Dessert
3853 recipes found

Pumpkin-Butterscotch Custard With Spiced Whipped Cream
Butterscotch pudding gets an autumnal makeover with the addition of pumpkin purée and a fluffy, spiced whipped cream topping. To make this dish supremely festive, it’s baked in one large dish instead of individual custard cups. And because it needs to be prepared almost entirely in advance, it’s a perfect dinner party dessert. Serve it scooped into bowls, with some crisp cookies on the side.

Celebration Cake
This cake, which was developed by the British-Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, may not look perfect. You may end up with cracked layers, roughly cut edges and a white-chocolate ganache spread willy-nilly. “I think it’s best if it is superrustic,” Ottolenghi said. But it will be elegant anyway, the astonishingly good result of care and time spent in the kitchen for loved ones, and the flavors are terrific.

Caramelized Summer Fruit Tart
Use this crunchy, flaky tart recipe as a template for any ripe summer fruit you have, adjusting the sugar and cornstarch depending on how sweet and juicy the fruit is (see Tip). Made from store-bought puff pastry that’s been coated in Demerara sugar, the crust caramelizes as it bakes, turning shiny and crisp enough to shatter when you bite down. And feel free to change up the seasonings and substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground spices or grated lemon zest for the vanilla. It’s an easy, fuss-free dessert that seems like a lot more work than it actually is. For maximum flakiness, serve this on the same day that it’s baked.

Rosemary, Olive Oil and Orange Cake
This is a very light cake, similar to a lemon drizzle but with a ton more flavor. The rosemary and orange add delicious floral notes. A fluted Bundt pan looks especially nice. Prepare the crystallized rosemary sprigs at least 6 to 8 hours (or the day before) before serving the cake, which will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to three days.

Pralines
This deeply Southern and unapologetically sweet candy recipe came to the Times by way of Julia Reed in an article about making edible holiday gifts. Her friend, Mary Cooper “can do anything: she canes chairs, she's an excellent gardener, she even makes her own cheese. And at Christmas she always makes me the best pecan pralines I have ever tasted.” Ms. Cooper was kind enough to share her recipe with Ms. Reed who, in turn, shared it with us. As you spoon the warm praline mixture onto the parchment paper, work quickly. It dries in a snap. Some have been known to sprinkle the tops of the wet pralines with flaky sea salt before they harden.

Greek Rizogalo

Dalgona Candy (Ppopgi)
Crunchy with a light snap, this thin candy (as seen on Netflix’s “Squid Game”) has a distinctive toasty sweetness. In postwar South Korea, vendors outside schools and toy stores made and sold these tan disks stamped with shapes. They would offer a free one to children who could pick out the shape with a needle without breaking the candy in a game called ppopgi. Preparing the candy at home requires only two ingredients and attention at the stove. The ladle needs to be moved away from the heat occasionally to stir away any lumps without burning the melting sugar. If you want to make multiple candies quickly, keep a small saucepan of boiled water in the sink to quickly clean hardened sugar off the ladle.

Peach Upside-Down Skillet Cake With Bourbon Whipped Cream
A lush combination of a Southern upside-down cake and a French tarte tatin, this cake is deeply caramelized on top and light and fluffy beneath. The chef Virginia Willis, who put the recipe together, uses a whole vanilla bean, but if you don't feel like making that investment, a teaspoon of strong pure vanilla extract is fine. She uses a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, but a heavy nonstick one would work too. The whipped cream is optional, as is the bourbon that brightens it; you can add vanilla, confectioners' sugar or both if you prefer.

Lime, Mint and Rum Tarts
These small tarts, inspired by a mojito, are the perfect celebratory end to a meal: refreshing, light and boozy. If you don’t have a spice grinder, finely chop the mint for the final step of the curd and then crush it in a pestle and mortar with the rum before adding to the curd. The aim is for the mixture to be as fine as possible, almost like a paste or like pesto, so that it’s fine enough to turn the curd slightly greener, rather than just fleck it with mint. A touch of parsley makes the green even more vibrant. If you want to work ahead, you can make the pastry dough a day in advance. The curd will keep in the fridge for up to a week; the vibrancy of the mint will fade a little, but it will still be fine. Bake the pastry on the day you are serving, though, and serve as soon as possible after the rum is poured over the tart.

Peach Polenta Cake
This simple, summery cake gets its rustic texture from polenta and ground almonds. Most of its sweetness comes from cut peaches that bubble in a light caramel at the bottom of the cake, then decorate the top when you flip it over. The recipe is from King, a small restaurant in Manhattan where the chefs Clare de Boer and Jess Shadbolt swap the stone fruit out to use whatever is sweet, juicy and in season. Try the cake with peaches, nectarines, plums or even a mix of all three, but make sure to give the cake the time it needs to turn golden brown and firm to the touch. At King, the chefs use the Italian brand Moretti's stone-ground polenta bramata. For a more rustic cake, with a little bite, use coarse polenta. For a more tender crumb, use finely ground polenta.

Poached Dried Apricots In White Wine

Nina Balducci

Red Wine Honey Cake With Plums
Honey cakes are an inevitable part of the Rosh Hashana meal, but this one, with its deep, spicy flavor and gorgeous hue, will be welcome any time of year.

Pears in Red Wine

Almond Berry Layer Cake
Behold! An ode to summer in cake form. In this towering dessert from the food stylist and cookbook author Susan Spungen, crumbly yet tender layers of almond cake are layered with mounds of fresh berries and a rich filling of mascarpone and crème fraîche. It's not difficult to make, but it does take some time, so save this for a lazy Saturday when you've just scored piles of perfect berries from the farmers' market.

Poached Apricots With Pistachio and Amaretto Mascarpone
This dessert, which manages to be both rich and wonderfully refreshing, requires very little effort. Make sure, though, that you use apricots that are at their very best. Other light dessert wines can be used instead of Sauternes.

Stareos

Peaches and Blueberries With Mascarpone

Peaches in Red Wine

Howard Bulka's Strawberry Icebox Cake

Mascarpone Sauce With Strawberries (Ristorante Corona)

Figs With Mascarpone and Honey

Sesame, Date and Banana Cake
Even though this cake is packed full of dates, bananas and tahini (also known as tahini paste in Britain), it’s surprisingly soft and light. You can serve it warm, if you like, with the tahini cream cheese and bananas alongside, although it’s worth the wait, if you can, for it to cool so that it can be assembled as a cake. A note on tahini: We always use tahini from one of the Arabic brands, which tend to be creamy and nutty (as opposed to a Greek or Cypriot tahini, which can be bitter and sticky). But it's also worth seeking out local or artisanal brands closer to home. Always be sure your tahini is well stirred before measuring.
