How to Make Apple Cake

Chef Matt Danko uses his father's recipe to make sharlotka, a deliciously light and fluffy Russian apple cake.

When pastry chef Lara Atkins was little, her mother made this cake for her bridge club; Atkins remembers how she and her brothers would have to wait (and wait and wait) for their slices until all the ladies of the club had served themselves. Atkins now makes the cake for her son, who never has to wait for his piece.

This is one of the best upside-down cakes ever--the maple syrup infuses both the apples and the cake, making the dessert taste like a stack of apple pancakes.

This recipe is based on an American-style streusel-topped coffee cake. Han Feng gives this homey dessert a Chinese twist by adding roasted chestnuts. She bakes the cakes in oversize teacups, but ramekins are perfect substitutes.

This warm apple cider cake gets topped with a crunchy pumpkin seed brittle.

David Guas, co-author of the cookbook DamGoodSweet, tops his apple Bundt cake with a nicely salty streusel of pecans and toasted rolled oats. He bakes the streusel on its own to make it extraordinarily crisp, then pats it over the warm cake right out of the oven.

Serve this apple cake with a good healthy dollop of crème fraîche; it helps offset the sweetness of the fruit.

This classic recipe for apple upside down cake is the perfect addition to any holiday table.

"I add everything from fresh blueberries to chocolate chips," says Spike Gjerde of the delicious crumb coffee cake he will serve all day at his upcoming Baltimore spot, Artifact Coffee. "Of course the cakes are great with just diced apple, too."

Caramelized apples and pecan-laced streusel make Andrew Zimmern’s lightly spiced crumb cake totally irresistible.