Dessert

Serious Eats

Apr 7, 2023

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

The secret to ultra-creamy and velvety smooth vegan chocolate mousse? Ripe avocados.

NYT Cooking

Apr 7, 2023

Dòuhuā (Silken Tofu With Ginger Syrup)

A mainstay at dim sum restaurants and a popular street food in China and Southeast Asia, this cozy tofu pudding is as simple as scooping tofu and pouring gingery syrup on top. Also known as dòufuhuā in Mandarin (“bean curd flower” or “tofu flower”), dòuhuā is typically made with freshly made tender tofu, but packaged silken tofu makes the treat extra doable at home. For wonderful, custardy results, select silken tofu that’s been molded in its tub. (Block tofu sitting in a moat of water tends to be too firm.) Using a broad, shallow spoon to scoop out the tofu creates thin, wide shards, yielding maximum surface area exposure to the zippy ginger syrup. Warming the tofu in the microwave reveals its tender richness to mimic the texture of fresh dòuhuā. Old-school renditions feature just tofu and ginger syrup, but modern ones might include a wide range of add-ins similar to those offered for shaved-ice or boba treats. Canned mandarin orange segments would add vibrant contrast.

NYT Cooking

Apr 6, 2023

Brownies With Coffee and Cardamom

These brownies are infused with the flavors of Arabic coffee, which traditionally include ground cardamom and often other spices such cinnamon, saffron or rose water. Proper bar chocolate or chips, not cocoa powder, gives the brownies a deep chocolate taste that is complemented by the coffee and spices. This recipe calls for an electric mixer, but you can also whisk the eggs and the sugar together. It will take a little time, but the results are worth it. 

NYT Cooking

Apr 5, 2023

Kumquat Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is a creamy dessert custard, set with gelatin instead of eggs. It’s lovely plain or with a drizzle of honey on top. And, of course, it’s delicious with berries or stone fruit. Here, it’s topped with quickly candied kumquat slices, but a spoonful of marmalade or other homemade jam can be nice instead.

NYT Cooking

Apr 4, 2023

Cherry Almond Cake

Using frozen fruit is a great way to bring some summer sunshine to your baking all year round. It’s dependably sweet, delicious and usually affordable. Frozen fruit does tend to let off a lot juice, so it’s a good idea to thaw it first and let some of the liquid drain before adding it in. If you don’t have time to thaw your fruit, you can still bake this cake, but the fruit will sink to the bottom. Cherry and almond are a classic combination, but wild blueberries or chopped peaches would work, too. This naturally gluten-free cake is made with almond flour, which has the potential to make it dense. But whipped egg whites folded into the batter ensure that the cake is light and fluffy, despite being made almost entirely of nuts. 

NYT Cooking

Mar 31, 2023

Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies amaze with a salted caramel richness that comes from bay leaves, soy sauce and vinegar, key ingredients in many savory Filipino adobo dishes, bound by toasty brown butter. This chocolate chip cookie recipe is adapted from “Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed” (Harvest, 2023) by Abi Balingit. In it, she writes of her “insatiable desire for new combinations of sweet, salty, savory, sour and umami in desserts,” and this cookie hits all of those notes. But Ms. Balingit balances those seasonings so no single flavor distracts from the thrill of tasting something familiar with a totally new depth. Crisp around the edges and soft through the centers, they also have a fruity, aromatic pop of pink peppercorns on top.

Serious Eats

Mar 23, 2023

Cornflake Marshmallow Treats

The naturally sweet and earthy flavor of Corn Flakes shines in this riff on classic Rice Krispies treats.

NYT Cooking

Mar 22, 2023

Bolo de Cenoura (Carrot Cake)

Bolo de cenoura, a carrot cake often found in Portuguese and Brazilian bakeries, is thrilling in its simplicity. A few key ingredients (carrots, flour, sugar, eggs and oil) and a blender or food processor are all you need to bring together the batter. The carrots give the cake its tender orange-amber crumb, which is finished with a brigadeiro frosting, anchored by a condensed milk and cocoa powder, that’s made while the cake cools. A spoonful of sour cream, a nontraditional addition to the batter, adds a slight tang here, and condensed coconut milk lends a subtle nuttiness to the frosting.

Serious Eats

Mar 16, 2023

Chocolate Pecan Galette

Filled with dark chocolate and crunchy pecans, this riff on the classic Thanksgiving pie is perfect not just during the autumn, but all year long.

NYT Cooking

Mar 1, 2023

Baked Lemon Pudding

My repertoire of sweet lemon recipes is limited, but, as it happened, my friend, the Irish pastry chef JR Ryall, was in town, with his new cookbook “Ballymaloe Desserts,” for which I wrote the foreword. It contains a recipe for a homey hot lemon pudding. It's not a soufflé, but it has a light, airy feel. And, as it bakes, it separates into distinct layers, custardy on the bottom and spongy on top.

NYT Cooking

Mar 1, 2023

Cozonac (Walnut and Raisin Easter Bread)

In Romania, this festive sweet braided loaf, cozonac, is most commonly baked for Easter and Christmas. There are countless versions among families and across regions and this one, from Irina Georgescu’s “Tava: Eastern European Baking and Desserts From Romania and Beyond” (Hardie Grant, 2022) is swirled with a blend of walnuts and raisins bound by sweetened and beaten egg whites. Tender and delicately sweet, this loaf is perfumed with both orange zest and orange blossom water. According to Ms. Georgescu, cozonac has been connected to pre-Christian celebrations and its baking process is still considered superstitious by some. She recommends making the sign of the cross over the dough before letting it rise for luck. Even if you skip that step, your bread will turn out just fine as long as your yeast is fresh.

Serious Eats

Feb 24, 2023

Basbousa Bel Ashta (Semolina Cake With Ashta Cream Filling)

This version of basbousa is filled with a rich clotted cream and drenched in a rose-scented syrup.

Serious Eats

Feb 14, 2023

Chè Chuối (Vietnamese Banana, Tapioca, and Coconut Milk Dessert)

This delightfully rich and creamy, coconut milk–based soup is full of plump, fragrant bananas, and tender tapioca pearls.

Serious Eats

Feb 13, 2023

Crème Anglaise

Churn this velvety sauce into ice cream, serve it with your favorite sweets, or pour it over fresh fruit for a simple dessert.

Serious Eats

Feb 8, 2023

Crème Brûlée

Made well, crème brûlée is a magnificent dessert of silky, vanilla-scented custard beneath a shatteringly crisp topping of caramelized sugar.

NYT Cooking

Jan 18, 2023

Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding

To many, the banana pudding at the famed New York shop Magnolia Bakery is even more iconic than the store’s beloved cupcakes. Airy, creamy and delightfully reminiscent of childhood packaged snacks (thanks to instant vanilla pudding mix), this dessert is both a crowd pleaser and easy to assemble. If you’re making 12 individual servings rather than one large one, you’ll have enough cookies to use two per layer. If you prefer more coverage, make only two layers and use three cookies per layer.

NYT Cooking

Jan 15, 2023

Miso Pecan Banana Bread

This banana bread is a formidable treat: moist on the inside, with a crunchy bite around the edges. Banana bread may have emerged to prominence around the 1930’s — in the midst of the U.S.’s Great Depression, alongside the urge to economize recipes and the emergence of widespread baking powder usage — but the dish is now a global mainstay. It’s just as satisfying over coffee in the morning, as a quick bite for lunch or shared over a scoop of ice cream after dinner. The crunch of pecans complements the bread’s softness. Miso adds complexity alongside the banana’s sweetness. Be sure to utilize the ripest bananas you can find because it really will make a difference. This banana bread can hold for several days on the counter or in the fridge, if you have any left.

NYT Cooking

Jan 11, 2023

Triple-Sesame Tea Cakes

Sometimes just a few cookies are what you want for dessert, accompanied, when in season, by a bowl of mandarins or tangerines. These sesame cookies aren’t too sweet, and citrus fruit, eaten out of hand, makes a refreshing end to a meal.

Food52

Jan 10, 2023

Easter Popcorn

Serious Eats

Dec 16, 2022

Croquembouche

A towering masterpiece of caramel-covered cream puffs surrounded by golden threads of spun sugar, the croquembouche is the celebration cake of France.

NYT Cooking

Dec 14, 2022

Rice Krispies Treats

These classic treats are salty-sweet and the perfect balance of crispy, gooey, soft and chewy. This version, inspired by the one Julia Moskin adapted from the chef Colin Alevras for The Times in 2007, is also enhanced by deeply browned butter. But here, a good amount of salt balances out the sweetness and includes a secret to achieving the perfect texture: The marshmallows are cooked gently to prevent the sugars from caramelizing, which can turn your treats hard and dry. You can easily double this recipe, and use a 9-by-13 pan, but you’ll end up with slightly taller treats (which is not a bad thing). The rainbow sprinkles are optional, but highly recommended.

NYT Cooking

Dec 7, 2022

Cheddar Chive Crisps

Every cookie tin deserves a little savory bite. These delicate crisps are speckled with fresh herbs and have a golden vein of cheese running through the dough. Fresh ground black pepper adds a gentle, lingering heat. You can go with any firm cheese that has strong notes here; sharp Cheddar, Parmesan or pecorino will all work nicely. Both the dough and cheese will benefit from staying cold while you work, so return the dough to the refrigerator as often as necessary to keep it chilled. (This cookie is one of six cookies that you can make with this Butter Shortbread Dough recipe. If you make that dough, you can make a double batch of the Cheddar Chive Crisps or try any of the other five recipes.)

Food52

Dec 7, 2022

Melted Snowman White Chocolates

These adorable Melted Snowman White Chocolates are a fun and easy craft and a fun holiday treat to make with your kids! You only need dairy-free white chocolate, coconut oil, large vegan marshmallows, chocolate chips and orange food coloring to make this winter sweet treat!

Serious Eats

Dec 5, 2022

Mixed Berry Trifle

The trifle, a British classic, is a decadent combination of wobbly fruit jelly, genoise sponge cake, crème légère, and whipped cream built in a sharing-size glass bowl.