15 Unusual Cakes You Need To Make Right Now

    Funfetti is important, but there's more to life.

    Sarah Jampel
    by Sarah Jampel

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    1. Faith Durand's Dark Molasses Gingerbread Cake

    Via food52.com

    Blackstrap molasses makes this rich and complex — like gingerbread should be.

    Get the recipe here.

    2. Spiced Dulce de Leche Banana Icebox Cake

    Via food52.com

    Our old favorite has gussied herself up with dulce de leche and bananas and now she’s ready to party. This fancified icebox cake is ready for your weeknight celebrations.

    Get the recipe here.

    3. Sufganiyot (Jelly Donut) Cake

    Via food52.com

    What do you get when you take a jelly donut and make it huge? This.

    Get the recipe here.

    4. Carrot Cake with Cardamom

    Via food52.com

    The yogurt and carrots give the cake moisture, and the hint of cardamom makes it shine. We ended up adding the sugar in the frosting to taste; if you prefer your frosting on the not-so-sweet side, you should do the same.

    Get the recipe here.

    5. Roberta's Parsley Cake

    Via food52.com

    If we can put rosemary in our frozen yogurt and thyme in our cookies, what's stopping parsley from dessert domination? This green cake might look Seussian, but it's not only edible — it's delicious.

    Get the recipe here.

    6. The Walnut Variation: A Cake

    Via food52.com

    This cake is a total show-stopper. It’s dramatic and showy, and it tastes that way too.

    Get the recipe here.

    7. Tomato Soup Cake

    Via food52.com

    Just what it sounds like: Cake, with a can of tomato soup in it. We dare you to try it.

    Get the recipe here.

    8. Double Layer Cranberry Ginger Upside-Down Cake

    Via food52.com

    This one packs three punches with cranberry, ginger and raspberry preserves.

    Get the recipe here.

    9. Chocolate-Mashed Potato Cake with Ganache

    Via food52.com

    Yeah, you read that right. The potato adds a certain moistness that chocolate cakes can lack -- without seeming too starchy or savory. Plus, the edges of the cake that touch the bundt pan get crackly: a perfect contrast to the soft cake inside.

    Get the recipe here.

    10. Grape, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake

    Via food52.com

    Thin, fast-baking, and elegant, this is the perfect dessert for last-minute company.

    Get the recipe here.

    11. Gingerbread Beer Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

    Via food52.com

    The unusual ingredients in this cake (mustard, sorghum, beer) combine to make one of the most complex, nuanced chocolate cakes you'll ever try.

    Get the recipe here.

    12. Nigel Slater's Extremely Moist Chocolate-Beet Cake

    Via food52.com

    Step aside, red velvet. It just so happens that the deep pink earthiness of a beet is surprisingly well suited for bittersweet chocolate.

    Get the recipe here.

    13. Nutella Crêpe Cake

    Via food52.com

    Use your favorite crêpe recipe for this cake. You can layer them with Nutell, jam, or be super classy and do brown butter with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

    Get the recipe here.

    14. Brown Sugar Apple Upside Down Cake with Apple Cider Caramel and Spiced Walnuts

    Via food52.com

    The caramel and walnuts make an already-special apple cake even better.

    Get the recipe here.

    15. Alsatian Gingerbread

    Via food52.com

    A single low-slung, honeyed loaf that's as enticing as it is delicious.

    Get the recipe here.

    Sarah Jampel is an editor for the community-based recipe website Food52, where you can find lots more recipes, cooking advice, and kitchen products.