Life is uncertain. Make dessert first.
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.
Momed’s Flourless Chocolate Cake
Time 35 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Molten Chocolate Cakes
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Momofuku's Crack Pie
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Makes 2 pies (6 to 8 servings each)
Simpler Salted Caramel-Chocolate Tart
Time 3 hours 30 minutes, largely unattended
Yields Serves 8 to 12
Olive oil cake with creme fraiche and candied tangerines
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Serves 12
Pan con chocolate (Chocolate flan with caramelized bread, olive oil and brioche ice cream)
Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Yields Serves 8
"Better Than Sex" cake
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 12 to 16
Alfajor de Nuez (Walnut Cookies With Dulce de Leche and Coconut)
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Makes 2 dozen
Baklava rouláda cookies
Time 2 hours
Yields Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Bittersweet chocolate tartufo with olive oil gelato and olive oil-fried croutons
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 8
Black Cat Bistro's sticky toffee pudding
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Blood Orange and Rhubarb Tart
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 12
Brunos' budino al caramello
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 8
Buche de Noel
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 12 to 14
Candy cane chocolate mandel bread
Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies
Caramel banana bread pudding
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Serves 8
Justice Lillie's chocolate mousse pie
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Serves 12
Caramelized fig cake with lemon anglaise
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Serves 8
Caramelized-apple gateau basque
Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Yields Serves 10 to 12
Cayenne Cafe's citrus tiramisu
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 8 to 12
Cherry pistachio rugelach
Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 32 cookies
Chestnut cake (gateau de marrons)
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Chestnut mousse
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Chocolate chestnut cake
Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Yields Serves 16
Cranberry, caramel and almond tart
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 10 to 12
Cucina Rustica's chocolate trio torte
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 16 to 20
Dalgona Tiramisu
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 2 to 4
Fig and almond tart
Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Yields Serves 10 to 12
French-Style Quince Tart
Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Fresh mincemeat pie
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Gluten-free wedding cakes
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies
Gooey Butter Cake Squares
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Makes 2 dozen
Hazelnut torte with espresso cream
Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Yields Serves 10 to 12
Holiday pie
Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Yields Serves 10
Lemon sponge cake with Italian meringue and blackberry puree
Time 50 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Linzer cookies with persimmon filling
Time 2 hours
Yields Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on size
Love goddess cake
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 10 to 12
Mamie's Million-Dollar Fudge
Time 20 minutes
Yields Makes 117 pieces
Yank Sing's egg tarts
Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 6 to 12 tarts, depending on size
Maple pecan pie bars
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Makes 2 to 3 dozen bars, depending on size
Marzipan tarts
Time 25 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Meyer lemon curd tart
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 8
Meyer lemon lavender shortbread
Time 45 minutes
Yields Makes 20 cookies
Meyer lemon trifle cake
Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Yields Serves 12 to 14
Milk's molasses cookies
Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 2 dozen cookies
Pear frangipane tart
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 8
Peppermint Bark Brownies
Time 40 minutes
Yields Makes one 17- by-12-inch tray (about 4 dozen)
Persimmon Cake With Rum Orange Icing
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 20 to 24
Pink Pepper and Raspberry Jam Linzers
Time 45 minutes
Yields Makes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies
Proof Bakery's chocolate espresso layer cake
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 8 to 12
Pumpkin cake with sour cream ganache
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Serves 12 to 16
Pumpkin cheesecake
Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 12
Jeremiah Tower's Pumpkin gingerbread with rum cream
Time 50 minutes
Yields Serves 6 to 8
Pumpkin Nemesis
Time 1 hour 20 minutes, plus 1 1/2 hours unattended
Yields Serves 8 to 12
République's chocolate fondant cake
Time 40 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Rich chocolate-almond cake
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Rose, cardamom and pistachio snowballs
Time 40 minutes
Yields Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Royal Sonesta Double Chocolate Cake
Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Salted caramel bread pudding
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 10 to 12
See's Fudge
Time 15 minutes
Yields Makes 24 pieces
Shortbread Bars with Dark Caramel and Chocolate
Time 2 hours
Yields Makes about 5 dozen (3 1/2-inch) bars
'Million Dollar' pie
Time 45 minutes
Yields Serves 8
Sicilian rum cake (Cassata)
Time 1 hour, plus 1 hour chilling
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Tahini shortbread cookies
Time 40 minutes
Yields Makes about 3 ½ dozen cookies
The Simplest Apple Tart
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Upside-down cranberry cake
Time Active work time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour
Yields Serves 14 to 16
Vegan almond sable cookies with cacao nibs
Time 45 minutes
Yields Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies
Vegan Linzer cookies
Time 1 hour
Yields This makes about 1½ dozen (2½ inch) cookies
White Christmas Chiffon Cake
Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Yields Serves 12
