Dessert Recipes

Banana layer cake stacks two tender 8-inch rounds and slathers them in a real banana frosting brightened with lemon juice. Twice the banana, twice the reason to skip the boxed mix.

Fresh banana-pineapple sorbet churned with low-fat yogurt and honey, served in a hollowed-out pineapple shell for a stunning tropical presentation. Light, fruity, and low-fat.

Easy banana walnut snack cake using a box cake mix, mashed banana, and chopped walnuts. Baked in a square pan and dusted with powdered sugar through a doily.

Baked bananas and pancakes with quartered bananas, beer-batter pancakes, Calvados or Grand Marnier, orange juice, and molasses. A British-style pudding-dessert that's part crepe, part bananas Foster.

Classic Bananas Flambees bakes caramelized bananas in butter and sugar, then ignites warm rum poured over top for a dramatic finish. Just 4 ingredients and one rule: everything must be warm.

Easy one-bowl apple brunch cake with cinnamon, brown sugar, and loads of diced apples stirred right into the batter. A dense, moist cake that comes together with minimal effort and no mixer needed.

Berkshire apple pie with a dump-and-bake cake batter topping over cinnamon apples. No rolling pin needed for this rustic New England-style dessert.

Glazed ribbon cookies with buttery shortbread dough rolled into strips, filled with raspberry jam, and drizzled with vanilla glaze. Holiday cookie tray classic.

Best lemon sour cream pie folds tangy sour cream into a stovetop lemon curd, then crowns it with vanilla-scented meringue. Three textures in one slice: silky filling, billowy peaks, flaky crust.

Beverwyks are old Dutch spiced cookies with cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and chopped raisins rolled and cut into shapes. A traditional holiday cookie from New York's Dutch heritage.

Big-batch oatmeal cookies with brown sugar and butter, no eggs, no chips. Mash flat with a sugar-dipped glass for crisp-edged, chewy-centered classics. Makes 10 dozen.

Black and white marbled puddings made in the microwave. Vanilla and chocolate buttermilk puddings swirled together in dessert bowls for a striking two-tone dessert. Ready to chill in 30 minutes.

No-bake chocolate pudding pie layered with stewed California figs, a hint of coffee and cinnamon, toasted almonds, and vanilla whipped cream. A showstopper dessert that comes together without turning on the oven.

A puffed, soufflé-like baked pudding with semi-sweet chocolate, ground almonds, kirsch, and whole sour cherries. Beaten egg whites give it lift while the cherry brandy brings authentic Black Forest flavor.

Four-layer Black Forest torte with thin unsweetened chocolate cake layers alternating between chocolate filling and cream filling. Unfrosted sides show off the elegant layers.

Blackberry grunt with spiced molasses berries topped with egg-glazed biscuit rounds baked golden brown. An old-fashioned fruit dessert with warm cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.