33 New Year's Eve Cake Recipes Worth Celebrating

Swiss roll is the chocolate cake you should be making for every winter occasion. This rich cocoa cake roll is filled with fluffy whipped cream and covered with chocolate ganache for a dessert that is light and creamy and intensely satisfying all at the same time.

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Baked Alaska is the classic, nostalgic dessert that we’re bringing back. Basically a glorified ice cream cake, this towering dessert will be the talk of any New Year's Eve party you serve it at (especially when you cut into it for the very first time—be prepared for ooh’s and aah’s).

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In the list of great chocolate duos, chocolate and orange are pretty much a power couple. This almost flourless chocolate cake gets an added burst of orange flavor from both orange zest and orange liqueur and some candied orange peel that really puts it over the top.

Get the Almost Flourless Chocolate-Orange Cake recipe.

We chose to make vanilla cake pops with white chocolate frosting and sprinkles, but you can switch it up based on your favorite flavors! Do vanilla cake with chocolate frosting (semisweet would be perfect), white cake, chocolate, or red velvet with any icing and decorations you please.

Get the Cake Pops recipe.

For this cake, we traced our number on the back of an empty cereal box to used it as a stencil—trust us, it's very doable! Use this method (or a number-shaped cake pan, no shade) to write out 2024, as big or as small as you like.

Get the Number Cake recipe.

Why choose just one dessert for your New Year's celebration when you can have two? With the creaminess of cheesecake and the fluffiness of birthday cake, this two-in-one treat has it all.

Get the Funfetti Cheesecake recipe.

A classic chocolate cake is always a good idea, but if you want to switch things up a bit, give this white chocolate cake a try. It's soft and layered with a white chocolate mousse, then frosted with a simple cream cheese frosting.

Get the White Chocolate Cake recipe.

Originating in Russia, the Napoleon cake is composed of many layers of puff pastry with a whipped pastry cream filling, and is encrusted with more pastry crumbs. After assembling, the cake is chilled overnight to allow the pastry layers to soften and absorb some of the cream, kind of like a very fancy icebox cake.

Get the Napoleon Cake recipe.

If you’re looking for a showstopping, mouthwatering dessert to impress dinner guests, look no further than this lemon meringue cheesecake. The layers of graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake, bright yellow lemon curd, and a big swoop of toasted meringue will get everyone in a frenzy even before their first bite.

Get the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe.

Chocoflan’s beautiful contrasting layers of chocolate cake and flan are totally mind-blowing. During the bake, the batters switch places. The end result is a distinctly layered dessert with moist chocolate cake as the foundation, a creamy set flan on top, and a caramel drizzle to crown it all.

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We use sweetened condensed, evaporated, and whole milk for this Latin American sponge cake. Some recipes use heavy cream in place of whole milk, but we feel the mixture is already decadent enough. Plus, we use heavy cream for the topping so it still makes it way in there. 😉

Get the Tres Leches Cake recipe.

Have you ever wondered what a gooey chocolate brownie paired with cheesecake would taste like? Look no further! This chocolate cheesecake recipe is a chocolate lover’s dream. It’s rich, silky smooth, moist, and almost fudge-like—everything you want in a chocolate dessert.

Get the Chocolate Cheesecake recipe.

We used slices from navel, blood orange, Cara Cara oranges, grapefruit, and lemons, but really any of your favorite wintery citrus can be used for this stunner of an upside-down cake.

Get the Citrus Upside-Down Cake recipe.

Bigger is better, especially when we're talking cookies. Tip: Don’t be shy with your cookie! Mix up the chocolate chips in the cookie dough for peanut butter or butterscotch chips instead, or if you love all things chocolate, then decorate the baked cookie with chocolate buttercream or ganache.

Get the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe.

Let the sparks really fly this NYE with this eye-popping lemon-berry firecracker cake. For a blast of flavor, our spin on the classic firecracker cake upgrades itself from white cake to a tangy lemon batter with blueberry- and strawberry-flavored swirls.

Get the Lemon-Berry Firecracker Cake recipe.

This recipe combines a fudgy chocolate sheet cake with cheesecake polka dots and crunchy chocolate chips for texture. The cake serves 12, so it's perfect for casual New Year's celebrations and dinner parties. Tip: make sure to cool the cake completely before serving to guarantee the cheesecake filling sets.

Get the Chocolate Polka Dot Cake recipe.

It’s hard not to love a creamy, light slice of tiramisu, but we especially love it in cake form. Whether you’re looking for a slightly more approachable take on the Italian classic, or are just a fanatic looking for a clever twist, this recipe is perfect.

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To make these cupcakes really feel like a Moscow mule, we pour ginger beer straight into the cupcake batter—a hack that lets you skip the eggs, oil, and water, while giving you all of that classic gingery flavor. Don't worry, we didn't forget the vodka—it's in the frosting!

Get the Moscow Mule Cupcakes recipe.

Popular in the Caribbean, rum cake is a vanilla cake that has rum in the batter. Traditionally, dried fruit is soaked in rum for months, then added to the cake batter, but our quicker version involves a poke cake technique to really incorporate that rich rum flavor.

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This light and just-sweet-enough cake is perfect for NYE, bridal showers, or maybe just making it through the week. The good news is that you can use the cheapest bubbly possible, and it'll still be delicious. Plus, if you have any left, you can make these adorable Champagne truffles too.

Get the Champagne Cake recipe.