Winter Holiday Desserts

Your guests will be delighted with this cake inside and out! As a centerpiece, it resembles a sumptuous snowball. Inside is an ever-favorite classic -- the red velvet cake -- made more delicious for the holidays with a raspberry filling.

Secret ingredients -- eggnog and nutmeg -- turn ordinary cake mix into a deliciously different holiday dessert. Dip the cakes into a cream cheese and eggnog icing and coconut to resemble new-fallen snow.

Maple flavors the crust and the filling of this lovely cheesecake.

This all-white dessert -- angel food cake topped with whipped dessert topping, white chocolate, and coconut -- provides an energy boost after a long day of sledding.

Brewed espresso poured over this cake makes it super moist, like Christmas pudding. Starting with cake mix makes it super easy.

Broiled nut topping and a sturdy oatmeal cake add up to a mighty fine old-fashioned dessert. Serve this family-pleaser with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Humble cornmeal cakes get a spectacular dress-up from ground almonds, orange peel, and a lavish champagne-syrup finish. If you don't have miniature tube pans, muffin cups work well, too.

Every bite of this dessert will bring you closer to sweet tooth satisfaction. Arrange sprigs of fresh rosemary and cranberries around the cups for a lovely holiday garnish.

If it's a one-of-a-kind festive finale you're after, serve these little pouches packed with pears and a cardamom-infused caramel topping.

Drizzle a panettone with icing or fill it with ice cream.

This sweet and tart mousse takes only 20 minutes to make and provides a light, airy dessert option.

Purchase a yummy bakery cake and you're almost finished creating a dazzling holiday finale.

Also known as the hummingbird cake, this old-fashioned, church-social-style goody is one of those recipes that's been traded over backyard fences for years.

The cake batter is assembled completely in a blender or food processor. The whirled-together results are moist, nutty, and spectacular.

For chocolate lovers, a dessert buffet just isn't complete without a generous sampling of their favorite flavor. Set out this Double Chocolate-Orange Torte and indulge your guests.

Slicing into Sherry-Almond Sponge Cake is a little like opening a beautifully packaged gift. Inside, there's a lovely surprise: A rich-hued berry filling nestled between two sherry-infused cake layers.

Fluted round cakes are a baker's dream -- they make for a pretty cake the minute they come out of the pan. Just add a drizzle of icing and a sprinkle of crystallized ginger, and Glazed Gingerbread Cake will dazzle.

Reminiscent of a classic Victorian jelly roll and just as charmingly old-fashioned, Apricot-Hazelnut Cake Roll brings a touch of simple elegance to the table.

Pistachio Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream features three cake layers, studded with pistachios and slathered with an elegant buttercream frosting. It all stacks up to one opulent dessert.

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Make this dreamy, all-white Festive Angel Cake that's as light and wondrous as a Christmas Eve snowfall. (No one need know that all the magic starts with a mix.)

Almond Log Cake sweetly celebrates the European custom of burning a Yule log to bring prosperity and protection from evil in the coming year. Almonds, another coin symbol, add extra value.

This wonderful spice cake, filled with dried apricots and walnuts and showered with coconut frosting, is destined to become one of the most popular recipes of the decade. Hint: For the garnish, you can make the coconut shards from fresh coconut, as directed. (Note, these are for decoration only. They are too tough to eat.) Or, if you prefer, purchase coconut shards or chips in the produce section of supermarkets or at health food stores.

Combine mocha syrup, coffee liqueur, and Irish cream to your liking to equal 5 tablespoons.

Baked in a deeply fluted tube pan, this fine-grain, red-brown cake turns out nothing short of spectacular. A light dusting of powdered sugar adds to the drama.

This recipe has been perfected over the years. We think you'll agree that this version is the moistest, richest, "chocolatiest" cake ever. And, of the many ways to frost it, we vote for our classic Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting -- though you can certainly use your own family favorite.

The melted chocolate mixture must be thoroughly chilled to make the frosting successful.

Why cool cakes exactly 10 minutes before turning them out? That length of time allows the cake to firm up yet still be easily removed from the pan.

Nothing could be easier than this light and refreshing concoction -- just cook and puree the cranberries, strain, then freeze. It's also the perfect palate pleaser to serve between courses at a brunch.

May your New Year be as rich and delightful as these spectacular little desserts. With brandy-soaked cherries inside, the recipe is a mini-and-mod takeoff on the classic Black Forest Torte.

If you're using heavy baking pans, watch the shortcakes' progress carefully to avoid overbaking.