Dessert Recipes

A buttery ginger pound cake baked in a ring mold, splashed with rum, and crowned with a garland of poached pears, candied orange peel, and grapes glazed in apple jelly. A showpiece holiday dessert.

Decadent amaretto chocolate cheesecake with an amaretti cookie crust, dark chocolate-almond filling spiked with liqueur, and crunchy amaretti folded into the batter. Italian-inspired showstopper.

Lemon chiffon pie with a lemon-zest shortbread crust, cloud-light gelatin-set citrus filling, and a topping of fresh whipped cream. Bright, fluffy, refreshing.

Eggnog bread pudding baked in a water bath with cinnamon-raisin bread, brandy, nutmeg, and half-and-half, served with a cranberry-maple bourbon sauce. A festive holiday dessert.

Blueberry crumb cake squares from a jelly roll pan with a rich butter batter, a full quart of blueberries, and a cinnamon-nutmeg brown sugar crumb topping. Makes 24 generous squares.

Mincemeat sundae pie blends fruit mincemeat into vanilla ice cream, packs it into a vanilla wafer-pecan crust, and finishes each slice with warm homemade caramel sauce. A festive frozen twist on a Christmas classic.

Midnight muncher bars with a marbled chocolate and vanilla base, caramel pecan frosting filling, and a glossy chocolate ganache topping. Three decadent layers in one rich bar cookie.

Praline pound cake with cream cheese, sour cream, praline liqueur, and chopped pecans baked in a Bundt pan. Finished with a boiled brown sugar-praline glaze that soaks into every ridge.

Low-fat carrot fig cake that replaces oil and butter with pureed dried figs for moisture. Loaded with grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and raisins, drizzled with a simple pineapple juice glaze.

Chewy almond paste macaroons with crackled tops and tender centers, baked from a homemade four-day-aged paste of blanched almonds and egg whites. The classic Italian-style cookie before the French sandwich version took over.

Three-layer Southern coconut cake with a tangy crushed-pineapple filling and billowy seven-minute frosting. An almond-scented butter cake stacked with grated coconut between every layer.

Buche de Marrons au Chocolat, a French chestnut and chocolate log (no-bake variation of buche de Noel) with Calvados, wrapped in whipped cream bark and garnished with candied violets. A show-stopping Christmas dessert.

Passover apple cake made with matzo meal and potato starch instead of flour. A fluffy, flourless sponge layered with grated cinnamon apples and lemon.

Cranberry swirl cheesecake on a vanilla wafer crust with sour cream topping and fresh cranberry orange compote. A stunning make-ahead holiday dessert.

Self-saucing sticky toffee pudding, a date-studded muscovado sponge that creates its own rich toffee sauce underneath as it bakes. Spoon it warm over vanilla ice cream or pouring cream.

Caramel nut thumbprint cookies combine cocoa dough rolled in pecans with gooey caramel centers. A holiday cookie-tray favorite with chocolate, nut, and caramel in one bite.