Beverages

The icy strawberry filling in this pie is pleasantly complemented by the luscious whipped cream. The pie tastes just like a margarita—the tequila flavor adds quite a zing. The recipe calls for freezing the whipped cream on top of the pie, but you can also freeze just the strawberry part and add the whipped cream when you serve the pie.

Smooth, firm, and creamy, this pie is naturally a lovely shade of pink, so you need not add the food coloring unless you want a deeper color. After 6 hours in the freezer, it’s slice-able but still soft. Left overnight, it’s firm but still creamy—a little piece of strawberry heaven.

These cupcakes get their flavor from a traditional Indian spiced tea, known as masala chai. The tea is often lightened (and sweetened) with condensed milk; here, condensed milk is used to make the glaze.

Stout beer, which gets its dark color and bold flavor from roasted malt, is sometimes used in English and Irish recipes for spice cakes and quick breads. The cupcake versions make excellent hostess gifts or after-dinner treats; serve them with coffee or glasses of stout.

Unlike the creamy American dessert of the same name, puddings from Great Britain are dense and cakey. This small-scale version includes pureed dates and a splash of brandy; after baking, the puddings are coated with a delectable toffee glaze.

Drizzled with a liquor-spiked caramel glaze and filled with rum-soaked raisins, these cupcakes are reminiscent of a popular ice cream flavor

Make the most of fresh cherry season by baking the little stone fruits right into charming tea cakes. The cakes, made with ground almonds, brown butter, and egg whites, are similar to financiers, which are small, springy brick-shaped cakes named for their resemblance to gold bullion. These cakes are baked with the pits left inside the cherries (be sure to warn guests before serving). Or, if you prefer, remove the pits before baking, leaving the stems intact.

Dramatic peaks of coffee-flavored seven-minute frosting and a single coffee bean crown mocha cupcakes; the coffee variation of Swiss meringue buttercream (page 305) and chocolate-covered espresso beans would be delicious substitutions.

These tropical cupcakes, scaled-down versions of the most well-known upside-down cake, have a retro appeal thanks to the flambéed fruit filling.

Chocolate and cherries are a match made in heaven—or, in this case—the Black Forest region of Germany, where the original layer cake was created (and cherries are abundant). These miniature versions of the classic German dessert are saturated with cherry liqueur, layered with sweet pastry cream and preserved cherries, and drizzled with rich chocolate ganache.

Perfect for a swanky First Night celebration, these stylish treats can be held in one hand while you sip Champagne with the other.

Elegantly piped ruffles of whipped cream and a fluted crust make for a decidedly more stylish version of the holiday classic. The velvety pumpkin mousse filling is flavored with all the traditional Thanksgiving spices—ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice—and a healthy dose of brandy for good measure. Graham-cracker crumbs are combined with cocoa powder in the crust.