Fruit Dessert

This is such a sweet little dessert. As you know, I’m not one for sweet treats but this is a little pop of yumminess—perfect for dinner parties, and it won’t leave your guests rolling around on the floor with indigestion.

When you have good, fresh strawberries, you don't really need to do too much to them. Try this simple preparation for dessert tonight.

There's no substitute for the color and pure grape flavor offered by concord grapes. This ultimate fall pie combines concords with juicy pears and a festive top crust. If you'd rather skip the cookie-cutter step, use the second disc of dough to make a double crust.

It's all about the layers and ruffles in this dramatic seasonal pie.

A Thanksgiving-worthy dessert that can be baked in your toaster oven? Yes, please!

Walnuts add a bitter, earthy element to this simple dessert—and a scoop of vanilla ice cream wouldn't hurt.

Appalachian apple stack cake is communal cooking at its finest. Originally, each layer was baked at home by individual cooks, likely in cast-iron skillets, then brought together and assembled for church suppers and gatherings. Instead of the spongy cakes we're used to today, these layers are more like cookies—firmer, so they slowly soften beneath liberal applications of apple butter and cooked apples. This recipe stays mostly true to those principles. Instead of individually baking the layers one skillet at a time, though, use a cake pan to trace a pattern on parchment paper and trim circles of rolled dough to fit it. Bake two layers simultaneously (more if you have a convection oven). The edges of the cake layers won't be as perfectly neat as if you'd baked them in skillets or cake pans, but that's all right. This is a rustic cake.

Whole wheat flour gives this brown sugar–oat topping a nutty flavor that perfectly complements the sweet-tart apples beneath.

Sandwiching the puff pastry between two baking sheets ensures that the pastry rises perfectly even.

Dark chocolate and ripe plums make a sweet match in this decadent late summer dessert.

Sweet and chewy!

Just dump, shake, and bake this super tasty, couldn't-be-easier dessert. It's even better when made with our Homemade Yellow Cake Mix .

The joy of this simple dessert is that it is even better at room temperature, so you can make it in advance with ease. Be sure to pull it from the oven when the egg mixture is just set, so that the luscious cooked plum texture can meld perfectly with the batter. Think of it as a thick fruit pancake cooked effortlessly in the oven while you do other things.

Most people think of ambrosia salad as a cloud of chunky white fruit in a glass bowl with neatly arranged canned mandarins on top. But we've evolved from those dark ages, and it's high time this salad got a makeover. Ambrosia can be reeeaally delicious, if made with the best, freshest ingredients. If you are even thinking about using dried coconut flakes from a bag, don't bother with this. Sweet fresh coconut meat is what makes it a standout. I don't usually go for aperitifs, but a chilled glass of Lillet is perfect with this salad.

Beneath a humble, oaty streusel topping lies a sleek, inky jumble of plums and blackberries—talk about a delicious contrast. A combination of cornstarch and tapioca in the filling helps to keep the colors of the fruit true and to set up their juices nicely without becoming too thick.

Leaving the skins on the peaches for the purée makes for a beautifully pink swirl in this refreshing summer dessert.

The musky-sweet flavor of melon also takes well to red pepper flakes and cracked black pepper.

It takes some practice to produce a beautifully crimped pie crust, but galettes? Not so much: The more rustic they look, the better.

Toss peaches with almonds and fragrant garam masala, then top with a brown sugar crumble for an excellent entry into summer peach season.