The 13 best recipes to bake in April
A mashup cannoli cheesecake, a mind-blowing churro cupcake, and more.
This month, we’re fully embracing the mashup. From churro cupcakes to cannoli cheesecake, we’ve got creative recipes you didn't even know you needed. But don’t worry, we have tried-and-true classics too, like the only soufflé recipe you’ll ever need and a back-pocket vanilla cake to whip up at a moment’s notice. Here, we’re sharing a baker’s dozen recipes to bake all month long and beyond.
1) Churro Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache
Allow me to introduce you to the cupcake mashup you didn’t know you needed. To evoke the spirit of a churro, pâte à choux is baked in a muffin pan, then the hollow puffs are filled with tender, cinnamon-scented cake batter, baked a second time, and topped with luscious chocolate ganache and rolled in cinnamon sugar for a fancy finish.
Get the recipe: Churro Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache
Shop the recipe: Muffin Pan and Cinnamon Sugar Plus
2) Lachha Paratha (Flaky Paratha)
If you’re after flaky, flavorful flatbread to accompany weeknight dinner, this Lachha Paratha recipe from Tara O’Brady may be exactly what you’re looking for. These are as fun to make as they are to eat: Each piece of dough is rolled thinly, brushed with ghee and covered in cilantro, garlic, and roasted cumin powder, then rolled, coiled, and flattened, resulting in a flatbread with irresistibly flaky layers. Bonus: You don’t even need to turn on the oven.
Get the recipe: Lachha Paratha (Flaky Paratha)
Shop the recipe: Golden Whole Wheat Flour
3) Banana Snacking Cake with Chocolate Malted Cream Cheese Frosting
This snackable single-layer cake is reminiscent of banana bread, but gets a dose of childhood nostalgia from malted chocolate cream cheese frosting. Rainbow sprinkles and crushed malted milk balls add a touch of fun to this everyday cake.
Get the recipe: Banana Snacking Cake with Chocolate Malted Cream Cheese Frosting
Shop the recipe: Rainbow Pop Nonpareils and Malted Milk Powder
4) Classic Cheese Soufflé
From its impressive height to its cloud-like interior, this French staple is a simple showstopper. The combination of Gruyère and Parmesan add nutty richness to the soufflé; serve it for a simple supper with a big green salad, or as an elegant brunch centerpiece.
Get the recipe: Classic Cheese Soufflé
Shop the recipe: Pastry Brush
5) Quick and Easy Vanilla Cake
Here’s why this recipe lives up to its name: It’s mixed entirely by hand, requires only two bowls, and takes just 10 minutes to prep. And it’s not just the cake that’s quick and easy: The recommended chocolate frosting comes together in a flash too. Altogether, you’ll have an occasion-worthy cake ready in just about an hour and a half.
Get the recipe: Quick and Easy Vanilla Cake
Shop the recipe: Round Cake Pan
6) Chocoflan
This iconic Mexican dessert is exactly what it sounds like: half rich chocolate cake and half creamy flan. The beloved dessert has a magic trick up its sleeve: The cake batter is poured into the Bundt pan first, then topped with the flan mixture. Once it goes into the oven, the two layers switch places (due to the cake being less dense than the flan). Who needs frosting on top when you can have a thick layer of caramel flan instead?
Get the recipe: Chocoflan
Shop the recipe: Original Classic Bundt® Pan
7) Filipino Egg Pie
This custard pie is adored throughout the Philippines for its silky texture, all thanks to evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and eggs. During baking, the top of the pie transforms into a bronzed, deeply toasted layer that contrasts with the smooth filling beneath.
Get the recipe: Filipino Egg Pie
Shop the recipe: Maple Rolling Pin and Mat Set
8) Cannoli Cheesecake
With their creamy ricotta filling, cannoli were practically destined to be transformed into cheesecake. Here, ricotta and cream cheese are the foundation of the luscious filling, while waffle cones approximate the crunch of cannoli shells in the crust and garnish.
Get the recipe: Cannoli Cheesecake
Shop the recipe: Springform Pan
9) Chocolate and Coffee Cupcakes
Mocha lovers, this one’s for you. We’ve always been fans of adding espresso powder to our chocolate cakes to amplify their flavor, but pairing moist chocolate cupcakes with coffee frosting demonstrates the full magic of coffee and chocolate combined.
Get the recipe: Chocolate and Coffee Cupcakes
Shop the recipe: Espresso Powder
10) Frangipane and Fruit-Filled Wool Rolls
These adorably shaped milk bread rolls are a mini version of our beloved Filled Wool Roll. They’re arranged to resemble a quilt, and their interiors are as pillowy soft as their name suggests. But the outside appearance only tells half the story: Inside are alternating fillings of orange cardamom and raspberry frangipane.
Get the recipe: Frangipane and Fruit-Filled Wool Rolls
Shop the recipe: Cloud Forest Ground Cardamom and Orange Blossom Water
11) Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant
This recipe takes all the best elements of a chocolate croissant — gooey filling and flaky layers — and skips the labor-intensive laminating and shaping. Instead, we call for Fast and Easy Puff Pastry to achieve those characteristic flaky layers without the fuss of a traditional laminated pastry and long rests.
Get the recipe: Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant
Shop the recipe: Triple Cocoa Blend
12) Morning Glory Breakfast Bread
This subtly sweet quick bread checks off a lot of boxes: no added sugar, 100% whole grain, and no dairy. Plus it’s packed with mix-ins like shredded coconut, apples, carrots, and raisins for a hearty start to the day.
Get the recipe: Morning Glory Breakfast Bread
Shop the recipe: Golden Whole Wheat Flour
13) Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
This simple yet elegant cake comes together in mere minutes and doesn’t skimp on bright citrus flavors. Lemon is used in virtually all of its forms: zest, juice, and candied slices, plus a few not-so-secret ingredients for bolder flavor (lemon juice emulsion and lemon juice powder).
Get the recipe: Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
Shop the recipe: Lemon Juice Emulsion and Lemon Juice Powder
Cover photo (Cannoli Cheesecake) by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
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