Dessert Recipes

A stunning three-tiered champagne cake soaked in bubbly and frosted with champagne buttercream. Built from two pans and cut into graduated layers, this is the centerpiece for weddings, New Year's, and any excuse to celebrate.

A lemon-kissed bundt cake made with white cake mix, cream cheese, sour cream, and frozen lemonade, topped with a tangy sour cream glaze. Semi-homemade and incredibly moist.

A cherry twist on classic tiramisu with espresso-soaked ladyfingers layered with whipped cream, chopped semi-sweet chocolate, and fresh Bing cherries. No baking required.

A spiced chocolate apple bundt cake with diced green apples, currants, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, finished with a brandy-cinnamon glaze. Moist, warmly spiced, and perfect for fall baking.

A moist chocolate banana snack cake made with buttermilk, mashed ripe bananas, and cocoa. No eggs, low in oil, topped with chocolate chips and nuts. Cut into lunchbox-friendly squares.

Layered chocolate torte with a dried sour cherry and Marsala filling, coffee-soaked cake layers, and a cream cheese whipped cream. A multi-component holiday showpiece that tastes like Black Forest cake's sophisticated Italian cousin.

Flourless chestnut and pecan torte with a bourbon-coffee-chocolate filling, bittersweet chocolate ganache icing, and bourbon chantilly cream. Rich, nutty, and deeply warming. The kind of torte that ends a dinner party with a standing ovation.

Chocolate covered marshmallow cookies with a soft vanilla base, a melted marshmallow top, cocoa frosting, and a pecan half. Like homemade Mallomars.

Chocolate toffee icebox cake layers crisp chocolate wafers with vanilla pudding cream and crunchy Heath bar bits. A no-bake make-ahead dessert that slices into striking dark and creamy ribbons.

Classic Italian aniseed cookies (anisbroetli or anise drops) made with whipped eggs, powdered sugar, and ground anise, dried overnight before baking for the signature crisp shell and soft middle.

This three-layer coconut cake starts with a yellow cake mix shortcut, then gets loaded with shredded coconut, crunchy walnuts, and a from-scratch cream cheese frosting with toasted golden coconut on top. Ready in about an hour.

Chewy coconut almond macaroons made with homemade almond paste, ground coconut, and egg whites. Naturally gluten-free, crisp on the outside, soft in the middle. Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

Chocolate bundt cake spiked with Kahlua and instant coffee, made easy with a cake mix and pudding mix shortcut. Drizzled with a coffee liqueur icing that soaks into every ridge.

No-bake chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate-cocoa biscuit crust, a cloud-light filling of bittersweet chocolate, whipped cream, and folded egg whites, crowned with toasted pecans.

Italian country spice cake (torta speziata): cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with raisins plumped in warm water and a hit of brewed espresso in the batter.

Easy layered buckeyes with a peanut butter and powdered sugar base topped with melted chocolate, pressed into a pan and cut into squares. All the flavor of buckeye candy without rolling individual balls.