One-Bowl Desserts

Peeps, if there is one true thing (which, arguably, there is not . . .) it is that I adore one-bowl baking and I hate doing dishes. Each of these one-bowl desserts is assembled in – you guessed it – a single bowl and that means very little clean-up (you’re welcome). Simple and easy-peasy describe everything that I love in a dessert and a one-bowl sweet by definition is always the simplest and easiest (peasiest) around. This is a collection of some of my fave one-bowl desserts – everything from muffins to cakes to cobblers to brownies  – and I love them all (and here’s to hoping you will, too).

One-Bowl Desserts

One-Bowl Raspberry Buttermilk Sheet Cake

I dig a sheet cake more than just about anything (sorry children, dog, husband). And if it is filled with, or topped with, berries, be they strawberry or raspberry or blackberry, all the better. RECIPE.

Cherry Almond Snack Cake with Marzipan Crumble

This snack cake showcases one of my favorite flavor combos: cherry and almond. It has the most tender and moist of almond-flavored crumbs and is studded throughout with bright red cherries — making it as pretty as it is tasty. Moreover, the crumb topping is sweet, crunchy and buttery and very marzipan-like in flavor, due to the addition of almond paste. RECIPE.

One-Bowl Blackberry Cobbler

Sweetened blackberries are blanketed with a glorious topping of easy-peasy biscuits that do not require a biscuit cutter. (You’re welcome.) The biscuits are not only lightly sweetened and flavored with cinnamon, they are also topped with cinnamon sugar and a sprinkling of raw sugar, too, for sparkle and crunch. RECIPE.

One-Bowl Chocolate Snack Cake

This snack cake is perfect for after school. It is assembled quickly and bakes up in less than 30 minutes. Topped with a billowy and tangy cream cheese frosting, this easy recipe will likely become your go-to when cake is requested, required or craved. RECIPE.

One-Bowl Lemon Snacking Cake

Although I am always and forever team chocolate, I do make an exception when it comes to lemon. This recipe is a spin on my grandmother’s lemon cake, one I enjoyed countless slices of while growing up. Many years later, I learned my grandmother’s cake was actually made using a boxed cake mix. This cake doesn’t call for a boxed mix, but my goal is to make it taste just as delicious as the ones I devoured in my youth. RECIPE.

Easy One-Bowl Apple Snack Cake

My apple snack cake has a soft and tender crumb and is studded with chunks of fresh apples and generously coated with cinnamon. Prior to baking, the top of the cake is sprinkled with turbinado sugar, providing the prettiest sparkle and a delightful crunch. If apples are not your fave, substitute chunks of unpeeled peaches or plums or even blueberries in their place, and omit the cinnamon if you like. RECIPE.

One-Bowl Brownies

There’s no question that deeply chocolatey, from-scratch brownies are pretty special. But those fudgy, crackly-topped, easy-peasy ones from a box can be kind of great, too. Here, the two types are merged, resulting in homemade brownies that have the ease and chewiness of box brownies coupled with the incredible depth of flavor of those made from scratch. RECIPE.

One-Bowl Cheesy Muffins with Prosciutto and Chives

OK, you’re right—these don’t count as dessert. But they’re just too good not to include them here. These muffins truly deliver on the savory breakfast front. Served warm alongside a plate of softly scrambled eggs or on their own smeared with salted butter, these intensely flavored muffins will satisfy all your savory baked-good cravings in the morning. RECIPE.

Gluten and Dairy Free One-Bowl Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

This cake is uber-moist, chocolate-y, and fudgy, and so very yummy. This recipe includes two versions—one made with cup 4 cup (not dairy-free) and one made with King Arthur Baking gluten-free flour (free of gluten and dairy). Try both, and let me know which you prefer. RECIPE.

One-Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

These cupcakes are oil-based, beyond moist and deeply vanilla-flavored, as they should be. The frosting is rich from softened butter and deeply chocolate-y and is the perfect sweet and fluffy crown atop the vanilla cupcakes. Sprinkles are an awfully nice addition, too. RECIPE.