2020

By Zoe Denenberg

December 13, 2019

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas: Food Styling: Torie Cox

If your New Year’s resolution involves getting in the kitchen more (or if you’ve just been gifted a KitchenAid for Christmas), consider this your ultimate baking bucket list. Make 2020 the best year yet and bake one of these show-stopping cakes each month. We’ve collected 12 of our all-time favorite well-loved cakes to make for every month of the year.
This is a great plan for someone who wants to improve their baking skills. Some of the cakes are simple staples—like March’s Homemade Angel Food Cake—and some are more elaborate, like December’s Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. But hey, by the end of the month, you’ll be up for a challenge. This year-long baking challenge requires low commitment but yields high reward (in the form of sensationally moist, seasonally inspired cakes). All your friends will be raving about these inspiring bakes at your next dinner party.
If you’re ready to up your baking game, preheat the oven and pencil in these recipes—it’s time to get started.

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January: Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream

Start the year off right with this decadent layered creation, perfect to share with any chocolate lovers in your life. The caramel helps cut the chocolatey richness, but dripping chocolate ganache and chocolate shavings ensure that the cake is appropriately indulgent. Don’t even fuss with frosting the sides: leaving them exposed allows guests to see all the rich layers this cake has to offer.

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February: Red Velvet Cake Balls

Photography: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners

Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Balls

These miniature treats are the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert to enjoy with a spouse or gift to loved ones. Keep these simple, bite-sized cake balls stocked all month long for surprise visitors or midnight snacking.

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March: Homemade Angel Food Cake

Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Ana Kelly Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke

Recipe: Homemade Angel Food Cake

Master this Southern staple and you’ll be whipping up angel food cakes for every occasion on your calendar. This fluffy, tender cake is the ideal treat to bring to a potluck, ladies’ lunch, or Bible study. Once you’ve got the recipe down, try one of our fruity variations, like Pineapple or Lemon Angel Food Cake.

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April: Coconut-Carrot Cake with Coconut Buttercream

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Recipe: Coconut-Carrot Cake with Coconut Buttercream

Dress up the Easter dessert spread with this creative, slightly tropical spin on the classic carrot cake. It’s baked in a 13-by-9 sheet pan, which makes for easy slicing—this cake is ideal for feeding a crowd.

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May: Chocolate-Zucchini Cake

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Chocolate-Zucchini Cake

The secret to our best, super-moist chocolate cake? Grated zucchini. That’s right: This stunning bake has 2 whole zucchini squashes packed inside. How’s that for eating your vegetables?

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Sweeten Your 2020 With These Delicious Cakes

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June: Sweet Tea Bundt Cake

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Sweet Tea Bundt Cake

Celebrate the kickoff of sweet-tea-porch-sipping season with this classic Bundt, bursting with flavor from iced tea bags steeped in the batter and a sweet tea syrup glaze.

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July: Red, White, and Blue Poke Cake

Jennifer Causey

Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Poke Cake

Talk about patriotic? This red, white, and blue poke cake gains its festive colors from fresh strawberries and blueberries. It’ll be the perfect addition to your July 4th barbecue.

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August: Creamy Peach Icebox Cake

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling; Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Creamy Peach Icebox Cake

In the dog days of summer, there’s no better way to cool off than with an icebox cake. This version pairs our favorite seasonal flavor—peach—with layers of vanilla ice cream and pound cake to make a simple, yet utterly satisfying treat.

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September: Apple Stack Cake

Photo: Victor Protasi; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Apple Stack Cake

September ushers in the fall, otherwise known as apple picking season. Put those extra fresh-from-the-orchard apples to good use in this show-stopping Apple Stack Cake. It’s quickly become a Southern Living favorite, and soon enough, it’ll become your own family tradition to bake this cake each fall.

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October: Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

Southern Living

Recipe: Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

Pound cake coated in swoops of caramel frosting? Sounds like a dream to us. Bring this to any fall party and we guarantee you’ll be leaving with an empty cake stand.

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November: Pumpkin Spice Cake

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cake

This Thanksgiving, ditch the pies and opt for a warm spice cake instead. We’ve created an appropriately seasonal cake that celebrates all the flavors of the fall—pumpkin, caramel, and pecans.

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December: Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas: Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Our 2019 white cake and December cover star is as Southern as it gets: the three-tiered stunner is packed with chocolate and buttermilk and crowned with Magnolia Flower Cake Toppers or Camellia Flower Toppers. It’s a centerpiece-worthy cake for any Christmas dessert spread.

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