Recipe Desserts USA

Twenty sweet finishes — each one with the sauce it serves under · collected by Joseph Forlenza · Lk Hopatcong, New Jersey · October 2026

Custard & Cream

New York Cheesecake

Tall, dense and water-bathed — the dessert that anchors the collection.

Served with: macerated strawberries.

Built with: cream cheese filling · graham crust · berry topping.

Banana Pudding

Layers of vanilla wafers, pudding and sliced bananas — served cold, gone warm.

Served with: whipped cream crown.

Built with: vanilla pudding · wafers · bananas · whipped cream.

Rice Pudding

Slow-simmered, cinnamon-dusted — the quiet dessert that never disappears.

Served with: golden raisins folded in.

Built with: rice · milk · cinnamon · raisins · sugar.

Panna Cotta

Set cream, barely sweet, wobbling on the plate — Italy via New Jersey.

Served with: berry coulis.

Built with: cream · gelatin · vanilla · berry coulis.

Berry Parfait

Glasses layered with yogurt, berries and crushed granola — dessert in a straight line.

Served with: honey drizzle.

Built with: yogurt · berries · granola · honey.

Fruit & Crumble

Peach Cobbler

Cobbler crust over bubbling peach filling — the spoon goes straight in.

Served with: sweet cream biscuit top.

Built with: peaches · cobbler dough · cinnamon sugar.

Apple Crisp

Oats and brown sugar over sliced apples — the fastest dessert in the collection.

Served with: vanilla ice cream.

Built with: apples · oats · brown sugar · cinnamon.

Strawberry Shortcake

Short biscuits split and filled — summer berries hold the whole thing up.

Served with: whipped cream and extra berries.

Built with: shortcake · strawberries · whipped cream.

Apple Hand Pies

Portable, crimped and fried — the dessert that travels anywhere.

Served with: cinnamon sugar dusting.

Built with: pie dough · apple filling · cinnamon sugar.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Sunny curd under a tall meringue — torched until it talks.

Served with: nothing. It is complete.

Built with: lemon curd · meringue · pastry shell.

Pumpkin Pie

Spiced pumpkin custard in a flaky shell — the November resident.

Served with: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Built with: pumpkin custard · pastry shell · spice.

Key Lime Pie

Tart, cold and turquoise-adjacent — condensed milk does the sweetening.

Served with: lime zest and cream.

Built with: key lime curd · graham shell · whipped cream.

Chocolate & Company

Chocolate Lava Cake

Baked exactly eleven minutes — the center flows or it does not count.

Served with: raspberry coulis.

Built with: chocolate batter · molten center · coulis.

Chocolate Mousse

Two ingredients done properly, or six done beautifully — always airy, always cold.

Served with: shaved chocolate.

Built with: chocolate · cream · vanilla.

Tiramisu

Espresso-soaked ladyfingers under mascarpone clouds — the no-bake diplomat.

Served with: cocoa dusting.

Built with: ladyfingers · mascarpone · espresso · cocoa.

Mississippi Mud Pie

Chocolate layers in a crumb shell — the deepest entry in the collection.

Served with: hot fudge on the side.

Built with: crumb shell · chocolate filling · whipped cream.

S'mores Bars

Every campfire memory pressed into a square — graham, marshmallow, chocolate.

Served with: toasted marshmallow top.

Built with: graham base · chocolate · toasted marshmallow.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Spiced, moist and unapologetic — the frosting is half the point.

Served with: extra frosting, walnuts on top.

Built with: carrot cake · cream cheese frosting · walnuts.

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Yesterday's bread, tomorrow's dessert — the bourbon sauce is not optional.

Served with: warm bourbon sauce.

Built with: bread · custard · bourbon sauce · raisins.

Icebox Lemon Bars

Shortbread base, lemon layer, powdered snow — chilled until firm.

Served with: powdered sugar and zest.

Built with: shortbread · lemon layer · powdered sugar.

Ambrosia Salad

The retro classic: fruit, coconut and whipped topping — served from the oldest bowl in the house.

Served with: maraschino cherries on top.

Built with: fruit · coconut · whipped topping · marshmallows.

The Dessert Collection — Free PDF

All twenty desserts, their sauces and builds print as a three-page collection on US Letter paper. Click to download — no e-mail is requested and nothing is collected.

Download the collection (PDF)