Old-Fashioned Cake Recipes

Before the boxed mix, a cake was a small act of love. You creamed the butter by hand until your arm ached, you measured by feel, and you guarded the oven like a hawk. The cakes that came out — dense, buttery pound cakes, deep dark chocolate cakes, spiced gingerbread and moist banana loaves — carried the whole occasion, whether that was a birthday, a christening, or just a Sunday that needed lifting.

This collection gathers the old-fashioned cakes we've tested from scratch, each with the little secret that makes it: the long creaming that raises a pound cake without a speck of baking powder, the very ripe bananas, the fizz of soda in a Depression-era wacky cake, the caramelized topping on a pineapple upside-down. No mixes, no shortcuts — just flour, butter, sugar and a bit of patience.

Pick a showstopper for the table or a humble everyday loaf, and rediscover what a cake tastes like when it's made the way grandmother made it.