Get Out Your Dessert Bowls! Tempting Spoonable Dessert Recipes (2024)

As if the chocolate-hazelnut spread isn't delicious enough straight off the spoon, whipped cream and crème fraîche are folded in to create a truly decadent (and ridiculously easy) mousse.

Recipe: Gianduja Mousse

"I love a hot fudge sundae, but this is more refreshing," says Jimmy Bradley, chef-owner of New York City's The Red Cat and The Harrison, about this light, citrusy mousse layered with orange granita and chopped almonds.

Recipe: Citrus-Granita and Orange-Mousse Parfaits

Inspired by her grandmother, who used up bread "until the dear end," Italian master Lidia Bastianich of New York City's Felidia turns leftover loaves into creamy, nutty parfaits.

Recipe: Chocolate-Bread Parfaits

Seattle's Poppy, known for simple, seasonal dishes from chef Jerry Traunfeld, keeps a molecular gastronomist in the pastry station. Dana Cree uses techniques she picked up at the Fat Duck in the U.K. and New York City's WD-50, where she learned to divorce flavors from their original textures to create something new — as she did here with goat cheese pudding topped with fresh raspberries and honey.

Recipe: Goat Cheese Puddings

This is an excellent grown-up version of an ice cream sundae, made with lush nectarines cooked in bourbon. The best part: the crisp, buttery pound-cake croutons.

Recipe: Bourbon-Nectarine Ice Cream Sundaes with Pound-Cake Croutons

The Vietnamese love drinking superstrong iced coffee combined with copious amounts of sweetened condensed milk. Joanne Chang created this simple ice cream sundae as a way to enjoy the same flavors. Shards of peanut brittle made with a generous pinch of cinnamon add great flavor and crunch.

Recipe: Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes with Crushed Peanut Brittle

"Every house has an herb garden," says chef Daniel Humm of Ticino, the southern region of Switzerland. Accordingly, here he infuses roasted peaches with honey-rosemary syrup. The mascarpone in the ice cream reveals the strong Italian influence on Ticino's cuisine.

Recipe: Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone Ice Cream

For a fun yet elegant dessert, chef and restauranteur Daniel Boulud tops an easy, creamy ginger-mascarpone mousse with chopped mangoes and pineapple, raspberries, and generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Tropical Fruit Sundaes

Boston's Oleana pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick's killer parfaits are the perfect contrast of cold, crunchy, and creamy. They're fabulous for entertaining, because you can make the caramel cream, granita, and caramel ahead of time and assemble them just before serving. The crunch can also be served over vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Caramel-Tangerine Parfaits

Mexican chocolate, which is flavored with ingredients like cinnamon, almonds, and vanilla, lends a distinct flavor to Chicago's one sixtyblue pastry chef Stephanie Prida's rich custard. Look for it at Mexican markets and specialty-food stores.

Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Pots de Crème

Arborio rice is great for Stephanie Prida's pudding, because the plump grains stay perfectly firm and chewy.

Recipe: Coconut Arborio Rice Pudding

The ethereal Italian dessert sauce zabaglione (known in French as sabayon) consists of egg yolks beaten with sugar and the Sicilian fortified dessert wine Marsala. Steeping vanilla seeds in the Marsala adds lovely flavor; folding in whipped cream increases the decadence factor.

Recipe: Vanilla Zabaglione with Raspberries

Pastry chef and author of DamGoodSweet David Guas remembers this comforting dessert, topped with a crumble of cinnamon and vanilla wafers, from the buffet spreads at family events.

Recipe: Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble

In a reality-TV moment that shocked us all, Tre Wilcox of Top Chef Season 3 was eliminated after preparing a dense, dull apple bread pudding in an epic Restaurant Wars. Gail Simmons rescues his recipe by sautéing the apples in brandy and butter, then soaking both them and brioche in lots of vanilla custard before baking.

Recipe: Apple Bread Pudding

New York's Le Bernardin pastry chef Michael Laiskonis serves this milk-chocolaty dessert in an eggshell with caramel foam; it's known as "the egg." It's just as good in ramekins, topped with a simple caramel sauce blended with maple syrup.

Recipe: Chocolate Pots de Crème with Maple Caramel and Salt

For more decedent desserts, check out Food and Wine's milk chocolate dessert recipes.