Sugar, honey, sweetie - these are the words we use for the people we love best. Love is sweet indeed, and our occasions of love are always enhanced by pudding, pie and sugary treats. Holidays center on include a bountiful display of desserts. On Valentine's day we shape our treats like hearts. For a wedding, that solemn occasion of love, we build tier upon tier of frosted cakes.

Love and sweetness go together, but there is rigor in a dessert. Good baking is exact and indebted to science. While we may throw a roughly chopped carrot in the stew, the apple for a tart is sliced slowly and evenly. Desserts are embellished by swirls, mint leaves, whipped cream, sometimes more sugar. A swirl takes effort, as does the exact placement of a leaf. Mothers sing a love song with every dessert.

 
Read our article on ice cream - history and how-to's (click here)

click for: cake recipes        pie, tart, torte recipes      iced dessert recipes     fruit dessert recipes     miscellaneous dessert recipes         sweet bread recipes       Puddings, Flans, Bread Pudding, Custard

Cookie recipe page click here
Cheesecake recipe page click here
Main holiday desserts - thanksgiving and christmas click here

 

new dessert recipes

• red, white and blue tartlets
• Indian-Jewish Coconut Rice Pudding
• grilled pears with chocolate sauce and nuts - dessert, from the grill
• apple - arthur schwartz'a passover pareve apple cake
• hamantaschen - Arthur Schwartz's Hamantaschen (for Purim)
• brownies - the amazing black bean brownies  - too spectacular to miss, made with agave nectar
• verrine of goat cheese and fruit  - red white and blue - a great recipe for the Fourth of July
• watermelon sorbet - made with agave nectar, gluten-free and vegan
• toasted almond amaretto ice cream - made with agave nectar
• risotto al cioccolato - (chocolate risotto) - a recipe from chef Massimo Capra
• rosewater shortbread - a gluten-free recipe
• Lena's very swedish almond molds
• brandied pear phyllo squares
• panforte - the classic recipe from Siena
• bananas on the barbie - a grilled sweet from "down under"
• eggnog and "holly" pie - your creative designs makes the holly
• lower east side brownies - Lower east side means Jewish - these are kosher
• donuts - jelly donut recipe - traditional at Hanukah
• Lavender Crème Brûlée Chester Restaurant from Lora Brody's The Cape Cod Table
• churros from 1080 recipes great Spanish recipes by Simone Ortega and Inés Ortega
• chocolate - Ghirardelli's triple chocolate truffle cake
• chocolate - Ghirardelli's chocolate pavlova with milk-chocolate chip coffee cream
• chocolate - Ghirardelli's chocolate chip cheesecake
• panna cotta parfaits with Hibiscus-berry compote - from Rebecca Rather
• Rosewater Cupcakes with Grenadine Frosting and Sugared Rose Petals - from "Eat with Your Mouth Full: The Hearty Boys Cookbook
• cranberry truffle brownies
• chocolate hazelnut with frangipane fondue (sweet)
• creamy mango ricotta with Macadamia crunch
• paige denison's deep-dish peach cobbler
• rhubarb cookie cake
• mount sinai dessert - a kind of pavlova
• snowball dessert - orange flavored
• sfinci di san giuseppe - St. Joseph's Day Puffs a Sicilian tradition on March 19th, St. Joseph's Day
• old-fashioned fudge
• sticky sweet cereal candies - fun with kids
• chocolate oatmeal squares
• tofu blueberry shake - a formula that works with many fruits (from our tofu special)
• blueberry strudel - with prepared phyllo, easy and unique
• baklava - the honey-drenched classic middle eastern
• chocolate slice - more chocolate - this enlivened with sherry
• glazed cherries and nuts - a crunchy treat for holidays and all year long

Cake Recipes

• apple cake- more apple than cake, this is a light dessert
• irish apple cake - delicious and beautiful
• babka - polish easter cake
• babka - chocolate pull-apart babka - and it's quick!
• berry surprise - a pudding and a cake in one, to be served with vanilla ice cream
• blueberry coffeecake
• cape town apple cake - mmm, with a caramel topping
• cake with pomegranate sauce - Iraqi in origin
• cassata - the Sicilian classic dessert
• chocolate - cream cheese chocolate cake - cream cheese is such a wonderful moistener
• chocolate peanut butter cake - our favorite ingredients, chocolate and peanut butter
• chocolate cake - with a chocolate frosting
• chocolate icebox cake - once a birthday treat, it's too good to have it only once a year
• chocolate - deep dark chocolate cake - and it's quick!
• chocolate - old-fashioned chocolate cake
• chocolate - German chocolate-meringue pie  - from Texas on the Plate
• chocolate - chocolate lava cakes with raspberry coulis a toaster oven recipe
• chocolate - mexica chocolate cake with pecans - from Texas - the pecan is the state tree
• chocolate - zucchini chocolate cake
• sour cream cherry cake - using the best of the season
• cherry upside down cake - this is served warm
• cider-apple cake - from Britain
• coffeecake with bananas - wonderful for breakfast, for tea or dessert
• coffeecake - dried fig and walnut coffeecake
• cranberry orange tea cake with vanilla glaze
• cranberry pound cake with orange glaze
• cranberry cake
• cranberry orange cake with candied orange peel
• cranberry cake with butter rum sauce
• cranberry walnut cake with caramel sauce
• danish nut cake - a refrigerator cake rich with dates and nuts
• dundee cake - a classic in the British Isles - perfect for Tea
• easter apple cake fruitcake - good enough to be a wedding cake
• easter cake - a classic
• easter lamb cake - hippety-hop
• easter - fuzzy chick cake - done with coconut
• easter yellow and white cake  - spring colors
• eggnog - eggnog pound cake
• eggnog - chocolate frosted christmas eggnog cake
• fruitcake - dried fig fruitcake
• fruitcake - wynette's same-day fruitcake - a godsend to the busy and the harried - all of us! gingerbread -old-fashioned- her daughter calls it 'heaven on earth
• fruit - Swedish fruit bread too sweet to be a plain bread, we call this a risen cake
• irish whiskey cake
• 'kentucky sorghum cake - served in fine restaurants in Kentucky
• lamingtons
• maple pear cake with maple icing - from our seasonal cooking recipe contest
• mexican chocolate cake - a classic - from The Border Cookbook
• molasses cake from 1920 - get an updated version of the cake that grandma made
• panettone with cranberry and walnut - based on the classic Italian dessert bread recipe
• peach upside down cake
• peach delight - almost a cake
• peach 'n pecan spice cake
• peach melba cake supreme - diabetic acceptable
• pear and pecan coffeecake
• warm pear ginger upside-down cake with amaretto whipped cream - from Rebecca Rather
• pineapple upside down cake - cooked in an iron skillet
• popcorn ball cake -try this at the next birthday party
• rhubarb - upside down rhubarb cake
• Rosh Hashanah Honey cake - with wishes for a sweet year for everyone
• semolina cake (basbousa) - simple and sweet - Egyptian
• simnel cakeTrinidad Black cake (Christmas cake) - plan ahead for this great cake
• spiced almond bars - a cake if you like, or cut in bars
• sunshine cake
• trifle - nothing trifling about it
• trifle - Italian trifle (zuppa inglese) -- from Italy's culinary bible, The Silver Spoon, part pudding, part cake
• Greek Vassilopitta - St. Basil's cake - a traditional New Year's cake
• war cake from 1916 - historical, yes, but also delicious
• whiskey cake

 

 

Pie, Tart, Torte Recipes

• basic pie crust - from an expert baker
• graham cracker crust - the classic
• easy food processor pie crust
• cream cheese pie crust - used for savory dishes, sweeten for desserts
• apple pie with pepper - freshly milled pepper adds savor
• apple pie with cheddar cheese pie crust - contains no sugar - diabetics may enjoy this
• apple pie -melting pot apple pie - the American way: adapting a classic
• bakewell tart - the classic, for tea
• blueberry pie
• blueberry torta
• butterscotch pie - a variation on vanilla cream pie
• cherry pie - also called 'triple' cherry pie, this is sweet and tart
• chocolate passover torte Middle Eastern
• chocolate pecan fudge christmas pie
• coconut jam tart - from a lady who made her own jams
• coconut cream pie - a classic and real comfort food
• coconut & chocolate- black bottom coconut pie
• cranberry pecan tart - sweet and sour in a tart
• cream pie - that satisfying homey dish - comfort food personified
• french silk pie - a luscious chocolate pie with pecan
• green tomato pie - tastes like apple pie
• louisiana lemon-cornmeal pie - from Cajun-Creole Cooking
• lemon meringue pie - cool and refreshing, silky and elegant
• mince meat pie from scratch
• mince meat filling - from an heirloom recipe
• Peach Cream Pie - puddin' 'n pie in one
• Old-fashioned Peach Pie - sometimes the old way is the best way
• Peach Cream Cheese Pie - a no-bake dessert for a hot summer's day
• Peach Pie with Brown Sugar - peaches and brown sugar - sensational
• peach praline pie
• Pear and ginger tart - a wonderful autumn dessert
• pear and cranberry tart
• pecan pie - the classic
• pecan - vanilla-scented pecan pie -sweet, sweet, sweet
• pecan cranberry pie
• pecan chocolate pie - chocolate and nuts - made for each other
• Persian Pecan Torte - A twist on the familiar pecan pie, made with honey Middle Eastern
• George Stella's Low-Carb Praline Pumpkin Pie also from Livin' Low Carb
• cranberry walnut pumpkin pie
• cranberry apple pie
• pumpkin eggnog pie
• pumpkin ice cream pie
• pumpkin chiffon sour cream pie
• michelle's very pumpkin pie
• pumpkin nicely spicypumpkin pie
• val's quick and easy pumpkin pies
• sam's vegan pumpkin pie
• ricotta pie for a crowd
• rhubarb pie - a seasonal treat
• sweet potato pie
• sweet potato pie with nut topping
• sorghum molasses pie - the nuttiness of sorghum makes it special
• strawberry pie - from our friend Cliff, a great strawberry dessert
• linda's strawberry pie
• vanilla cream pie - a southern classic

 

 

Iced Desert Recipes

• philadelphia style ice cream - so named for its popularity in Philadelphia
• blueberry ice cream
• chocolate ice cream
• cookies 'n cream ice cream
• Authentic French Vanilla ice cream - the use of a vanilla bean gives away authenticity
• green tea ice cream
• mint gelato topped with shavings of darkest chocolate from Viana La Place
• mint ice cream
• mojito granita
• pistachio ice cream
• japanese - Kokuto Brown Sugar Ice Cream and Vanilla Panna Cotta
• pumpkin-raisin-rum ice cream
• cooked custard ice cream - thick and rich
• baggie ice cream - fun for the kids and a treat when camping
• bananas foster - the New Orleans classic
• brown sugar ice cream - a unique taste from the brown sugar
• cranberry delight - make as ice cream or freezer pops
• chocolate icebox cake - once a birthday treat, it's too good to have it only once a year
• Egyptian ice cream - this is an ice cream that stretches when spooned. Not similar to the more familiar ice cream
• strawberry ice cream - what better on a hot day?
• Peach (burnt) Ice Cream - a twist on a popular favorite
• Frozen Peaches with Sorbet - sorbet is the forerunner of all ice creams
• peanut butter ice cream
• toasted coconut ice cream
• italian - zabaglione gelato with figs
• italian - coffee granita
• Italian - Caramel Semifreddo
• fudge sauce for ice cream
• fluffy marshmallow sauce - white and snowy on top of vanilla ice cream
• rum syrup
• schrafft's butterscotch sauce - a classic for ice cream
• chocolate dessert sauce - for everything, especially that vanilla ice cream
• sherbet - lo-cal lemon sherbet - sherbet or sherbet, the same refreshing taste
• yogurt- frozen banana-orange frozen yogurt

Fruit Dessert Recipes Turnovers, Crumbles, Crisps, Yogurts

• ambrosia ( haf-miwah) - an ambrosia of dried fruits Middle Eastern
• apple, baked - raisin & date stuffed baked apples from The Potluck Cookbook
• apple, cobbler - virginia apple cobbler from The Potluck Cookbook
• dumpling - apple dumpling - quick and elegant
• dumpling - apple dumplings - boiled - variation on a theme
• dumplings - peach dumplings (dessert)
• dumplings - blueberry dumplings (crockpot)
• apple meringue - light and lovely, no calorie attack
• apple pie yogurt - the taste of apple pie without the calories
• baby applesauce - YES- the most wonderful moment of the day
• Baked Spicy Pears with Vanilla Cream - from a B & B owner who never has leftovers
• blackberry dumplings - from Cajun country and Eula Mae, author of Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen
• blueberry banana sweet bread
• blueberry cobbler
• blueberry coffeecake
• blueberry kuchen
• blueberry pie
• blueberry torta
• blueberry strudel
• apricot crisp - apricots make a lovely crisp
• blueberry strudel - with prepared phyllo, easy and unique
• cranberry and apple crunch
• cranberry & pear crisp
• cranberry and apple compote - crockpot recipe
• cranberry sauce for dips and meringues
• date sweets - dates - nutrition and sweetness in one middle eastern
• figs - crema di Mascarpone ai Fichi luscious figs - a Tuscan recipe
• figs - dried fig and raisin pudding
• grapes -frosted grape salad with Spiced Cream and Port - simple elegance from India
• golden syrup dumplings - dessert dumpling
• Egyptian Umm Ali - this means mother of all - a puff pastry dessert with fruit and nuts that is beloved all over Egypt
• Egyptian Fig cakes -simplicity themselves and can be done with dried figs
• spiced figs - with the scent of cloves e at alone or use as a sauce
• figs stuffed with almonds - With a little chocolate as well
• baked figs- simple but elegant
• peach yogurt dessert grilled peaches with a spicy lemon honey - though chef Jeff Blank serves this as a side, he has variations that turn this into dessert as well
• Royal Peaches
• baked peach crisps - with oats and flour, almonds and rum
• peach crumble with whole wheat
• peach delight - almost a cake
• grilled peaches with a spicy lemon honey - chef Jeff Blank serves this as a side, but he has variations that turn this into dessert as well
• peach turnovers
• Poached Peaches with Mint
• poached pears in cinnamon-spice sauce from The Gourmet Slow Cooker Vol. II.
• peanut butter & cream cheese dip for apples- enhances the taste of apples, a refreshing end to a meal
• Pears with Honey and Pecorino Cheese  -a quintessentially Roman recipe
• red white and blues fruit salad- created for Pres. Bill Clinton
• rhubarb crisp - for that brief time when rhubarb is in season
• strawberries & yogurt - tastes like strawberries and cream
• strawberries 'n cream (cheese) - and a dollop of chocolate, too
• quince, baked - from 'down under' to serve with cream or custard
• fruit (summer) - broiled or grilled
• zucchini cobbler

Puddings, Flans, Bread Pudding, Custard

• banana pudding with meringue topping
• bread pudding, classic bread pudding you can play with this
• bread pudding, eggnog bread pudding with cranberry, maple & bourbon topping
• bread pudding, stollen bread pudding use the leftovers
• bread pudding - old-fashioned
• chocolate rice pudding - from French Women Don't Get Fat
• peanut butter & jelly bread pudding why not?  delicious
• bread pudding with peach liqueur sauce - with the zip of liqueur
• bread pudding of panettone
• bread pudding, pumpkin bread pudding
• chocolate bread pudding with creme anglaise
• carrot pudding - from India, called gajrella
• clafouti - rhubarb orange clafouti with coconut from Good Fat
• earl grey infused chocolate pudding - a ganache-style pudding
• pots de creme au chocolat - not difficult and elegant for a special meal
• ella's pudding - it's been in the family for 40 years
• saffron and date flan - aromatic with saffron and cardamom
• flan de coco - from Cooking with Cafe Pasqual's
• goji berry rice pudding - packed with nutrition
• pudin de arroz cubano - Cuban rice pudding with guava sauce from Gulf Coast Cooking
• flan de rosas - rose petal flan,  authentic Mexican from Doña Tomás
• natilla - a Mexican dessert with cinnamon
• pumpkin ricotta pudding - pudding, not a cake - called a budino in Italian raspberry fool - the most refreshing on a summer's day
• rice pudding - coconut rice pudding - made with coconut milk, not cow's milk, a delicious variation from Puerto Rico
• rice - arroz con leche - a Mexican rice pudding
• rice - Bengali baked rice pudding
• tofu chocolate pudding - all you need is a blender or food processor (from our tofu special)
• zabaglione - the famous Italian pudding

 

Quick Sweet Bread Recipes

• banana chocolate loaf - a luxurious chocolate studded loaf to give as a gift
• banana peanut chocolate loaf - more than a variation, this is dark with cocoa
• banana pineapple bread - with the crunch of pistachios
• banana-rum bread - the zing of rum
• banana - marbled banana loaf - chocolate and banana and the beauty of marbled loaves - perfect
• linda's banana nut bread
• blueberry banana sweet bread
• brown sugar tea loaf - the special taste imparted by brown sugar
• cuca's cornbread - a family favorite from a friend's grandmother
• sunrise peach muffins
• cling peaches and cream muffins
• carrot coconut bread - a quick sweet bread for a sweet morning
• cherry rolls - prepared the night before for an easy morning
• coconut buns - a family special from British Guyana
• cranberry banana bread
• ducat buns (dukatenbuchteln) - from Austria, for tea or light summer dessert
• lussekatter - St. Lucy's day saffron buns from Sweden
• muffins with blueberries or cranberries - adapted for healthy living
• old-fashioned spice biscuits - cinnamon, ginger, & cloves - delicious
• peach & pistachio bread
• pistachio mango bread - moister than moist
• plum - English Christmas Pudding - this is a 'quick' version that doesn't need to ripen for a month
• plum pudding or Christmas pudding get started one month ahead
• pumpkin apple bread - a sweet bread that is moist
• tea scones - for the afternoon, but for breakfast as well
• zucchini orange bread

Miscellaneous Desserts (lots of chocolate here)

• alfajor rogel (made with dulce de leche)
• cassata trifle - the infinitely variable trifle, complete with decorating tips
• chocolate slice - more chocolate - this enlivened with sherry
• chocolate dessert fondue - around a fire on a cold winter night with friends
• chocolate pecan truffles - from George Stella
• chocolate easter eggs (a candy)
• chocolate truffles - amy guittard's l'harmonie raspberry truffles - can't top a recipe from the chocolate maker - sublime
• chocolate snowballs - from our Canadian "Chocolate Man"
• chocolate without end, brownies- need we say more?  
• chocolate fantasy - yogurt, apples, chocolate and a brown Betty topping
• cuccia - from Sicily, celebrating the feast day of Santa Lucia, made with wheat berries
• hickory nut cream - a Native American recipe that can be used as a topping on desserts or in beverages
• Jewish honey candies - simple and delicious, with lots of creative variations Middle Easter
• Jillian's gelatin mold - with nuts and fruits, a family favorite
• lemon curd - once a guarded secret, an adaptable filling or glaze
• passover lemon pudding recipe
• pavlova - sublime- a creamy meringue with fruit topping
• glen's pavlova - a second method or making that most elegant dessert
• melkkos - a comfort food from South Africa
• Rolled wattleseed pavlova - uses ingredients from Oceania, but has substitutes
• steamed jam pudding
• stollen - the classic German Christmas bread
• strudel - from the old world with a variety of fillings
• strudel - cranberry apple strudel
• syllabub -the sweet drink that led to the trifle

 

seasonal desserts and cookies

for complete list of thanksgiiving and chrsitmas dessert recipes click here

• biscotti d'annodare (knot cookies) handed down by a nana
• australian anzac biscuits
• australian soldier's biscuits
• biscotti -Italy's most famous cookie
• biscotti d'annodare (knot cookies) handed down by a nana
• butter cookies - the Christmas classic
• cenci - Italian love knots popular in carnevale
• cannoli Sicilian cannoli needs no words
• cherry cookies - cherries and vanilla together - a match made in heaven
• cinnamon orange cream cheese cookies - good for icing
• chewy chocolate peanut bars - just as the title says, and who can resist chocolate?
• cranberry pecan tart - sweet and sour in a tart
• cranberry bread pudding
• cuddureddi di ricotta - a Sicilian cookie
• eggnog - christmas cream puffs with eggnog filling
• fruitcake - good enough to be a wedding cake
• lebkuchen - the classic German holiday cookie
• lemon sandwich cookies - elegant and tasty -
• meringue cookies - pick your favorite flavoring for these light cookies
• mincemeat cookies - "Santa's" favorites
• mince meat filling - from an heirloom recipe
• George Stella's Low-Carb Praline Pumpkin Pie also from Livin' Low Carb
• English Christmas Pudding - this is a 'quick' version that doesn't need to ripen for a month
• plum pudding or Christmas pudding get started one month ahead
• persimmon cookies - a little different for the holidays
• pumpkin cookies - not too sweet in a very sweet season
• pumpkin ricotta pudding - old world and new world hold hands
• rugelach - brought here mainly by European Jews, adopted by everyone as a favorite
• ricotta puffs these are almost like jelly donuts, but with sweetened ricotta
• ricotta fritters (fritelle di ricotta) - a smaller version of ricotta puffs
• spice cookies - the world around, we love spice cookies
• scotch shortbread - so good that you'll want to get a shortbread mold
• swedish rice pudding - with one almond put in at Christmas
• swedish saffron cake - saffron is popular in Swedish baking
• swedish spicy sponge cake - made in a ringform like the Austrian Gugelhopf
• swedish ginger thins - also called pepparkakor
• tri-color cookies - baked in three layers and kids love them
• Trinidad Black cake (Christmas cake) - plan ahead for this great cake
• Italian sesame seed cookies - Easy and delicious with coffee