Dessert/4 recipes

Cranberry cheesecake studded with tart cranberries and orange zest, set on a graham cracker base. A holiday dessert that skips the springform pan and bakes in a simple pie plate.

Christmas carrot pudding steams grated carrots and potatoes with breadcrumbs, raisins, suet and warm spices into a moist British holiday pudding served with brown sugar sauce.

Buttery pound cake soaked in a homemade liqueur syrup. Choose your favorite spirit: rum, amaretto, hazelnut, orange, or raspberry. Stores up to 6 months frozen.

This was a wonderful loaf of gingerbread. It was delicious.

Tiny cookie cups filled with a rich pecan-Kahlua topping.

Classic almond biscotti are twice-baked Italian cookies made with whole-wheat and white flour, turbinado sugar, eggs, vanilla, and toasted almonds. Crisp, dunkable, and made for coffee.

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Chocolate coconut cake topped with a boiled coconut-coffee-cocoa glaze that soaks into the warm crumb. Simple pantry ingredients for a rich, fudgy everyday cake with tropical coconut finish.

Raspberry mousse cheesecake copycat from Olive Garden layers a chocolate cookie crust, baked cream cheese filling, and a pink raspberry-whipped cream mousse top. The chain's classic dessert decoded for home.

Pastry cheesecake crust with butter, sugar, egg, and flour. A sturdier, cookie-like base for springform cheesecakes when graham crumbs feel too crumbly.

This pie is super delicious and it is always a big hit at our family gathering dinner.

Chinese steamed honey sponge cake with almond powder and fluffy whipped egg whites. This traditional method produces a pillowy, moist crumb without an oven, and the cake resteams beautifully for leftovers.

Best apple raspberry pie: tart Granny Smith apples and jewel-bright raspberries spiced with cinnamon under a flaky, folded lard crust. A sweet-tart twist on classic apple pie.

Banana walnut upside-down cake with a brown sugar-maple syrup caramel, sliced bananas in concentric circles, and a cinnamon butter cake. Served warm with whipped cream.

Dark chocolate marshmallow cake with sour cream for moisture, topped with a fluffy cooked marshmallow frosting. Two layers of rich, fudgy cake under a cloud-like finish.

Macadamia pie swaps pecans for buttery Hawaiian macadamia nuts in a classic corn syrup and brown sugar custard. Crisp salted nuts on top, gooey caramel below in a single-crust shell.