Food and Recipes Desserts Our Easiest-Ever Fall Desserts By Patricia S York Patricia S York Assistant Food Editor Pat is an Assistant Editor at Southern Living and has been a part of the team since 2006. She works with the Senior Food Editor to plan monthly print food features and stories that will highlight Southerners making a difference through food, share delicious recipes that utilize seasonal produce, and offer exceptional reader service. Pat also writes digital content on a variety of topics including cooking, gardening, and pets.One of the reasons Pat enjoys living in Birmingham is because it is centrally located between the mountains and the Gulf coast. She spends her free time gardening, hiking with her dogs, and pursuing her goal of becoming a better horsewoman. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on August 17, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg DuPree Fall is a favorite time in the South to bake desserts. The days are shorter, and the temperature outside becomes more manageable, so you can fire up the oven without running everyone out of the house. Along with homemade bread, bakers love to pull out their pedestal cake stands and create mile-high layer cakes this time of the year. But, you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to bake a fabulous fall dessert. With a bit of prep and hands-on time, the following recipes for easy fall cakes and fall pies can be in the oven in no time, most baking while you and your family sit down to a satisfying dinner. So, pick up some apples, pecans, and sweet potatoes from your market and start baking an easy fall dessert. 01 of 25 Apple-Spice Bundt Cake with Caramel Frosting Greg DuPree Recipe: Apple-Spice Bundt Cake with Caramel Frosting It doesn't get any easier than a bundt cake. The hardest part of making this fall favorite is waiting for it to cool down enough to eat it. It takes around two hours to completely cool before you can drizzle the caramel frosting on top. 02 of 25 Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie Reduce hands-on time by using a refrigerated pie crust. Browning the butter with fragrant cinnamon and cloves gives this classic Southern pie a new twist. Even better, this recipe makes two pies for the prep time of one. 03 of 25 Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes Combine lunchtime favorites, bananas, and peanut butter, into one easy fall treat. Peanut butter, vanilla, and salt whip together to make a fluffy buttercream frosting. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts for a crunchy topping. 04 of 25 Apple Upside-Down Pie Jennifer R. Davick Recipe: Apple Upside-Down Pie A buttery mix of brown sugar and pecans caramelizes as it bakes beneath the bottom crust of this pie. Apple anything is ideal for fall baking, and this crunchy upside-down pie uses all the classic ingredients. This pie looks as beautiful as it tastes. 05 of 25 Sweet Potato Soufflé Micah Leal Recipe: Sweet Potato Soufflé If you like pumpkin bread, you will love this sweet potato soufflé, loaded with favorite fall spices. A brown sugar mixture and pecans top this dish that stands on its own as a dessert or can accompany your Thanksgiving dinner. Adding a significant amount of vanilla extract will give this soufflé a notable sweetness. 06 of 25 Salted Irish Cream Apple Crostata Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Salted Irish Cream Apple Crostata Adding Irish cream liqueur to this apple tart's dough and the buttery sauce topping the fruit is a beautiful combination. Create the pastry dough using a food processor but still expect the light flakiness associated with piecrust or biscuits. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you'll have a new favorite version of apple pie. 07 of 25 Gingered Carrot Scones Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Gingered Carrot Scones Prepped and baked in half an hour, these flavorful scones, with bits of diced crystallized or ground ginger, are perfect for brunch, after school, or an afternoon treat with tea or coffee. For some extra sparkle, add Turbinado sugar on top for texture. 08 of 25 Mexican Chocolate Pudding Cake Brian Woodcock Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Pudding Cake This pudding cake, best served warm, will have your family crowding around the table. As soon as you pull this pan of chocolatey goodness out of the oven, your family or guests will be waiting for it. The sliced almond topping adds a unique texture to this decadent cake. 09 of 25 Fresh Apple Cake Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Amy Burke Recipe: Fresh Apple Cake This cake batter is incredibly thick, but the thin apple slices keep it moist and flavorful. This cake will soon become your new favorite fall baking recipe, using apples, cinnamon, and nuts in an easy-to-bake sheet cake. 10 of 25 Praline Apple Bread Jennifer R. Davick Recipe: Praline Apple Bread Sour Cream is the secret to this bread's rich, moist texture, which is ideal for brunch, an afternoon treat, or dessert. Only the glaze uses butter and oil for its batter, so this quick bread will be great to eat alongside another dish or as a stand-alone dessert. Toasted pecans add the perfect amount of crunch. 11 of 25 Apple Butter Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Apple Butter Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting Caramel frosting and apple chips top this apple butter pound cake. You can make your own Slow-Cooker Apple Butter or use a store-bought version, but either will add thickness to your bundt cake. Don't skip the step to toast your pecans. You can even make extra and store them in the freezer if you plan to do a lot of fall baking. 12 of 25 Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits Cobbler is a more straightforward dessert than pie. This recipe, topped with biscuits, especially doesn't require as much attention to detail. If you are short on time, substitute canned biscuits for homemade. Also, this recipe calls for Granny Smith and Honeycrisp or Gala apples, but any variety will do. 13 of 25 Old-Fashioned Apple Pie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Old-Fashioned Apple Pie Apple pie is a classic for a reason. This old-fashioned, double crust pie is a comforting way to welcome fall. Remember to chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight. 14 of 25 Persimmon Pudding Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Persimmon Pudding Persimmons, the red-orange fruit, is in-season during the fall and winter, so take advantage by baking this pudding. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger complement the orange zest and toasted pecans. Serve with homemade Cinnamon Whipped Cream for an extra special fall dessert. 15 of 25 Coconut-Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Hector M. Sanchez Recipe: Coconut-Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Who said tropical fruits are only for summer? This variation of classic pumpkin pie uses toasted coconut to make a fluffy chiffon topping. The pie is also a Thanksgiving Day timesaver as you can make it the day before and refrigerate it until serving. 16 of 25 Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Honey Swiss Meringue Jody Horton Recipe: Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Honey Swiss Meringue This dessert, starting with a toasted pecan crust, combines creamy cheesecake ingredients with classic pumpkin filling. Topping the traditional sweet is a creamy honey swiss meringue. Clover honey, egg whites, and salt are all it takes to make this fluffy topping. 17 of 25 Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie Jennifer Davick Recipe: Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie A pecan pie in a cast-iron skillet spells out a Southern staple. Use store-bought pie crust for a quick solution to a fall baking day. After, sprinkle with sugar and your pecan mixture and bake. This dish is so easy to make that you may never need another pie recipe. 18 of 25 Arkansas Black Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Arkansas Black Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce Hailing from Benton County, Arkansas, this pie uses apples that ripen to a deep red while still on the tree, continuing to ripen into a hue or near black once picked. This unique apple variety gives the pie its tasty, tart, and fragrant flavors. Add caramel sauce on top and have a perfect Thanksgiving Day pie. 19 of 25 Double-Decker Pecan Cheesecake Pie Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Double-Decker Pecan Cheesecake Pie Instead of pie or cheesecake, combine these desserts into this delicious dish. This pecan pie hides layers of creamy cheesecake and brown sugar filling. 20 of 25 Skillet Caramel Apple Pie Photo: Stephen DeVries, Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Skillet Caramel Apple Pie Ensure a golden, crispy pie crust by using a cast-iron skillet. Combined with a bourbon and caramel sauce, the apple filling balances the sweet glaze with its tart flavors. Feel free to use a store-bought crust, but the Test Kitchen recommends Fuji apples as it complements the other ingredients best. 21 of 25 Sock It To Me Cake Photographer: Jennifer Causey, Food stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey Recipe: Sock It To Me Cake Named for the "sock it to me" catchphrase popular during the 1960s, this rich and tender bundt cake is as classic today as it was then. This cake uses vanilla to add sweetness to the buttery sour cream mixture. The best part of this dessert is the ribbon of brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans swirled throughout the cake. 22 of 25 Pumpkin Layer Cake Recipe with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting Alison Gootee; Styling: Suzonne Stirling Recipe: Pumpkin Layer Cake Recipe with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting New Orleans-based cookbook author and food blogger Joy Wilson shares the recipe for this layer cake. Pumpkin spice fans will love this cake paired with homemade caramel and cream cheese frosting. You can make the cake up to three days in advance, so it's perfect for the holidays when you expect guests. 23 of 25 Praline Cake Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Emily Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Praline Cake Praline, or a confection with sugar, vanilla, and nuts, elevates this sponge cake. The praline glaze and pecans, used as toppings, add texture and interest to this fluffy, vanilla cake. Sweet cream or ice cream perfectly complements this sweet and salty dessert. 24 of 25 Salted Caramel Cheesecake Will Dickey; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Salted Caramel Cheesecake The creamy cheesecake filling on this decadent salted dessert is only beat by the caramel cookie crust. While baking this cheesecake might take a little longer, the steps are still relatively simple to follow. As an extra tip, substitute the dulce de leche for caramel sauce, which you can purchase in-store. 25 of 25 Blackberry Jam Cake Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Blackberry Jam Cake Blackberry jam makes this cake sweet, but the caramel cream cheese frosting balances it by adding a savory quality. Remember to switch to a paddle attachment before combing the jam, oil, and vanilla extract when using an electric mixer. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit