Fabulous desserts for the holidays

70 Recipes

This salted caramel chocolate tart is just one of several fabulous holiday desserts.

Life is uncertain. Make dessert first.

By Julie Giuffrida

Dec. 20, 2020

Remember how, as a kid, you would painstakingly eat every last carrot and pea on your dinner plate only to have your mom give you a slice of cantaloupe or a banana at the end of the meal and call it dessert? Don’t get me wrong. I love fruit. But fruit is not dessert, even when eaten at the end of a meal. As I child, I had difficulty articulating the argument, but some years ago, my friend Zvi laid out his dessert rule for me. For something to qualify as dessert, at least two of three ingredients must be present: flour, sugar, chocolate. If it does not meet the criteria, it is a sweet treat, but it is not dessert.

That is not to say that all dessert has to be a chocolate cake or a chocolate tart or chocolate mousse pie. You only need two of the three. So, tiramisu and Linzer cookies, baklava and mandelbread also qualify. Flourless chocolate cake also qualifies because it has sugar and chocolate.

Fruit can be in dessert as with, say, a Meyer lemon trifle cake or a French-style quince tart, because each has both flour and sugar. Caramelized fig cake with lemon Anglaise; cranberry, caramel and almond tart; and pumpkin cheesecake all qualify as well.

Life being what it is, sometimes when I plan a big menu, I run out of time and something gets left out. This is why I make dessert first. So if my bittersweet chocolate Tartufo with olive oil gelato doesn’t come out quite right, I can still whip together a bread pudding or some cookies or fudge to serve at meal’s end. Neither I nor my guests should ever have to pretend that an apple is dessert.

ONE TIME USE - QUEENS, NEW YORK - Apr 2, 2019 - Making Passover recipes by Adeena Sussman and various LA Chefs. MOMED'S FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE by Chef Bradley Tuck.

Momed’s Flourless Chocolate Cake

35 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

Serve these cakes with vanilla ice cream and, if you’d like, a chocolate wafer.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

30 minutes

Serves 4

Momofuku's crack pie. Recipe here.

Momofuku's Crack Pie

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes 2 pies (6 to 8 servings each)

LOS ANGELES, CA., May 14, 2020: How to boil water salted caramel chocolate tart May 14, 2020 (Ben Mims/ Los Angeles Times)

Simpler Salted Caramel-Chocolate Tart

3 hours 30 minutes, largely unattended

Serves 8 to 12

Recipe: Olive oil cake with creme fraiche and candied tangerines

Olive oil cake with creme fraiche and candied tangerines

1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 12

Recipe: Jose Andres' pan con chocolate with brioche ice cream

Pan con chocolate (Chocolate flan with caramelized bread, olive oil and brioche ice cream)

1 hour 45 minutes

Serves 8

"Better Than Sex" cake

2 hours

Serves 12 to 16

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Nov. 19, 2020: Ben Mims' Alfajor de Nuez, from a recipe by Arturo Enciso and Ana Belen Salatino of Gusto Bread, photographed for LA Times Food section's Holiday Cookies 2020 story on Thursday, Nov 19, 2020, at the Proplink Studios in Arts District Los Angeles. (Silvia Razgova / For the Times, food and prop styling / Leah Choi) ATTN: 653895-la-fo-holiday-cookies-2020

Alfajor de Nuez (Walnut Cookies With Dulce de Leche and Coconut)

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes 2 dozen

Baklava roulada cookies made in the Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen. Adapted from a recipe by Scott Cronick.

Baklava rouláda cookies

2 hours

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Wow your date with this bittersweet chocolate tartufo with olive oil gelato and olive oil-fried croutons.

Bittersweet chocolate tartufo with olive oil gelato and olive oil-fried croutons

1 hour

Serves 8

Black Cat Bistro's sticky toffee pudding

Black Cat Bistro's sticky toffee pudding

1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 6

BRENTWOOD, CALIF. -- FEBRUARY 09, 2018: Martha Rose Shulman's blood orange and rhubarb tart. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Blood Orange and Rhubarb Tart

2 hours

Serves 8 to 10

Valerie re-creates the coffee crunch cake make famous by Blum's Bakery in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake

30 minutes

Serves 12

Recipe: Brunos' budino al caramello

Brunos' budino al caramello

1 hour

Serves 8

Revillion.Buche-Buche de Noel with apricot jam, chocolate spunge cake.

Buche de Noel

1 hour

Serves 12 to 14

Candy cane chocolate mandel bread

1 hour

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies

Recipe: Caramel banana bread pudding

Caramel banana bread pudding

1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 8

Justice Lillie's chocolate mousse pie

1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 12

Caramelized fig cake with lemon anglaise

Caramelized fig cake with lemon anglaise

1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 8

103339.FO.1012.ApplesPoached--Studio shot of apple cake

Caramelized-apple gateau basque

2 hours 10 minutes

Serves 10 to 12

Cayenne Cafe's citrus tiramisu

1 hour

Serves 8 to 12

Cherry pistachio rugelach

1 hour

Makes 32 cookies

Cover Story-Russ-Chestnut Cake

Chestnut cake (gateau de marrons)

2 hours

Serves 8 to 10

Chestnut mousse

20 minutes

Serves 4

Chocolate chestnut cake

2 hours 45 minutes

Serves 16

Cranberry, caramel and almond tart

1 hour

Serves 10 to 12

Cucina Rustica's chocolate trio torte.

Cucina Rustica's chocolate trio torte

1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 16 to 20

Dalgona Tiramisu

15 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

Fig and almond tart

1 hour 50 minutes

Serves 10 to 12

Aromatic quince and their poaching liquid, reduced to an intensely flavorful syrup, cover simple puff pastry for an austere yet bold French country tart. Prop styling by Nidia Cueva.

French-Style Quince Tart

3 hours 30 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

Fresh mincemeat pie

1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

One bite and you'd never guess these tempting treats are gluten-free. Recipe: Gluten-free wedding cakes

Gluten-free wedding cakes

1 hour 10 minutes

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Nov. 19, 2020: Ben Mims' Gooey Butter Cake, from a recipe by Jess Stephens of Onda (now closed), photographed for LA Times Food section's Holiday Cookies 2020 story on Thursday, Nov 19, 2020, at the Proplink Studios in Arts District Los Angeles. (Silvia Razgova / For the Times, food and prop styling / Leah Choi) ATTN: 653895-la-fo-holiday-cookies-2020

Gooey Butter Cake Squares

1 hour 10 minutes

Makes 2 dozen

Hazelnut torte with espresso cream. Recipe here.

Hazelnut torte with espresso cream

1 hour 40 minutes

Serves 10 to 12

Includes walnut crust, Granny Smith apples and cranberry sauce. Holiday pie recipe.

Holiday pie

1 hour 20 minutes

Serves 10

Lemon sponge cake with Italian meringue and blackberry puree

50 minutes

Serves 6

Linzer cookies with persimmon filling made in the Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen. Adapted from a recipe by Alice Nishimoto.

Linzer cookies with persimmon filling

2 hours

Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

Love goddess cake

2 hours

Serves 10 to 12

Recipe: Mamie's million dollar fudge

Mamie's Million-Dollar Fudge

20 minutes

Makes 117 pieces

Yank Sing's egg tarts

1 hour

Makes 6 to 12 tarts, depending on size

Maple pecan pie bars, made from a recipe by Sharon Graves.

Maple pecan pie bars

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes 2 to 3 dozen bars, depending on size

Marzipan tarts

25 minutes

Serves 4

Meyer lemon curd tart

2 hours

Serves 8

Meyer lemon lavender shortbread

45 minutes

Makes 20 cookies

Meyer lemon trifle cake

1 hour 20 minutes

Serves 12 to 14

Milk's molasses cookies

1 hour

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Pear frangipane tart

1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 8

These are the ultimate holiday brownies.

Peppermint Bark Brownies

40 minutes

Makes one 17- by-12-inch tray (about 4 dozen)

Recipe: Persimmon cake with rum orange icing

Persimmon Cake With Rum Orange Icing

2 hours

Serves 20 to 24

Floral pink peppercorn speckles these delicate Linzer cookie diamonds, sandwiched with raspberry jam and drizzled with creamy white chocolate.

Pink Pepper and Raspberry Jam Linzers

45 minutes

Makes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies

The cake is garnished with chocolate crumbles.

Proof Bakery's chocolate espresso layer cake

2 hours

Serves 8 to 12

Pumpkin cake with sour cream ganache

1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 12 to 16

Pumpkin cheesecake.

Pumpkin cheesecake

2 hours 50 minutes

Serves 8 to 12

Pumpkin gingerbread, topped with rum-spiked whipped cream, is an intensely flavorful and satisfying dessert.

Jeremiah Tower's Pumpkin gingerbread with rum cream

50 minutes

Serves 6 to 8

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Nov. 4, 2020: Pumpkin Nemesis cake for LA Times Food Cooking section's Thanksgiving 2020 story and recipes by Ben Mims, photographed on Wednesday, Nov 4, 2020, at Proplink Studios in Arts District Los Angeles. (Photo / Silvia Razgova, Food styling / Ben Mims, Prop styling/ Kate Parisian) ATTN: 644074-la-fo-new-thanksgiving-2020

Pumpkin Nemesis

1 hour 20 minutes, plus 1 1/2 hours unattended

Serves 8 to 12

The Valhrona chocolate fondant from Republique.

République's chocolate fondant cake

40 minutes

Serves 6

Rich chocolate-almond cake

1 hour

Serves 4 to 6

Rose, cardamom and pistachio snowballs by Beth Corman Lee.

Rose, cardamom and pistachio snowballs

40 minutes

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Recipe: Royal Sonesta double chocolate cake

Royal Sonesta Double Chocolate Cake

1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

LOS ANGELES, CA -- THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2018-- Caramel bread pudding is made in the BBQ. Valerie Gordon's newest ideas have brought a community feel to her bakery. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)

Salted caramel bread pudding

1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 10 to 12

See's Fudge

15 minutes

Makes 24 pieces

For a Twix twist: homemade shortbread with dark caramel and chocolate.

Shortbread Bars with Dark Caramel and Chocolate

2 hours

Makes about 5 dozen (3 1/2-inch) bars

Terrifically lemony filling and a cloud of ethereal meringue. Recipe: 'Million Dollar' pie

'Million Dollar' pie

45 minutes

Serves 8

Sicilian rum cake (Cassata)

1 hour, plus 1 hour chilling

Serves 8 to 10

Tahini shortbread cookies made in the Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen. Adapted from a recipe by Deana Kabakibi.

Tahini shortbread cookies

40 minutes

Makes about 3 ½ dozen cookies

Recipe: The simplest apple tart

The Simplest Apple Tart

1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 4

018105.FO.1025.food11.AR Abby: Upsidedown Cranberry Cake. Studio photography of food , products and dishes shot 10/25/00.

Upside-down cranberry cake

Active work time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 1 hour

Serves 14 to 16

Crumbly almond sable cookies are made with cacao nibs, vegan sugar and almond meal. Recipe: Almond sable cookies

Vegan almond sable cookies with cacao nibs

45 minutes

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies

Linzer cookies by Jessica Levy.

Vegan Linzer cookies

1 hour

This makes about 1½ dozen (2½ inch) cookies

White Christmas Chiffon Cake

1 hour 50 minutes

Serves 12

Julie Giuffrida

Julie Giuffrida is Test Kitchen coordinator for the Los Angeles Times.

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