Cake may not be the answer to attacks from monster machines, evil geniuses or mutant aliens. But sometimes you need to do the kitchen equivalent of popping into a phone booth like Clark Kent and emerging to save the day.
Here are five cakes that will make sure you're always a hero.
1. The easy no-fail chocolate cake
There's no better feeling than knowing you have an easy chocolate cake recipe in your repertoire that everyone will like, and this melt-and-mix coconut chocolate cake from SBS Food's baking columnist, Anneka Manning, fits the bill perfectly.
Melt and mix chocolate coconut cake Source: Alan Benson
2. The really impressive kids party cake
This rainbow piñata birthday cake will wow little kids and adults alike. "It’s as much fun to make as it is to give! I guarantee you’ll have as much fun making this as the recipient has cutting it! I mixed popping candy in with the sprinkles before coating the cake for extra fun,” says creator Poh Ling Yeow.
Rainbow pinata cake Source: China Squirrel
3. The rich indulgent cake for those with a super (pun intended!) sweet tooth
This layered cashew meringue cake recipe also comes from Anneka Manning, who says "Be warned: this cake is rich, unashamedly sweet and not for the faint-hearted. I promise a thin slice is all that is required!". It's also gluten-free.
Layered cashew meringue cake (sans rival) Source: Alan Benson
4. The cake that cures everything
That's what food writer Ruth Reichl calls this chocolate cake. Who are we to argue? (You can read an extract from her book, My Kitchen Year, here, where she explains why life sent her in search of a soul-soothing chocolate cake). "In times of stress, only excess will do: this is an enormous cake. But it keeps very well and there is no such thing as too much chocolate cake," she says. So this one is also a great cake when you need to feed a crowd.
The cake that cures everything Source: Murdoch Books
5. The go-to gluten-free cake
Of course we have you covered if you want a flourless chocolate cake or a classic orange and almond (SBS Food's most popular cake recipe, by the way!), but if you're looking for something different, how about a Persian love cake? Think those golden baklava-ish flavours, but in a moist cake with sticky, dark caramelised sides. You can find more than 70 other gluten-free cakes from SBS Food here.
Persian love cake Source: Murdoch Books
