Recipes Desserts 30 Make-Ahead Desserts to Save Time By Food & Wine Editors Updated on January 14, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Victor Protasio Whether you're planning a party or just readying yourself for the week ahead, it's a smart idea to anticipate sweet moments. Desserts can have a graceful ability to punctuate a beautiful dinner, connect family and friends, and simply spark moments of pure joy. From humble treats like slice-and-bake lemon cookies to elegant plated desserts such as fruity vacherins, this collection of make-ahead recipes has all your sweet bases covered. 01 of 30 Billionaire's Shortbread © Line Klein To add her spin to the popular British confection known as millionaire's shortbread, pastry chef Jennifer Yee sprinkles the chocolate with flaky sea salt, then encourages bakers to add other toppings, like crushed pretzels, candied ginger, and toasted nuts. Get the Recipe 02 of 30 Biscoff Banana Pudding Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christina Daley The subtle spice of Biscoff cookies helps to balance the sweetness of each decadent layer of creamy custard and fresh bananas in this tall and impressive banana pudding for a crowd. It's inspired by one made by 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi's aunt Yolanda, of Beaumont, Texas. Get the Recipe 03 of 30 Milk Chocolate-Frosted Layer Cake © Con Poulos This cake from pastry chef Karina Gowing is perfection for anyone who loves frosting. The ultracreamy icing, which is almost like a milk chocolate ganache, gets spread liberally over layers of light, delicate, cocoa-flavored cake. Get the Recipe 04 of 30 Basque Cheesecake Cedric Angeles 2020 F&W Best New Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph bakes a perfectly creamy cheesecake with a deeply caramelized exterior, without a water bath and with no risk of a cracked or sunken top, by incorporating whipped cream cheese with heavy cream to make the batter. Get the Recipe 05 of 30 Blackberry and Mascarpone Crêpe Cake Victor Protasio This stunning dessert features a towering stack of French crêpes layered with rich mascarpone whipped cream, tart berries, and a little lemon zest. Get the Recipe 06 of 30 Frozen Crème Caramel © Christina Holmes To make her crème caramel more refreshing, chef Amanda Hallowell serves it partially frozen, like a semifreddo. Get the Recipe 07 of 30 Deep Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake © Julie Craig This dense chocolate bundt cake contains a hidden ring of sweet coconut filling. To finish, it's topped with layers of cocoa glaze to lock in rich flavor and a moist texture. Get the Recipe 08 of 30 Sour Cherry Tart with Almond Frangipane Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas This irresistible tart takes full advantage of the affinity between tangy sour cherries and rich, nutty frangipane. A sprinkle of toasted almonds on top adds a welcome dose of crunch. It's essential to seek out sour cherries for this tart, whether they're fresh, frozen, or jarred. Get the Recipe 09 of 30 Alfajores de Maizena (Sandwich Cookies Filled with Dulce de Leche) Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Extra-thick dulce de leche layered between two buttery cookies and rolled in shredded coconut adds up to the perfect bite in these alfajores de maizena, one of the most popular cookies in Argentina. Because of the generous amount of cornstarch in the dough, they remain tender and soft after baking. Get the Recipe 10 of 30 Creamy Butterscotch Pudding with Toffee © Wendell T. Webber This decadent dessert gets its luxurious flavor from brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon. A dollop of unsweetened vanilla whipped cream and crunchy bits of toffee provide an excellent contrast to the sweet, rich pudding. Get the Recipe 11 of 30 Chocolate and Hazelnut Nanaimo Bars Victor Protasio For these bite-sized beauties, Gail Simmons layers a chocolate and coconut crust with buttercream frosting, hazelnuts, and chocolate ganache with swirls of tahini. The result is an impossibly crave-worthy treat that's easy to share. Bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Get the Recipe 12 of 30 Apple Cider Cream Pie © Dana Gallagher This is a delicious marriage of two classics: apple pie and cream pie. After cooking down tart apple cider, it's made into a custard and baked into a crispy pie shell. The pie gets a topping of lightly sweetened whipped cream. Get the Recipe 13 of 30 Lemon-Tahini Cookies Gregory DuPree The dough for these cookies can be made and frozen up to three weeks in advance — just let it thaw for 30 minutes first before rolling it in the sesame seeds. Get the Recipe 14 of 30 Maple-Apple Upside-Down Cake © Con Poulos This is one of the best upside-down cakes ever — the maple syrup infuses both the apples and the cake, making the dessert taste like a stack of apple pancakes. Get the Recipe 15 of 30 Double-Chocolate Pudding © Tina Rupp This recipe from the late, great cookbook author Richard Sax has everything one could ask for in a chocolate pudding — an intense flavor and a silky texture that’s still firm enough to stand a spoon in. For the best possible pudding, use top-quality cocoa powder and chocolate. Get the Recipe 16 of 30 Fresh Mint Stracciatella Semifreddo Greg DuPree Fistfuls of fresh mint are steeped in the custard base of this semifreddo; a slow simmer releases the herb's oils into the base without leeching any color. Get the Recipe 17 of 30 Carrot and Orange Cake with Sour Cream Glaze Antonis Achilleos This carrot cake from cookbook author Nik Sharma is something special. "Chopped pieces of dried apricots and candied orange peels give each slice of cake a spot of unexpected fruit sweetness, while the pistachios add texture to the soft cake," he says. "Serve it with a cup of warm tea or coffee to complete the experience." Get the Recipe 18 of 30 Piña Colada Pie Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In this swoon-worthy dessert, the classic tropical flavors of a piña colada cocktail are transformed into a pie featuring layers of silky coconut custard and a caramelized pineapple jam made by simmering fresh pineapple with brown sugar. Adding rum to the hot pineapple mixture burns off the harsher taste of the alcohol while leaving a pleasant kick. Get the Recipe 19 of 30 Mango-Basil Vacherin © Kate Mathis Pastry chef Yigit Pura perfected this crisp-creamy French dessert while working at restaurant Daniel in New York City. His updated version combines little lime meringue kisses with basil ice cream and sweet mango sorbet. Get the Recipe 20 of 30 Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Most traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes start by creaming softened butter with sugar. Here, the butter is first melted in a skillet until golden brown and nutty. This simple step does require a bit of extra time (mainly for chilling the butter), but the result is an intensely toasty butterscotch note that makes these thin, chewy cookies irresistible. Get the Recipe 21 of 30 Quadruple Chocolate Brownies © Hans Gissinger By swirling chunks of white, milk, and bittersweet chocolate into a batter made with unsweetened chocolate, then melting and drizzling more all over the top, San Francisco chocolatier Michael Recchiuti says this sweet has "all the chocolates I like in one brownie." Get the Recipe 22 of 30 Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries Quentin Bacon Many versions of this dessert, made by soaking sponge cake in condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream, are too sweet and wet. This one from chef Soledad Correa is perfect, with just a hint of cinnamon. Get the Recipe 23 of 30 Plum Galette © Con Poulos This tart is a favorite dessert at chef Jacques Pépin's house. You can make it with any seasonal fruit, such as rhubarb, peaches, cherries, apricots, or apples. The dough is buttery, flaky, and very forgiving; it comes together in 10 seconds in a food processor. Get the Recipe 24 of 30 Easy Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones Panna cotta — literally "cooked cream" — is a silky, eggless custard, thickened here with a touch of gelatin. Make it up to three days ahead and serve with fresh berries. Get the Recipe 25 of 30 Coconut Cake Food & Wine Coconut cake, a dainty dessert, was in vogue in the 1920s for ladies' gatherings. Traditionally made with marshmallow frosting, the cake was famously served to President Truman during a trip to Florida in the 1950s. Get the Recipe 26 of 30 Oatmeal Cream Pies Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Shell Royster If you loved oatmeal cream pies as a kid, you need these next-level versions, created by Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader of Chicago’s Loaf Lounge. This oatmeal pie recipe features tender, chewy cookies made with oats, dark brown sugar, molasses, and toffee bits. A light, creamy vanilla filling is the perfect complement. Get the Recipe 27 of 30 Lemon Ripple Cheesecake Bars © Anna Williams Cookbook author Elinor Klivans got her start as the "cheesecake specialist" at a restaurant in Camden, Maine. Her creamy, tangy lemon cheesecake bars can be made up to three days ahead, plus they're portable enough to bring to outdoor gatherings. For the neatest squares, slice the cheesecake into bars with a warm knife, wiping off the blade between cuts. Get the Recipe 28 of 30 Earl Grey Ice Cream with Chocolate Toffee and Shortbread Crumble Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman If you love nibbling on buttery shortbread cookies with a cup of tea, give this show-stopping ice cream a try. It's flavored with Earl Grey tea and vanilla bean. The crushed shortbread and pieces of chocolate-covered toffee take it to the next level. To give the dessert extra pizazz, sprinkle it with a bit of flaky sea salt and more shortbread crumbles before serving. Get the Recipe 29 of 30 Rice Pudding with Butternut Squash and Sweet Milk Tea © Fredrika Stjärne Inspired by the not-too-sweet rice puddings of India, chef Hugh Acheson keeps the sugar to a minimum in this version made with rice grits (broken grains of rice). In a nod to the South's favorite drink, he tops the pudding with sweetened milk that's been flavored with tea and spices. The most unexpected ingredient: butternut squash. "I think it can work really well in dessert," he says. Get the Recipe 30 of 30 Dark Chocolate Bark with Roasted Almonds and Seeds © John Kernick Chocolatier Jacques Torres says he's more hooked on chocolate than sugar. A small piece of this super-chunky dark chocolate bark staves off his intense cravings. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit