Top-Rated Dessert Recipes

Recipe: Grilled Peach Cobbler

The fire gives this classic an extra smoky, caramelized flavor that, we're willing to bet, you won't be able to resist. Serve hot off the grill or at room temperature. Crown the cobbler with a scoop of vanilla for an extra sweet touch. This dish is infused with smoke, creating a luscious mixture of textures. Just the right blend of gooey and crisp emerges as the soft slices of caramelized peaches sink underneath the crisp sweet biscuit crust. Pick up a basket of peaches at the farmers’ market in the morning, make this gooey treat, and we guarantee that your afternoon will be smoky and sweet.

Recipe: Coconut-Banana Pudding

The fire gives this classic an extra smoky, caramelized flavor that, we're willing to bet, you won't be able to resist. Serve hot off the grill or at room temperature. Crown the cobbler with a scoop of vanilla for an extra sweet touch. This dish is infused with smoke, creating a luscious mixture of textures. Just the right blend of gooey and crisp emerges as the soft slices of caramelized peaches sink underneath the crisp sweet biscuit crust. Pick up a basket of peaches at the farmers’ market in the morning, make this gooey treat, and we guarantee that your afternoon will be smoky and sweet.

Recipe: Mini Strawberry Tarts

These sweet strawberry treats start with a pistachio crust, an unexpected, nutty, and subtle twist on the form. A dreamy mixture of cream cheese, lemon juice and zest, and whipped cream are folded together before filling the individual tarts. Toss the fresh strawberries in sugar, just before topping the tarts, to give them just a hint of added sweetness. These miniscule desserts are almost too pretty to eat…almost. They are elegant and accessible, and they pack major flavor in tiny tart form, so they are perfect for dinner parties, when you want to impress but don’t want to skimp on taste.

Recipe: Strawberry Dream Cake

This Strawberry Dream Cake is an elegant and eye-catching surprise! It’s sure to astonish at any prince themed birthday party. The fluffy whipped frosting and upright strawberries make for a stunningly beautiful display.

Recipe: Praline Bread Pudding

Talk about comfort food. We were, weren’t we? This dish oozes sweetness, the perfect Southern indulgence. It’s no typical bread pudding, though. We gave our favorite bread pudding a Louisiana-style revival with the addition of an oh-so-decadent homemade Praline Sauce. Our Test Kitchen recommends using stale, day-old bread—better for soaking up the sweet custard. So once your bread has graced your shelf just a day too long, you’ll know it’s time to whip up this sweet treat. We love dipping generous helpings into petite clear dishes—which are all the better to showcase the layers of gooey praline goodness that await you during the dessert course.

Recipe: Hummingbird Cake

If you love Southern Living, you’ll know how proud we are of our Hummingbird Cake. We celebrate it every chance we get. It’s not just pretty. It’s not just tasty. It’s a wonder. Thanks to Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina, this pineapple-banana spice cake with cream cheese frosting became one of our most requested recipes. Decades after it graced the pages of our magazine, we still stand by Mrs. Wiggins' original, indulgent creation. It is just as delicious, relevant, and crowd-pleasing today as it was when Mrs. L.H. Wiggins first whipped it up. Try this one. Thank us later.

Recipe: Brennan's Bananas Foster

Throughout culinary history, flambéed desserts have had a storied life. Decades ago, they had moments as a must-have, much-loved tableside sensation both at restaurants and at home. We have to admit: We still love them. This recipe is one we’ll never let go. It originated at Brennan's in New Orleans, and the recipe is just as delicious now, whipped up at home with store-bought bananas, as it was when Brennan’s experimented and invented it more than 60 years ago. Beyond the bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon, banana liqueur, and rum create an unstoppable combination. You’ll be asking for seconds with this dish.

Recipe: The Lemon Cheese Layer Cake

Expecting a twist on cheesecake? You're in for an even sweeter surprise. These layers are filled with a buttery rich lemon curd instead. Light, sweet, and tart: It’s a beguiling blend. The curd is smooth, a bright citrus explosion within a sweet cheesecake concoction. It’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted. The Lemon-Orange Buttercream frosting coats the exterior of the cake like a sweet, thick veil. It opens to the lemon curd-interior and doubles, nay, triples the citrus flavor. Perfect for summer, this sweet cake is best served outside, under a starry sky, surrounded by glowing candles and light, fresh cocktails.

Recipe: Cream Cheese Pound Cake

You can’t go wrong with a cake so beloved. Look no further for the perfect pound cake recipe. This traditional cake is extra-rich. It’s also sturdy and substantial because of the cream cheese, and it is always, always in style. Fourth of July? Perfect. Thanksgiving? Ideal. Christmas? Nothing better. Half-birthdays? Yes. We’ve even been known to dream up holidays on random Wednesday afternoons just to get in the kitchen to make this beauty. Garnish this versatile cake with seasonal fruits and you’ll ensure that it’s appropriate year-round. Get creative: The decorating opportunities—with berries, stone fruits, and glazes—are truly endless.

Recipe: The Red Velvet Cake

This cake requires an article before the title. It’s not just any red velvet cake. It is The Red Velvet Cake. For good reason: Red velvet cakes are almost universally loved. When you cut into a cake and realize it’s red velvet, not just vanilla or chocolate, euphoria sets in. It’s a very special cake. Red velvet has even been celebrated in film, memorialized in comedic form. In 1989, an armadillo-shaped groom's cake in Steel Magnolias kicked off a cult following for red velvet. The craze has continued for decades, fueled in part by the red velvet cakes that have graced the Southern Living Christmas cover three times.

Recipe: Chewy Peanut Bars

Bite-sized and nutty, these bars are great for tucking into lunch boxes or for sweet and indulgent after-dinner treats. This recipe also has a surprising origin. We weren't exactly excited to test our old microwave column recipes again, but these chocolate-peanut blondies truly surprised us. We whipped them up and had to immediately make another batch. They’re easy, the perfect combination of homemade and crowd-pleasing. If you want even more peanut delight in your life—and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want as much peanut delight in their lives as possible?—try our quick and easy peanut butter cookies, too.

Recipe: The Jam Cake

Bite-sized and nutty, these bars are great for tucking into lunch boxes or for sweet and indulgent after-dinner treats. This recipe also has a surprising origin. We weren't exactly excited to test our old microwave column recipes again, but these chocolate-peanut blondies truly surprised us. We whipped them up and had to immediately make another batch. They’re easy, the perfect combination of homemade and crowd-pleasing. If you want even more peanut delight in your life—and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want as much peanut delight in their lives as possible?—try our quick and easy peanut butter cookies, too.

Recipe: Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie

We’re Southerners. We know our pecan pie, and this twist on a regional favorite has us wishing for pecan harvest. We’ll spend days picking up pecans in the orchard if it means we can conjure this chocolate-bourbon concoction in the kitchen. We have also gained a new appreciation for whiskey. The liquor goes way beyond drinking and finds its way into sauces, braises, and especially desserts. There is a sophistication to adding bourbon that is tempered by the accessibility, everyday decadence of chocolate. We believe that bourbon and pecan pie fit together like peanut butter and jelly or Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. That sounds like a perfect fit to us.

Recipe: The Coconut Chiffon Cake

White as a Sunday glove, coconut is the doyenne of Southern layer cakes, a masterpiece of home cookery that has crowned dining room sideboards for more than a hundred years. Is there anything as delicate as Coconut Chiffon? It’s an almost diaphanous mixture, flavorful and dainty and sweet. We see it gracing the dessert tables at showers, weddings, luncheons—anywhere that calls for casual elegance and a pretty (impressive) dessert. It doesn’t call attention to itself, though—this is no red velvet cake—but it is such a beautiful, comfortable addition to any event that, no doubt, all of its slices will disappear on cocktail plates to be smiled at and savored.

Recipe: Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge Icing

Everything is bigger in Texas. Everything is more decadent there too, it seems. Somehow, Texas claimed the sheet cake as its own in the mid-20th century, perhaps because of the pecans, an ingredient that grows in abundance throughout the Lone Star State. The defining element is its shape—and, of course, the icing, which has to be heated and poured on the warm, just-out-of-the-oven cake. The result is a rich, chocolaty treat that's iconic in Texas. It will become your go-to too, we assure you. There’s something unforgettable about the pecans and the icing—the luscious blend of savory and sweet. It’s big and show stopping, just like the state that gave it to us.

Recipe: The Lane Cake

In March 1966, Southern Living featured a recipe for Lane Cake in its second issue. Our latest twist? Dried peaches (finely diced and ridiculously delicious) stand in for raisins, and the traditional meringue frosting gets a spirited makeover with—get this—a triple shot of peach schnapps. This is your summer cake. The levity of meringue plus the playful taste of peach schnapps makes this cake a fruity cocktail of a dessert. We love it at summer parties, and the meringue frosting creates a dramatic visual, sweeping and soaring and inviting guests to partake in a party of a cake. It’s covered in clouds but it’s a substantial sweet. It’s a dessert that defies gravity.

Recipe: Ginger Shortbread Cookies with Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting

Classic shortbread cookies get a flavorful, singular update with the addition of ginger, lemon, and cream cheese. We added extra flavor to these lemony shortbread treats without sacrificing creativity or taste. Crystallized ginger takes on exciting new dimension when it’s paired with bright lemon zest. It creates a zippy mixture that is ideal for parties (or, let’s be honest, any time you need a sweet treat). Ginger has a life far beyond ginger ale, though we do love the beverage. Aromatic and spicy, ginger punches up classic dishes with bold, fresh flavor. You won’t want to miss these special ginger shortbread cookies.

Recipe: Caramel Apple Cake

It’s the kind of dessert that seems to conjure autumn just by baking it. Cinnamon, caramel, and apple scents will waft into every crevice of your kitchen. Looking out your window, you may imagine the leaves changing green to red to gold as you smell fresh apple cake baking in your oven. It’s irresistible. We would bake this dessert any time of year just to imagine the arrival of autumn, but it’s true that this cake is at its best in September, October, and November, when fresh apple harvests send crisp, sweet, freshly-picked apples dripping with flavor into our fruit baskets. It’s tempting to bite into those apples, crunching them for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner, but save a few for this dessert. It’s autumnal and delicious. It’s also topped with sautéed apple slices and drizzled in a delicious Apple Brandy-Caramel Sauce.

Recipe: Ginger-Peach Shortbread Cobbler

Whew. This dessert packs a lot of concepts into a small(ish) skillet. Ginger and peach dance their way into a shortbread cobbler, a gooey mixture topped with crisp, buttery shortbread. It’s also easy as pie—er, cobbler—to make. Any peaches will do, but we used ‘Elberta’ peaches in the version made in the SL Test Kitchen. We have to confess: this cobbler didn’t last long. Everyone had to taste it, and then, after seconds were had, we realized what an impact this dessert had on us. It celebrates peaches so boldly that we fell in love with peaches all over again…just in time for summer harvest. We’re going to give you a tip: Put down your peeler. This brilliant dish is our easiest peach cobbler ever.

Recipe: Buttermilk-Glazed Cherry Sheet Cake

A glossy buttermilk glaze lends the perfect sweetness to a cherry-studded sheet cake. Sweet-but-not-too-sweet, the addition of cherries to this dessert offers a tart juiciness the likes of which you don’t often find in desserts of this kind. The buttermilk glaze is an especially nice touch. It works to elevate the basic sheet cake with an unexpected and welcome flavor. This dish is perfect for brunches. In fact, it is so versatile that it can transcend breakfast and brunch and stand on its own as a substantial, filling dessert to follow to lunch or dinner. Stop by your local farmer’s market for the best, ripest cherries you can find.

Recipe: Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake

We know, we know. Mayonnaise? It takes some convincing to get anyone to add mayonnaise to cake. But we promise, this cake is all the convincing we need. We were surprised, but the addition of mayonnaise—yes, run-of-the-mill, grocery-store mayonnaise—tempers the sugary dominion of chocolate in this cake. If you've never known the glory of a mayonnaise cake, you're in for a treat. The staple ingredient yields an ultra-moist crumb and keeps the sugar from assaulting your taste buds. It’s a productive blend, a delicious one, and creates a cake not soon forgotten. You’ll also need to make the chocolate-cream cheese frosting. It’s the ideal topper for this magnificent mayonnaise cake.

Recipe: Orange-and-Basil Macerated Cherries

When cakes are too traditional and cookies too casual, try a fancy fruit dish. In these Orange and Basil Macerated Cherries, cloud-like ricotta is the perfect complement to juicy cherries infused with herbal-citrus zing. Truly, juicy doesn’t even begin to describe this dish. The cherries burst with fruity flavor and the light ricotta blend balances it all with subtle sweetness. If you’ve never thought to pair cherries and orange zest, we encourage you to try this recipe. The citrus—and the cherries—really pop. You’ll need a pound of fresh cherries for this recipe, so be sure to bookmark this dish for cherry season.

Recipe: Apple-Pecan Carrot Cake

It’s a heavenly trifecta. Apple and pecan, a decidedly autumnal pairing, gets a fresh, bright update with the addition of carrot cake. This cake has substance, but it also has zing. As you can see, a doubling of layers here creates a stunning centerpiece of a cake. We recommend topping a show stopping crown of Mascarpone Frosting with swirls of Apple Cider Caramel Sauce and a scattering of salty-sweet Spiced Pecans, which can do double duty as a snack or be mixed up in a dish of nuts for an addition to the appetizer table. For this cake, caramel sauce, rather than frosting, sandwiches together the moist cake layers, creating an indulgent sandwich of dense, sweet cake.

Recipe: Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

We took the traditional pound cake recipe and raised it a stunning, triple-chocolate twist. This cake means business. A duo of glazes—one creamy chocolate, the other subtle buttermilk—comes together atop this dreamy confection. It’s indulgent and, we admit, so much fun to eat and serve. Chocolate enthusiasts will be over the moon for this recipe, but it has enough unexpected flavor—thanks to the addition of the buttermilk glaze—that you’ll also win over the harder-to-please dessert eaters at the table. Warning: You—and they—won’t be able to resist a second slice. Go for it. We won’t tell.

Recipe: Nectarine Tarts with Honey

If you’ve seen sweet, plump nectarines at your local grocery store but have refrained from buying them because you wondered how best to use them, look no further than this fresh, French-inspired recipe for nectarine tarts with honey. A drizzle of honey—we recommend sourcing local honey, if you can get it—gives these quick and easy 15-minute tarts the look of fine pâtisserie. Slices of nectarine on top of the tarts imbue the dessert with a rustic elegance that we think is always appropriate. So next time you see nectarines in the fruit aisle, pick up a few—two pounds, actually—and try out this delectable recipe.

Recipe: Buttermilk-Plum Ice Cream

Haul out the ice cream churn this summer season—we have the perfect recipe for you. Here, buttermilk ice cream gets its ruby-colored swirls from fresh plums, specifically chopped black plums (we recommend a variety such as 'Methley'). We have to warn you: This is no store-bought vanilla cone. This lovely combination elevates a typical summer afternoon ice cream treat to a memorable experience—certainly a moment to savor. The addition of swirled plums to this ice cream is not only beautiful; it is tasty, fruity, and sweet. For a party, we like to showcase scooped cones in decorative glassware for a personal touch.

Recipe: The Ultimate Carrot Cake

A classic at the pinnacle of its powers, our recipe for The Ultimate Carrot Cake is a multi-purpose, always-appropriate star of the dessert table. It is dense and moist, an ideal no-fail recipe for when you need a reliable go-to cake. This is a great recipe for bake sales and impromptu weekend desserts alike. We went for three thick layers plus a creamy brown sugar-cream cheese frosting. For additional edible decoration, try our recipe for candied carrot curls, pretty helixes that add something special to the display. It’s a traditional cake, but with a few thoughtful touches, it feels brand new. Be sure to use caution while de-panning: These layers are tender, so remove from pans carefully!

Recipe: Mixed Stone Fruit Pie

Summer stone fruits are the stars of this delicious seasonal pie. Far from a cacophony of fruit, this pairing of fruit and filling blends together seamlessly. In fact, this is a no-cook filling. It makes an ideal dreamy base for this icebox pie piled with freshly cut fruit. The fruit mixture topping is customizable, so choose your favorite summer stone fruits and make the pie your very own. This dessert feels fresh any time, but none more so than in summer, when nectarines, cherries, mangoes, apricots, plums, and peaches fill Southern orchards, weighing tree limbs with their gorgeous, seasonal bounty. Get picking.

Recipe: Fresh Apple Cake

This classic is so fresh and substantial that it can stand on its own. Thinly sliced fresh apples (the recipe calls for two and a half pounds of Granny Smith apples) create rich, moist, irresistible layers of fruit within the cake. This cake can truly do it all. Go simple or adorn it if you’d like to take the recipe a delicious step further. Take your pick of your favorite topping, and cover the apple cake with your choice of Browned Butter Frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting, or Dark Chocolate Frosting. You can’t go wrong with your choice. It’s just that good.

Recipe: Double Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust

There’s nothing as American as apple pie, unless it’s a double apple pie with cornmeal crust. This recipe is doubly—maybe even triply—American, and we think it has a lovely Southern infusion, too. The sweetness of apple pie mingles with the crisp lightness of this well-formed cornmeal crust. Thick layers of sliced apples give some textural complexity to the dish. Decorate the top of the crust with a crisp apple leaf or other shape—just use a cookie cutter with any extra crust, and you’ll have a beautiful decorative addition to your crust. This is, after all, double apple pie with cornmeal crust. It deserves a little adornment.

Recipe: Mocha Java Cakes

You know those desserts that make everyone go “Wow!” when they bite into it? This is one of those desserts. It will be hard to have just one bite of this decadent dessert. The rich melted chocolate center and moist chocolate is beyond perfection for chocolate lovers. Since this dessert is formed into individual cakes, this mocha java concoction is perfect for dinner parties. With a thick dusting of powdered sugar, it mixes substantial chocolate with a delightful, dainty presentation on the plate. For chocoholics, this one can’t be beat, and the fun liquid center gives added dimension to a moist, spongy exterior.

Recipe: Blackberry-Apple Upside-Down Cake

This cake upends expectations by adding blackberry and apple to a traditional upside-down cake. Moist, delicious, and surprisingly easy, this upside-down cake may become your go-to recipe for entertaining. Sweet and tart, it calls for two large apples. You can use fresh or frozen blackberries—we recommend fresh if you’re whipping it up during blackberry season and frozen if you’re making it during apple season. Either way, it is a delicious creation. If you do decide to use frozen berries, be sure add them directly from the freezer—no thawing allowed—so that they hold their shape in the cake mixture.

Recipe: Luscious Lemon Bars

A favorite of Southern showers everywhere, lemon bars are a dainty and delectable treat. They combine the best of both worlds: a creamy citrus inside and a crisp pastry-esque exterior. The flaky crust and gooey lemon center are the perfect pair in this best-ever traditional lemon bar recipe. The acidity of the lemon—a bright citrus focus—is beautifully balanced in this recipe, which brings the lemon flavor to a delicious height, somewhere between a sweet lemonade and a pure lemon zest. It s best served cooled and sprinkled with delicate powdered sugar for a light touch of added subtle sweetness.

Recipe: Lemon-Lime Pound Cake
Watch: Lemon-Lime Pound Cake

If you can’t get enough citrus in your life, you may want to try this Lemon-Lime Pound Cake recipe. With one bite, it will transport you to the breezy tropics, or at least a sunny nearby lemon or lime grove. This recipe is based on a classic Southern favorite called 7UP Pound Cake, which was created in the 1950s when the soda company suggested using its soft drink instead of other liquid in pound cake recipes. The result: one of the best, and simplest, cakes you'll ever make. Also try our lemon-lime glaze and, for added effect, candied lemons—they taste great scattered atop the cake.