We're Looking for Your Best Layer Cake (Again!)

A new year is often a time for reflection—and your friendly Food52 recipe contest community moderators have been doing our own sort of reflecting, and looking back at all of the past contest themes. If you are new to our recipe contests or a veteran contestant who wants to take a walk down memory lane, check out these past contests that we loved:

• Your Best Late Winter Tart (Sweet or Savory)
• A&M Smackdown / Your Best Peach Pie or Tart
• You Best Mash-Up Recipe

But in our lookback, we were really most struck by our very first contest—Your Best Layer Cake—which, surprisingly, had only three entries! The winner was Not Red Velvet Cake with Fudge Glaze, and the runner up was Lemon Birthday Cake. If you can believe it, taking last place was a recipe that is now a beloved Food52 favorite: Chocolate Dump-It Cake.

And because our resolution this year (and every year!) is to eat more cake, we are inviting you to join us. Go ahead, take a second shot and give us Your Best Layer Cake, Redux!

Share Your Best Recipe For A Layer Cake In Our Reboot of Food52's First Recipe Contest

Submissions are open from now until March 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Here are a few rules:

• No store-bought cake mix or frosting!
• The cake must have at least two layers—any more than that is up to you.
• We are interested in new or interesting flavor combinations.
• Get creative with your frosting too—naked cakes welcome!

The contest winner will receive a gift from the Food52 shop.

If you're entering an existing recipe you've already published on the site, go to that recipe page. Hit "Edit Recipe" (under the photo), scroll down, hit "Submit my recipe to a contest," select the latest contest ("Your Best Layer Cake, Redux"), and save.

If you want to add a new recipe, head to your profile page, select "Recipes," and click "Add a Recipe." Then upload it, hit "Submit my recipe to a contest," select the latest contest, and save.

We read every submission, and test as many as possible. But that’s a lot of reading and a lot of testing, so we’re counting on your help, too. Scroll through the submission pages and make (and favorite) any recipe that catches your eye. Then, share feedback on the recipe page. We'll take all this feedback into account as we narrow down the top five, which will be announced March 20.

Here's a full refresher on how the whole contest process works.

What's your favorite flavor combination for a layer cake? Let us know in the comments.