Julie Giuffrida is Test Kitchen coordinator for the Los Angeles Times.
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
Time35 minutes
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Molten Chocolate Cakes
Time30 minutes
YieldsServes 4
Momofuku's Crack Pie
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsMakes 2 pies (6 to 8 servings each)
Simpler Salted Caramel-Chocolate Tart
Time3 hours 30 minutes, largely unattended
YieldsServes 8 to 12
Olive oil cake with creme fraiche and candied tangerines
Time1 hour 15 minutes
YieldsServes 12
Pan con chocolate (Chocolate flan with caramelized bread, olive oil and brioche ice cream)
Time1 hour 45 minutes
YieldsServes 8
"Better Than Sex" cake
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 12 to 16
Alfajor de Nuez (Walnut Cookies With Dulce de Leche and Coconut)
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsMakes 2 dozen
Baklava rouláda cookies
Time2 hours
YieldsMakes about 4 dozen cookies
Bittersweet chocolate tartufo with olive oil gelato and olive oil-fried croutons
Time1 hour
YieldsServes 8
Black Cat Bistro's sticky toffee pudding
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsServes 6
Blood Orange and Rhubarb Tart
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake
Time30 minutes
YieldsServes 12
Brunos' budino al caramello
Time1 hour
YieldsServes 8
Buche de Noel
Time1 hour
YieldsServes 12 to 14
Candy cane chocolate mandel bread
Time1 hour
YieldsMakes 3 to 4 dozen cookies
Caramel banana bread pudding
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsServes 8
Justice Lillie's chocolate mousse pie
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsServes 12
Caramelized fig cake with lemon anglaise
Time1 hour 15 minutes
YieldsServes 8
Caramelized-apple gateau basque
Time2 hours 10 minutes
YieldsServes 10 to 12
Cayenne Cafe's citrus tiramisu
Time1 hour
YieldsServes 8 to 12
Cherry pistachio rugelach
Time1 hour
YieldsMakes 32 cookies
Chestnut cake (gateau de marrons)
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Chestnut mousse
Time20 minutes
YieldsServes 4
Chocolate chestnut cake
Time2 hours 45 minutes
YieldsServes 16
Cranberry, caramel and almond tart
Time1 hour
YieldsServes 10 to 12
Cucina Rustica's chocolate trio torte
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsServes 16 to 20
Dalgona Tiramisu
Time15 minutes
YieldsServes 2 to 4
Fig and almond tart
Time1 hour 50 minutes
YieldsServes 10 to 12
French-Style Quince Tart
Time3 hours 30 minutes
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Fresh mincemeat pie
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Gluten-free wedding cakes
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsMakes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies
Gooey Butter Cake Squares
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsMakes 2 dozen
Hazelnut torte with espresso cream
Time1 hour 40 minutes
YieldsServes 10 to 12
Holiday pie
Time1 hour 20 minutes
YieldsServes 10
Lemon sponge cake with Italian meringue and blackberry puree
Time50 minutes
YieldsServes 6
Linzer cookies with persimmon filling
Time2 hours
YieldsMakes 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on size
Love goddess cake
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 10 to 12
Mamie's Million-Dollar Fudge
Time20 minutes
YieldsMakes 117 pieces
Yank Sing's egg tarts
Time1 hour
YieldsMakes 6 to 12 tarts, depending on size
Maple pecan pie bars
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsMakes 2 to 3 dozen bars, depending on size
Marzipan tarts
Time25 minutes
YieldsServes 4
Meyer lemon curd tart
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 8
Meyer lemon lavender shortbread
Time45 minutes
YieldsMakes 20 cookies
Meyer lemon trifle cake
Time1 hour 20 minutes
YieldsServes 12 to 14
Milk's molasses cookies
Time1 hour
YieldsMakes 2 dozen cookies
Pear frangipane tart
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsServes 8
Peppermint Bark Brownies
Time40 minutes
YieldsMakes one 17- by-12-inch tray (about 4 dozen)
Persimmon Cake With Rum Orange Icing
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 20 to 24
Pink Pepper and Raspberry Jam Linzers
Time45 minutes
YieldsMakes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies
Proof Bakery's chocolate espresso layer cake
Time2 hours
YieldsServes 8 to 12
Pumpkin cake with sour cream ganache
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsServes 12 to 16
Pumpkin cheesecake
Time2 hours 50 minutes
YieldsServes 8 to 12
Jeremiah Tower's Pumpkin gingerbread with rum cream
Time50 minutes
YieldsServes 6 to 8
Pumpkin Nemesis
Time1 hour 20 minutes, plus 1 1/2 hours unattended
YieldsServes 8 to 12
République's chocolate fondant cake
Time40 minutes
YieldsServes 6
Rich chocolate-almond cake
Time1 hour
YieldsServes 4 to 6
Rose, cardamom and pistachio snowballs
Time40 minutes
YieldsMakes about 2 dozen cookies.
Royal Sonesta Double Chocolate Cake
Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Salted caramel bread pudding
Time1 hour 30 minutes
YieldsServes 10 to 12
See's Fudge
Time15 minutes
YieldsMakes 24 pieces
Shortbread Bars with Dark Caramel and Chocolate
Time2 hours
YieldsMakes about 5 dozen (3 1/2-inch) bars
'Million Dollar' pie
Time45 minutes
YieldsServes 8
Sicilian rum cake (Cassata)
Time1 hour, plus 1 hour chilling
YieldsServes 8 to 10
Tahini shortbread cookies
Time40 minutes
YieldsMakes about 3 ½ dozen cookies
The Simplest Apple Tart
Time1 hour 15 minutes
YieldsServes 4
Upside-down cranberry cake
TimeActive work time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour
YieldsServes 14 to 16
Vegan almond sable cookies with cacao nibs
Time45 minutes
YieldsMakes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies
Vegan Linzer cookies
Time1 hour
YieldsThis makes about 1½ dozen (2½ inch) cookies
White Christmas Chiffon Cake
Time1 hour 50 minutes
YieldsServes 12