Food Desserts & Baking Cakes & Cupcakes Our Best Fall Cake Recipes By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 10, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Carson Downing Savor fall flavors—cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, apples, nuts, cranberries and more—in these delicious, moist cakes. 01 of 19 Cocoa Gingerbread with Heaven Frosting Carson Downing A humble snack dresses up for company. With its nutty flavor and tiny flecks of toasted milk solids, browned butter elevates a simple cream cheese frosting to saintly levels. Ultimate Cake Recipes View Recipe 02 of 19 Doughnut Bundt Doughnut Bundt. Carson Downing Nutmeg is the secret ingredient that makes this playful Bundt taste just like a cake doughnut. (Be sure to use freshly grated nutmeg—you'll really notice the difference in flavor.) View Recipe 03 of 19 Apple Sour Cream Kuchen Carson Downing This German-style, not-too-sweet, yeast-raised cake begs for a cup of coffee. For an extra tang, you can serve it with a dollop of lightly sweetened sour cream. Rise and Shine Breakfast Breads View Recipe 04 of 19 Cranberry Orange Upside-Down Cake Blaine Moats Invert this moist cake while it's still warm to reveal a fall kaleidoscope of glistening, tart berries and sweet mandarin oranges. View Recipe 05 of 19 My My's Brown Sugar Pound Cake Andy Lyons 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 Sweets by Michigan author Patty Pinner. View Recipe 06 of 19 Chocolate Pumpkin Cake 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. Decadent Chocolate Dessert Recipes View Recipe 07 of 19 Bourbon-Apple-Rye Upside-Down Cake 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. Upside-Down Cake Recipes You'll Flip Over View Recipe 08 of 19 Pioneer Wedding Stack Cake This wonderfully moist and generously spiced six-layer cake is a showy spin on humble applesauce cake. View Recipe 09 of 19 Quick Black Forest Cherry Cake 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. Quick-and-Easy Dessert Recipes View Recipe 10 of 19 Applesauce Spice Cake No granulated sugar is added to this recipe; the sweetness comes from cider, fruit and applesauce. View Recipe 11 of 19 Cranberry Layer Cake This moist white cake combines toasted pecans and refreshing orange peel with cranberries. Orange peel flavors the thick cream cheese frosting, too. View Recipe 12 of 19 Walnut Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream Fill layers of walnut cake with caramel whipped cream and drizzle it all with caramel sauce for a rich fall dessert. View Recipe 13 of 19 Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake 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! View Recipe 14 of 19 Maple Syrup Cake Mark Thomas 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. View Recipe 15 of 19 Fresh Apple Cake 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. View Recipe 16 of 19 Pumpkin-Praline Layer Cake 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. View Recipe 17 of 19 Chocolate-Pear Spice Cake 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. View Recipe 18 of 19 Graham Cracker Cake 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. View Recipe 19 of 19 Spiced Pecan Sweet Potato Cake Deborah Biggs of Omaha completes this amazingly moist dessert with Maple Whipped Cream. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit