Dessert recipes

From the McCalls Great American recipe collection, a classic American carrot cake for the microwave.

Bayerische Erdbeercreme is a classic German strawberry Bavarian cream with fresh berries, whipped cream, and gelatin set in a mold. Light, elegant, and only six ingredients.

A dessert made from pineapple with Alpine Pepper, and served with a side of wild fruit yoghurt.

Hickory nut cake is an old-fashioned American layer cake with chopped hickory nuts, maraschino cherries, and a hint of unsweetened chocolate, finished with a fluffy almond-vanilla buttercream frosting.

Old fashioned apple pie with a from-scratch butter crust made flaky with apple cider vinegar. Granny Smith apples get tossed in reduced cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg for deep, concentrated apple flavor.

A three-layer chocolate cake with cocoa and walnut extract, blanketed in fluffy marshmallow icing and showered with chopped black walnuts. All the joy of an ice cream sundae, no melting required.

White chocolate macadamia cookies with chunky white chocolate pieces and coarsely chopped unsalted macadamias in a brown sugar butter dough. Rolled, flattened, and baked golden.

Deep-dish peach pie: a baking dish heaped with juicy peaches and brown sugar under a single flaky, golden top crust. A fruit-forward summer pie that lets the peaches shine.

Applique cookies stack contrasting chocolate-pepper and sugar cookie doughs, cut in different shapes and glued with egg white before baking, then drizzled with chocolate. A striking two-tone decorating technique.

Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting recipe

Blueberries in black pepper Syrah syrup soaks fresh berries in a reduced red-wine syrup laced with vanilla and freshly cracked black pepper. A sophisticated make-ahead dessert for dinner parties.

Chocolate cherry cake with chocolate frosting: a Black Forest-inspired cake mix shortcut using devil's food, sour cream, almond extract, and cherry pie filling, topped with warm chocolate-almond frosting.

Old-fashioned chocolate coconut tea cakes with a sour cream crumb and a cinnamon-scented chocolate glaze spread while warm. Twelve dainty cupcakes for afternoon tea or coffee with a friend.

Festive lebkuchen cookies made with honey, brown sugar, allspice, and lemon. A traditional German Christmas cookie decorated with white icing.

Peanut butter meltaway cake layers buttermilk chocolate sheet cake with a peanut butter spread and chocolate buttermilk frosting. Three-layer dessert with classic chocolate-peanut butter pairing.

For years I only ate carrot cake with a butter and cream cheese frosting, but I was surprised by this glazed carrot cake. It was actually delicious. I will not mind enjoying a glazed carrot cake any more.