Christmas Desserts

F&W’s ultimate Christmas dessert recipes range from towering trifle to easy cranberry crisp.

Staff-Favorite Christmas Desserts

Chocolate-Malt Stump de Noël

Baked pastry chefs Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito created this stupendous holiday dessert, a twist on the classic French bûche de Noël (which looks like a log, or bûche).
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Brandy-Mascarpone Semifreddo

“I love this dessert because it makes me think of eggnog,” says Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections. To give the semifreddo its spectacular shape, she freezes it in a silicone kugelhof mold.
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Hazelnut-and-Chocolate Meringue Cake

This extraordinary dessert, made with crisp chocolate-hazelnut meringue and whipped cream, is simple to make.
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Maple Custards with Sugared Pecans

One of José Andrés’s favorite American sweets is pecan pie. This twist was inspired by tocino de cielo, a rich, eggy cousin of flan.
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Dulce de Leche Layer Cake

This cake is a knockout, with or without the nutty liqueur, and stellar with either homemade or store-bought dulce de leche.
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Molasses-Gingerbread Cake

Katie Rosenhouse’s supermoist cake, flavored with molasses for a mellow sweetness, is excellent with wine-poached pears or a topping of whipped mascarpone.
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