Dessert Recipes

Traditional Passover apple pie made with matzo meal crust instead of flour. Unique dough from soaked matzos, hard-boiled egg yolks, and butter.

Buttercream filled oatmeal sandwich cookies: chewy oat-and-corn-syrup rounds sandwiched around a silky cooked-yolk buttercream. Bakery-style sandwich cookies for tins and dessert trays.

Elegant brazil nut torte with graham cracker cake layers split and filled with vanilla pudding cream. A two-day showpiece that's worth every minute of the wait.

Layered chocolate pound cake soaked in kirsch, topped with sour cherries, rich homemade chocolate custard, and clouds of whipped cream. A showpiece trifle for 18.

A flourless European-style torte made with chestnuts, almonds, and dark rum, filled with chocolate whipped cream, then glazed with apricot preserves and chocolate icing.

Mocha layer cake made with hot coffee, cocoa, sour cream, and folded egg whites, topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. A rich, tender two-layer chocolate coffee cake from scratch.

Jefferson pie with brown sugar custard, dates, raisins, pecans, and warm spices in a flaky crust topped with meringue. A forgotten Southern heirloom dessert.

Moist pumpkin cake layered with spiced whipped cream. Brown sugar, cinnamon, sour milk, and pumpkin puree make a tender, old-fashioned two-layer cake for autumn dessert tables.

Buttery shortbread sticks with ground almonds baked into the dough and a crunchy almond-sugar topping. These elegant little cookies snap with a satisfying crumble and make 3 dozen in under an hour.

Silky Mexican flan baked in homemade caramel with cinnamon-infused milk, whole eggs, and extra yolks for richness. A traditional custard dessert that's slow-baked in a water bath until set like velvet.

Fresh strawberry mousse with pureed strawberries, whipped cream, framboise, and a ribbon-stage egg base. A light, elegant French-style molded dessert.

Lemon verbena ice cream steeps fresh herb leaves into a rich egg-yolk custard base for a smooth, floral-citrus frozen treat. An elegant homemade custard ice cream that tastes like the herb garden in summer.

Pecan tarts with caramel sauce: flaky homemade pastry shells filled with a brown-butter pecan filling, baked golden, then drizzled with silky amber caramel. Individual holiday tartlets worth the effort.

Summer blueberry tart, a French-style dessert with a buttery pate brisee crust and a filling that's half cooked blueberry glaze, half fresh berries, for vivid flavor and a clean slice. Lovely with creme fraiche.

Greek baklava with buttery cookie dough rolled around spiced nuts and phyllo, soaked in honey-lemon syrup for layers of crisp pastry and rich almond filling.

The classic Joy of Cooking devil's food cake with a cooked chocolate custard folded into the batter and whipped egg whites for lift. Finished with caramel icing. A vintage recipe worth mastering.