24 Dessert Recipes to Delight a Crowd
No gathering is complete without a sweet ending. Whether you're planning the final course of a dinner party or hosting a casual soiree, these are the desserts to reach for. We've gathered 24 of our tastiest treat recipes that yield eight or more servings each, all guaranteed to put smiles on your guests' faces. Serve up plates of luscious chocolate crème caramel or cozy nectarine cobbler with ice cream, or compile a spread with dulce de leche sandwich cookies, chocolate-hazelnut bars, and mini mango trifles. Whichever route you choose, dessert is sure to be a hit.
Bunet (Chocolate Crème Caramel with Amaretti)
Bunet (also known as bonet) is a creamy, rich custard dessert hailing from Piedmont. The addition of amaretti cookies as a garnish enhances the almond flavor of the pudding while adding a lovely crunch. This version is from Daniel Zeilinga at Fàula Ristorante, whose recipe offers a simple technique for this silky Piedmontese dessert.
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. This recipe makes 25 cookies — perfect for a party or gathering, or refrigerate a few for later.
Biscoff Banana Pudding
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.
Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake
This Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake is creamy, it's dreamy, and it's so simple to make. Crushed cookies, fresh raspberries, and layers of tart raspberry sorbet and velvety vanilla ice cream transform into a gorgeous marbled layer cake in about 15 minutes — no frosting required.
Lemon Lavender Nectarine Cobbler
This summery cobbler is spicy, sweet, and tart with a delicate lavender aroma. Fresh nectarines are the star of the filling — skin-on ones are ideal, but you can also make this dessert with thawed frozen peaches. As you prepare the biscuit dough, take care not to overwork it, which will make the biscuits tough and chewy. Serve the finished cobbler with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
'The Bear' Chocolate Cake
Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
The famous chocolate cake from the television show The Bear features an airy chocolate mousse layered between a fudgy chocolate cake and topped with a rich chocolate frosting.
Mini Mangonada Floats
Mango float, or mango royale, is a beloved Filipino icebox cake that consists of layers of graham crackers, sweetened whipped cream, and fresh mango. For a twist, Abi Balingit of The Dusky Kitchen wanted to combine the spicy and tangy flavors of one of her favorite summertime desserts, Mexican mangonadas, with this Filipino classic.
Cannoli
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Cannoli, a crisp and creamy Italian dessert with origins in Sicily, is made of pastry dough that has been molded into a tube and fried until crispy. The fried pastry is filled with orange-scented mascarpone and ricotta cheese filling and then dipped in chopped chocolate or pistachio.
Cornmeal Cake Trifle with Sabayon and Candied Kumquats
A feat of technique and flavor, this stunning collaboration between pastry chef Kelly Fields and baking legend Claudia Fleming has many delicious components, most of which can be made ahead. Layers of crumbly cornmeal cake and fresh and candied citrus float on billowy drifts of barely boozy sabayon, topped with sweet, crisp peaks of toasted Italian meringue.
Chocolate and Hazelnut Nanaimo Bars
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.
Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Layers of delicate flavors from lemon, honey, and extra-virgin olive oil — which helps keep the cake moist and imparts mild fruitiness — come together in this one-bowl batter. Stacked with a fluffy and rich lemon–cream cheese frosting, this easy layer cake is a keeper. Be sure the butter and cream cheese are softened for the smoothest frosting.
Strawberry Shortcake for a Crowd
"It doesn't get much easier than strawberry shortcake, but this family-style version I created definitely makes it foolproof," food writer Ben Mims says. "Instead of punching out all those small cakes, the dough is pressed into a pan and baked as one giant cake, which is much quicker and less stress-inducing, especially when you want an effortless dessert for a weeknight that truly takes no time at all."
Milk Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust
This dessert from pastry chef Colleen Grapes, a tribute to the chocolate-covered pretzel, hits just the right salty-sweet note. Grapes mixes crushed pretzels with flour, butter, sugar, and egg to make a crunchy crust, pours in a luxurious milk chocolate filling, then sprinkles on more crushed pretzels as a garnish.
Alfajores de Maizena (Sandwich Cookies Filled with Dulce de Leche)
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.
Triple-Cheese Cheesecake with Amaretti Crust
This is one of the most beautiful cheesecakes you will ever make and it requires absolutely zero minutes of baking. The dessert has an ethereally light, creamy texture and fantastic crunchy crust made from honey graham crackers and amaretti cookies. Serve this to impress guests at your next dinner party.
Blackberry and Mascarpone Crêpe Cake
This stunning dessert from Gail Simmons features a towering stack of French crêpes layered with rich mascarpone whipped cream, tart berries, and a little lemon zest.
Carrot and Orange Cake with Sour Cream Glaze
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."
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie Bars
These cookie bars are studded with toasted pecans and semisweet chocolate chips, but feel free to mix things up. Try walnuts or almonds instead of pecans, or swap out the chocolate chips for dried cranberries.
Maple-Bourbon Banana Pudding Cake
This cake is as good as a holiday dessert as it is for Sunday brunch. As it bakes, it develops a sweet, rich sauce at the bottom of the dish.
German Chocolate Cake
Julia Hartbeck
Sam German created the mild, dark baking chocolate called Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate in 1852; in the late 1950s, a Dallas newspaper published a recipe for German's Chocolate Cake. The dessert took the South by storm and has been a staple ever since.
White Peach Tart
"This crust is not what you'd expect," chef Marco Canora says. "Instead of being crunchy, it's puffy and cakey." The dough is terrific for impromptu baking, because it doesn't need to be chilled before it's rolled out. For the filling, Canora recommends using peaches that are ripe but still firm, as drippy fruit will make the soft crust soggy.
Salted-Caramel Cream Puffs with Warm Chocolate Sauce
One secret to pastry chef David Lebovitz's irresistible cream puffs is the salted butter he uses to make the perfect caramel custard filling. If you'd like to start preparing these in advance, the custard and chocolate sauce can be refrigerated separately for up to 3 days.
Pear and Cranberry Slab Pie
© Con Poulos
Instead of making a traditional two-crust pie in a pie plate, this free-form, fruit-filled, ginger-laced pie is made on a baking sheet. Serve it with vanilla ice cream.
Black Mission Fig Clafoutis
Chef Matthew Accarrino cleverly adds juicy fresh figs to this delicious pancake-like French dessert, then tops it with port-infused whipped cream.
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