The Best Desserts We Made in 2015

The four seasons, like always, gave us a rotating cast of components to bake with, and we did just that. So get that stand mixer plugged in, and leave it plugged in through 2016.

We’re not saying you need to skip the Häagen-Dazs, but let it play second fiddle to these desserts. Summer Peach Pie Crème Brûlée Chocolate Chess Pie with Cornbread Crumble Sablé Breton Pie Crust Sable Breton Danish Dream Cake (Drømmekage) This delightfully basic white sponge cake, encrusted with a coconut and brown sugar topping, is a dream to make and eat.

Breadfarm’s Graham Crackers Renee Bourgault, co-owner of Breadfarm in Edison, WA, uses unrefined cane sugar instead of conventional granulated sugar in her graham crackers. Swedish “Gooey” Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka) Swedish “Gooey” Chocolate Cake Blackberry Cream Pie with Toasted Oat. Sesame Crumb Crust Indiana Sugar Cream Pie Houseman’s Fruitcake Paw Paw Ice Cream This custardy ice cream gets its tropical savor from paw paws, a musky-sweet fruit native to the American Midwest that tastes somewhere between a banana and a mango, with a plush, creamy texture. Get the method for Paw Paw Ice Cream » Brennan’s Bananas Foster Banana liqueur heightens the flavor of the bananas in this flambeed dessert from the New Orleans restaurant Brennan’s.

Rose’s Famous Caramel Cake This buttery cake slathered with rich caramel icing has earned local fame on Chicago’s South Side—it’s one of our favorites to make for special occasions. Get the method for Rose’s Famous Caramel Cake Gascon-Style Flan (Gâteau Millasson) This French egg custard is traditionally made with corn flour, but wheat flour works just as well. It puffs dramatically while cookery, then settles into a dense, delicately sweet flan.