Let them (and us) eat cake for National Cake Day! Check out these recipes.

Layer cake. Upside-down cake. Crumb cake. Pound cake. Cheesecake. Carrot cake. Angel food cake. Notice a trend here?

Yes, we love cake. And our favorite celebratory dessert -- think birthdays, weddings and other parties -- is having its own celebration: Nov. 26 is National Cake Day.

You've probably heard the famous quote "Let them eat cake," which generally has been attributed to Marie Antoinette. However, historians say there is no proof of her saying that. No matter. We'll gladly eat cake, even without anyone's permission.

More cake talk ...
"Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me." -- Actress Audrey Hepburn

"A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges." -- U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin

"A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it." -- Author Danielle Steel

"If you're trying to create a company, it's like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion."
-- Entrepreneur Elon Musk

"I'll do almost anything for cake -- even trample little children!"
-- TV personality Gayle King

Source: BrainyQuote.com

Red Velvet Cake
"I'm surprised by the number of people who say (red velvet cake is ) just a chocolate cake with red food coloring in it. I always feel the need to let them know 'not where I come from!' One tablespoon of cocoa does not a chocolate cake make. When that bit of cocoa combines with a touch of vinegar, a lovely reddish hue results. ... Hint: If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own. Just add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup whole milk." Makes one 9-inch, 3-layer cake.

Vegetable shortening
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk (see above hint)
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 tablespoon vinegar (white or balsamic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs
Cream cheese frosting (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat three 9-inch round cake pans with thin layer of shortening and light dusting of flour.

2. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In small bowl, stir together buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.

3. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat together sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in eggs. Scrape down sides and around bottom of bowl. Beat thoroughly on high speed until smooth, 2 minutes. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture. Beat on low speed just until combined. Scrape bowl again. Beat on high speed for 1 minute. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans.

4. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of each cake layer comes out clean, 18 minutes. The cakes will have pulled away from edges of pan, but cakes' edges shouldn't be browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

5. Once cool, put one cake layer on serving plate. Frost top with cream cheese frosting, then add second cake layer and frost top. Add final cake layer and frost top and sides.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes enough for one 9-inch, 4-layer cake, or 24 cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 (8-ounces each) packages cream cheese, cold
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (16-ounces each) boxes confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth, 1 minute. Scrape down sides and around bottom of bowl. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat on high speed until smooth, 1 minute.

2. With mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners' sugar just until blended. Scrape down bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. The frosting will keep in airtight container in refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.

-- From "Daisy Cakes Bakes: Keepsake Recipes for Southern Layer Cakes, Pies, Cookies, and More" by Kim Nelson (Clarkson Potter,
224 pp., $25)

Flourless Chocolate Cake
"Incredibly rich and impossibly smooth, flourless chocolate cake is elegant, refined, and universally beloved. ... This cake needs to chill for at least 6 hours, so we recommend making it the day before serving. An accurate oven thermometer is essential here. We prefer this cake made with 60 percent bittersweet chocolate; our favorite brands are Ghirardelli and Callebaut. To slice, dip a sharp knife in very hot water and wipe dry before and after each cut." Serves 10 to 12.

"Incredibly rich and impossibly smooth, flourless chocolate cake is elegant, refined, and universally beloved," say the editors at America's Test Kitchen. (Photo courtesy of America's Test Kitchen)

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 1-inch pieces
16 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 large eggs
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Microwave chocolate and butter in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 4 minutes. Let chocolate mixture cool for 5 minutes.

2. Whisk eggs, sugar, water, cornstarch, vanilla, espresso powder and salt in large bowl until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Whisk in chocolate mixture until smooth and slightly thickened, about 45 seconds. Strain batter through fine-mesh strainer into prepared pan, pressing against strainer with rubber spatula or back of ladle to help batter pass through. Gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles; let sit on counter for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to top. Use tines of fork to gently pop any air bubbles that have risen to surface. Bake until edges are set and center jiggles slightly when cake is shaken gently, 45 to 50 minutes.

3. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes; run thin knife around edge of pan to loosen cake. Let cake cool on rack until barely warm, about 30 minutes. Cover cake tightly with plastic wrap, poke small hole in top, and refrigerate until cold and firmly set, at least 6 hours or up to 2 days. Remove sides of pan and slide thin metal spatula between cake bottom and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto platter. Let cake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

-- From "The Perfect Cake: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic, Modern, and Whimsical Cakes" by the editors at America's Test Kitchen (America's Test Kitchen, 432 pp., $35)

Cranberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake
"Pound cake is simple but elegant; it's also incredibly rich. We thought tart cranberries and tangy sour cream would provide a welcome contrast to the buttery cake, and the bright cranberries would also contribute a burst of color for an extra-special dessert. ... If you're using frozen cranberries, there's no need to thaw them first. The ideal temperature for the eggs and butter is 60 degrees. The test kitchen's preferred loaf pan measures 81/2 by 41/2 inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes early."
Makes 8 servings.

This cranberry-sour cream pound cake may be frozen for up to 1 month. (Photo courtesy of America's Test Kitchen)

5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
13/4 cups (83/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
Salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 14 pieces and softened, but still cool
11/4 cups (83/4 ounces) granulated sugar
4 ounces (1 cup) fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped coarse
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Spray 81/2-by-41/2-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour.

2. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sift flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt and baking powder into bowl. Whisk sour cream and milk together in second bowl.

3. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down bowl once. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add granulated sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream. Scrape down bowl and continue to mix on medium speed until uniform, about 1 minute (batter may look slightly curdled). Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand. Toss cranberries with confectioners' sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in bowl until evenly coated, then gently but thoroughly fold into batter.

4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 13/4 hours to 1 hour 55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours. Serve. (Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month; defrost cake at room temperature.)

-- From "The Perfect Cake: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic, Modern, and Whimsical Cakes" by the editors at America's Test Kitchen (America's Test Kitchen, 448 pp., $35)

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