A loaf of kulich topped with glaze and sprinkles on a round trivet
Sarah Kieffer
1 of 15

Kulich

Kulich is a traditional Easter bread popular in Eastern Europe that’s sorta like panettone and made from cardamom and saffron-infused dough and topped with a creamy confectioners’ sugar glaze and colorful sprinkles.
Recipe
A two-tier Victoria sponge cake with raspberry jam in the middle, all dusted with confectioners' sugar on a white plate with a white teapot in the background
Cristian Barnett
2 of 15

Victoria Sponge Cake

This Victoria sponge cake—a simple yet sophisticated dessert named after the Queen—is made with a stack of sponge cakes sandwiching raspberry jam.
Recipe
Four Hoosier sugar cream pies, one dusted with confectioners' sugar on a sheet of parchment.
Debbie Carlos
3 of 15

Sugar Cream Pie

This Hoosier sugar cream pie is perhaps the best dessert to ever come out of Indiana. Who knew a little sugar, flour, cream, and vanilla could become something so magnificent? Easy to understand why it’s so common since it comes together from pantry staples.
Recipe
Ina Garten's lemon cake, a pound cake, on a cutting board, drizzled with a lemon glaze
mpessaris
4 of 15

Ina Garten’s Lemon Cake

This lemon cake is similar to a classic, old-fashioned pound cake but not quite so dense. It's magnificently buttery and exponentially lemony thanks to a tart soak in a lemon and sugar syrup and a drizzle of lemony confectioners' sugar glaze.
Recipe
Several varieties of crystallized flowers scattered across a white surface.
Sue Stubbs
5 of 15

Crystallized Flowers

Making crystallized flowers is easier than you may think. Read on to find out how to make those stunning edible garnishes.
Recipe
Cake stand with 7 frosted coconut cupcakes, four unfrosted cupcakes on the table, and a bowl of frosting.
Alexander Grablewski
6 of 15

Coconut Cupcakes

Adding coconut to the batter and the frosting gives these cupcakes an incredible depth of flavor.
Recipe
A three-layer hummingbird cake with a cake server beside it.
Peter Frank Edwards
7 of 15

Hummingbird Cake

This hummingbird cake, a Southern specialty, is an exceptionally sweet fruit and nut-speckled cake made with bananas, pineapple, pecans, and a cream cheese frosting.
Recipe
A coconut panna cotta topped with peanut brittle crunch on a white plate.
Armando Rafael Moutela
8 of 15

Coconut Panna Cotta

Chopped homemade peanut brittle sits atop a creamy coconut milk panna cotta.
Recipe
A lemon meringue tart in a white dish, with one slice on a plate beside it and one more being lifted out.
Rita Klimenko
9 of 15

Lemon Meringue Tart

This lemon meringue tart has a crunchy almond tart shell that’s filled with creamy lemon curd and buried beneath clouds of pillowy meringue.
Recipe
A Brown Betty Bakery coconut cake on a decorative white cake stand.
Alison Conklin
10 of 15

Brown Betty Bakery Coconut Cake

This Brown Betty Bakery coconut cake is dubbed Company’s Comin’ Coconut Cake at the boutique where it’s sold in Philadelphia. True to it’s name, this beauty of a pound cake will have you dreaming up excuses to invite guests for dinner.
Recipe
A stack of star-shaped cutout classic shortbread cookies, lightly dusted with sugar, and a brown takeout container and a gift tag.
Lara Holmes
11 of 15

Classic Shortbread Cookies

These classic shortbread cookies are made with just 5 ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt. A simple, perfect approach to a beloved Scottish tradition that’s a perfect Christmas cookie.
Recipe
A coconut cream pie with a meringue top and sprinkled with toasted shredded coconut.
David Leite
12 of 15

Coconut Cream Pie

This coconut cream pie is an old-fashioned recipe for bliss. A luscious coconut custard is topped with billows of meringue and sprinkled with shredded coconut. A buttery, flaky crust instead of a graham cracker crust adds just the right savoriness.
Recipe
A pile of cream-filled macarons, each in a white wrapper.
Tessa Traeger
13 of 15

Cream-Filled Meringue Cookies

These cream-filled meringue cookies are made with a whipped cream filling sandwiched between two ethereally light meringue cookies.
Recipe
A 3-layer coconut angel food cake covered in white frosting on a white cake stand
Sara Remington
14 of 15

Coconut Angel Food Cake

This is a classic. An incredibly light and airy three-layer angel food cake is filled and frosted with a billowy egg-white frosting and dusted all over with shredded coconut. Easy as can be. Add fresh berries for a tart counterpoint.
Recipe
A partially sliced coconut crème brûlée tart topped with raspberries on a white linen cloth with a fork and napkin beside it.
Lucy Schaeffer
15 of 15

Coconut Crème Brûlée Tart

Coconut crème brûlée tart is a bit of a showstopper—creamy coconut filling, buttery pastry and a sweet and crackly top. What’s not to love?
Recipe



About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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