These vegan date and almond bars combine dates, almonds, oats, coconut, cinnamon, and maple syrup into a chewy, lightly sweet snack. Easy to make and naturally satisfying, Lidey Heuck’s Lidey Bars are a healthy-ish treat that keeps well and tastes like an actual dessert, no pretending required, all week long.
Craving mint chocolate chip ice cream but forgot to freeze the machine bowl? This no-churn Mint Chocolate Chip Semifreddo delivers the same creamy, scoopable texture using fresh mint-infused cream, mascarpone, and shaved chocolate shards — no ice cream maker, no advance planning. Just mix, freeze, and slice.
I made Matt Adlard’s brioche feuilletée, a buttery laminated brioche that lands somewhere between croissant and pull-apart bread. The process is time-consuming, but the zigzag shaping, glossy syrup finish, and tender layers make it a rewarding baking project for anyone looking to practice lamination or impress brunch guests at home.
Eric Kim’s Honeydew Semifreddo from Korean American turns often-overlooked honeydew melon into a creamy, refreshing frozen dessert. Made with puréed honeydew, egg yolks, sugar, and whipped cream, this sliceable semifreddo is light, nostalgic, and perfect for summer, especially if you love melon best when it’s frozen and creamy.
This rhubarb galette skips standard pie dough in favor of a rough puff pastry made with grated butter — the flakiest upgrade you didn’t know you needed. Macerated rhubarb meets lemon, orange zest, and fresh ginger in a simple, stunning spring dessert from Devin Finigan’s A Kitchen on Goose Cove.
This was inspired by the dessert we enjoyed at Verjus is Paris the night we ran into Ina and Jeffrey but we’ve turned the volume up for this not-too-sweet layered showstopper.
This rhubarb ladyfinger cake is a nostalgic Charlotte Russe-style dessert layered with soft ladyfingers, whipped rhubarb cream, strawberry gelatin, glossy rhubarb glaze, and fresh strawberries. It is an easy make-ahead spring dessert with retro charm, tart-sweet flavor, and enough drama to feel party-worthy without complicated pastry work beautifully at home.
Claire Saffitz’s Black Sesame Paris-Brest turns classic pâte à choux into a showstopping birthday dessert filled with nutty black sesame pastry cream and whipped cream. Homemade black tahini adds toasted, slightly bitter balance, while crisp choux and silky filling make this French pastry worth attempting, even when the ring misbehaves.