Dessert
3903 recipes found
Strawberry Sumac Cake
In the introduction to this recipe from her cookbook, “Watermelon and Red Birds,” Nicole Taylor notes that cooks in the Mediterranean and the Middle East know the acidic tang of crimson dried powdered sumac as a kitchen staple. Sumac doesn’t get a lot of love in American kitchens, even though edible sumac species grow wild throughout America and are essential in the Indigenous American kitchen. Dr. Cynthia Greenlee wrote about how foraging is back in style for a new generation of Black Americans. If you want to forage for the wild variety of sumac and dry and prepare the spice at home, the fall season is the time to do it. Look for sumac with red berry clusters, such as staghorn sumac. Be sure to avoid berries of any other color, which may be poison sumac.
Plum and Frangipane Tart
Frangipane is a creamy custard made of ground nuts, butter, sugar and eggs. It’s often spread under fruit in tarts and galettes, over a layer of jam in a Bakewell tart, or tucked into a puff pastry crown to make a classic pithivier. It is most often made with almonds, but pistachios, hazelnuts and pecans (or even a mix of them!) are tasty substitutes. Almond flour is used in place of whole nuts in this recipe so that the mixture comes together without any special machinery — just a bowl and a spoon. Store-bought puff pastry makes this dessert even easier to pull together.
Hot Fudge Sauce
This recipe for a classic hot fudge sauce came to The Times in 2004, from Kay Rentschler. “A well-constructed homemade hot fudge sauce moves forward with dark smoky accents and arrives with plenty of chew,” she wrote. Here, bittersweet chocolate and high-fat Dutch process cocoa bring that smokiness, while heavy cream, butter and sugar mellow it out. It’s a perfect contrast to the milky sweetness of a sundae loaded with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.
Fourth of July Shortcake
Strawberries and blueberries under a drizzle of cream has long been an Independence Day favorite, but when Jean Hewitt introduced this recipe in 1968, it was as an alternative to another Fourth of July favorite: “The first red, white and blue dessert that comes to mind is watermelon and blueberries with ice cream, but for those who prefer something a little different, there is a recipe for strawberry and blueberry shortcake with ricotta sauce. Pitchers of clear, cold iced tea are all that have to be added.” The original recipe called for bran breakfast cereal, but we’ve adapted it with wheat bran, found in the bulk section of the grocery store, which gives this shortcake its rustic, colonial feel.
Mocha Ice Cream
Think of this as a chocolate Vietnamese iced coffee in dessert form. The original recipe appeared in The New York Times in June 1944 — wartime, when cream was scarce and the paper’s home economists experimented with gelatin and rennet to give ice cream texture. After the war, the recipe reappeared (along with the cream) in the pamphlet “12 Frozen Desserts.” Undiluted cold-brewed coffee is substituted here for the strong black coffee in the original recipe to produce a much smoother taste.
Benne Cookies
Emily Meggett, who published her first cookbook, “Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes From the Matriarch of Edisto Island,” at 89, learned how to make these crisp wafer cookies from her grandmother who learned from generations before. Benne seeds, sesame seeds that enslaved Africans brought with them to the southeastern shores of America, have long been a staple in Gullah Geechee cooking. They are an important component in rice dishes and savory crackers and are the stars of these buttery wafers. Regular sesame seeds will work fine, especially if you toast them in butter, but Mrs. Meggett suggests you try to buy benne seeds, an heirloom seed that is available online. They have a nutty, almost burned honey flavor and bring out the umami in the cookies.
Giant Cinnamon Roll Scone
Just when you thought the world couldn’t improve upon cinnamon rolls, this dreamy mashup comes along. Adapted from “Procrastibaking: 100 Recipes for Getting Nothing Done in the Most Delicious Way Possible” (Atria, 2020) by Erin Gardner, they are actually quite easy to put together: Toss together a basic scone dough, then roll it out, spread it with a sweet cinnamon-butter filling, cut it into strips, roll it up, score and bake. Once cooled, drizzle the roll with a simple vanilla sugar icing, gently break into wedges and serve to the delight of your loved ones.
Pecan Sandie Pie
All the richness of pecans, buttery and crisp in the cookie crust, candied in the gooey filling, run through this pie. In this take on a Thanksgiving classic, standard pie dough is swapped for pecan sandie dough. It’s not only tastier with its nuttiness, it also doesn’t require rolling. You can simply pat it into the pan and into a round for the top. For a toastier flavor and a little more crunch, bake the pecans first in a 350-degree oven until fragrant and a shade darker.
Fig and Cherry Cookie Pies
Similar to cucidati, the Italian fig cookies traditionally served at Christmastime, these adorable mini pies are filled with dried figs, dried cherries and almonds, then topped with a pretty almond-flavored glaze. But unlike most cucidati recipes, this one calls for softening the dried fruit in simmering water before it is puréed with nuts and spices. Sometimes dried fruit from the store comes without a drop of moisture left in it, so rehydrating it helps bring back some softness and ensures that the filling doesn’t rob moisture from the pastry as it bakes.
Spumoni Ice Cream Cake
Spumoni is a frozen Italian-American dessert made by layering pistachio, cherry and chocolate (or sometimes vanilla) gelati. This showstopper ice cream cake version looks difficult, but it’s made with store-bought ingredients, so it mostly involves shopping and assembly. The layers can be stacked ahead, and you also don’t have to worry too much about its melting rapidly: The cake’s sheer volume and store-bought ice creams' stabilizers help it stay cold. For a Neapolitan-style cake, you could swap strawberry ice cream for the cherry and vanilla for the pistachio. The only true challenge here is making sure there’s room in your freezer, since this cake is about 4 inches tall.
Two-Tone Ginger Custard Pie
This silky, spiced custard is especially dreamy inside a crisp, flaky crust. Some custard pies use eggs as a binder — this one uses flour for a thick custard that always sets perfectly, creating a flat surface that’s ideal for a dusting of sugar. This striking design requires just a sheet of paper and a sifter, while the topping itself is ground freeze-dried mangoes and strawberries mixed with confectioners’ sugar. You can find the freeze-dried fruit at most grocery stores and health-food stores, where they are often grouped with the nuts and dried fruit. The pie can be made up to 1 day ahead, but for the cleanest look, it’s best to apply the sugar within 2 hours of serving; beyond that, the sugar will eventually absorb moisture from the pie and begin to change color. But even if you skip the topping, the filling is beyond delicious all on its own.
Fruit Fluden
This dessert bar was first published by The New York Times in 1952 in a review of Passover dishes, and later it appeared in the pamphlet “Holiday Desserts: Cakes, Pies and Puddings for Special Occasions.” The traditional fluden is a leavened pastry, but this version is not. Whipped egg whites mixed with matzo meal, egg yolks, sugar and salt bind the layers together. To be certain that the dessert is kosher for Passover, all ingredients must be endorsed as such by “a recognized rabbinical authority,” as our editor June Owen wrote in 1952.
Keo Lac Vung (Peanut and Sesame Candy)
Gifting and eating sweets during Lunar New Year is an integral part of the Vietnamese Tet tradition. People often buy festive treats from confectioners equipped with particular skills and specialty ingredients, but you can make this easy, crunchy, delicately fragrant candy from readily available ingredients. This version of northern Vietnamese keo lac vung calls for corn syrup in place of maltose, which is often used in Vietnam. Sometimes, butter is added for a touch of fattiness, but coconut oil also works and makes the candy dairy-free.
Chocolate Shell Ice-Cream Topping
Here is a chocolate ice cream topping that has a texture nearly identical to that of the commercial product Magic Shell (which also contains coconut oil), but with a far richer, more fudgy flavor.
Lemon Olive-Oil Ice Cream
Lemon ice cream may not inspire the same excitement you find with flavors like salted caramel or chocolate chip cookie dough, but you don't want to miss out on it. This ice cream is surprisingly complex: creamy, sweet, tart and a little savory thanks to olive oil and a bit of salt. If you'd like, serve scoops with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and lemon zest.
Peppermint Brownies
These crowd-pleasing treats start with a dense, chewy brownie that’s topped with a layer of creamy peppermint filling, dark chocolate glaze, and a sprinkle of crushed peppermints. For the cleanest slices, chill the finished brownies thoroughly, then use a warm knife to slice them. Dip the knife blade into hot water and wipe it dry with a kitchen towel between each cut, and you’ll be rewarded with clean layers of chocolate, peppermint and glaze. It’s fine to sub chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate, just make sure they are fully melted before proceeding.
Spiced Pear Tart
Gently spiced poached pears, vanilla pastry cream and flaky puff pastry are the stars of this sophisticated dessert that was created for the 2019 NYT Food Festival by Rachel Gaylord, the pastry chef at La Mercerie in New York. Ideally, this delicate tart should be eaten the day it’s made, so if you’re planning to serve this at a dinner party, make all of the components in advance and assemble the tart just before your guests arrive. Leftovers, if you have any, should be stored in the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before serving. The pastry will have lost some of its flakiness, but it will still be delicious. (This adaptation mercifully calls for store-bought puff pastry, but if you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own.)
Italian Rainbow Cookies
Also known as Venetians, Neapolitans or tricolore cookies, these classic Italian-American treats are not really cookies at all, but thin, dense layers of brightly hued almond cake stacked with apricot jam, and coated with glossy chocolate. The layers are traditionally red, white and green to resemble the Italian flag, but, of course, you can play around with the colors depending on the holiday and what you have on hand. This version is adapted from Mary Carpino, from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., who made them every Christmas for years. One of her granddaughters, Nicole Carpino Frasco, passed along the recipe to us. We increased the chocolate and salt slightly, but the festive spirit of the recipe remains. Mrs. Carpino stored them in her chilly winter attic, but if you don’t have one of those, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 5 months.
Cream Cheese Semifreddo
This simple, refreshing and not-too-sweet frozen dessert is the perfect blank canvas to show off that fancy Italian balsamic vinegar in your cabinet. Natasha Pickowicz, the pastry chef at Café Altro Paradiso and Flora Bar in New York, developed this easy yet sophisticated recipe for the 2019 NYT Food Festival. Ms. Pickowicz also likes this semifreddo with a spoonful of jam, or a drizzle of maple syrup, chocolate syrup or honey. (The photo shows a tart-sweet combination of balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.) Everything seems to shine against the backdrop of this parfait. If you’d like, you can substitute mascarpone for the cream cheese, although the final result might be a bit softer.
Almond Saffron Cake
This cake was adapted from Kim Sunée, the Korean-born author of “Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home” (Grand Central, 2008).
Coconut Pound Cake
Coconut oil and coconut milk add a tasty tropical essence to this moist pound cake. Be sure to buy unrefined virgin coconut oil, as it has the best coconut flavor and aroma. Coconut oil is much easier to measure and incorporate when it has been softened than at room temperature, when it is firmer. Try popping it into the microwave for very short bursts, about 5 seconds each, until it is roughly the same consistency as softened butter.
Ginger Mango Cream Tart
Festive enough for a holiday party or a summer cookout, this bright and creamy mango tart has a crisp gingersnap crust and is topped with candied ginger, pistachios and toasted coconut. The no-bake crust, which is made from store bought gingersnaps, butter and light brown sugar, comes together in the food processor with the press of a button. For the filling, fresh or frozen mango is cooked with ginger and turmeric to deepen its flavor and brighten the color of the finished dessert.
Guinness Brownies
The earthy flavors of stout beer pair perfectly with three kinds of chocolate in these dense, fudgy brownies. You can use bittersweet or semisweet, bars or chips, depending on what you have on hand, but this recipe is at its best using bar chocolate because of its meltability. A sprinkling of milk chocolate chips before baking is a sweet counterpoint to the rich, complex brownies. Do not overbake them: When the brownies are done, they will appear just set in the center and on the verge of underbaked. They’ll set further as they cool. Chilling the brownies makes them easier to cut, but allow them to come to room temperature before serving for the best flavor.
Fried Apple Pies
These little pies are filled to the brim with juicy caramel apple filling, fried, then tossed in cinnamon sugar. You may need to adjust the temperature as you fry them: If the oil is too hot, they’ll look golden on the outside, but the dough may not fully cook through. If the oil is too cool, they may be greasy. If you don’t have a thermometer, use a piece of scrap dough to test the oil for frying; it should rise to the top immediately.