Recipe Roundup

The 27 Most Popular Dessert Recipes of 2023

Our readers were all about the Philly fluff cake and French silk pie this year.

December 19, 2023

Chocolate chip cookie bars on parchment paper.

Consider this Epicurious Wrapped, dessert edition. The year 2023 was a feast for all our sweet-toothed readers who embraced the effortless treats just as much as project bakes, which makes you all an impressive bunch of baking polyglots. Classics like chess pie and chocolate Swiss roll were hits, of course, but you also loved recipes like stovetop apple crisp and an easy chocolate mousse, that make use of cool techniques. Scroll through the full lineup below for jog down dessert memory lane.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
1/27
Philly Fluff Cake
Epicurious staffer Zoe Denenberg has been trying to recreate this local favorite forever. This year, she nailed it: a tall, slightly tangy cake that’s somehow both light and rich, with a flurry of powdered sugar on top.
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Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton
2/27
French Silk Pie
While you could use a classic pie crust for this dessert, we love this version, with its smooth, creamy chocolate filling nestled into a no-bake Oreo crust.
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Photo by Max Milla
3/27
Butter Toffee Bars
Nick DiGiovanni featured these grandma-approved toffee bars in his book, Knife Drop, and the recipe quickly became one of our most popular bar cookie recipes.
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Photo by Sam Harris
4/27
Triple Chocolate Brownie Fingers
Dress up your standard brownie with a careful dip in melted chocolate and a spiral of whipped chocolate ganache.
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Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart
5/27
Chess Pie
The tangy custard for this Southern pie is made with buttermilk, eggs, and lots of lemon.
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Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Sean Dooley
6/27
Stovetop Apple Crisp
Our food editor Jesse Szewczyk designed this stovetop skillet dessert for the first days of fall when it’s still too hot to turn on the oven, but it’s also a great back pocket recipe for dinner parties when your oven is already full.
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Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine
7/27
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
You don’t need a mixer to make these chewy cookie bars.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
8/27
Chocolate Cream Pie
The data shows that Epicurious readers are big on chocolate. This pie is big on chocolate too.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
9/27
Elvis Presley’s Favorite Pound Cake
You start this cake’s baking in a cold oven, which gives it a beautiful golden crust and a slow, steady rise.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton
10/27
Easy Chocolate Mousse With Whipped Cream and Sea Salt
To make this eggless mousse, you’ll whip melted chocolate with water over an ice bath until it puffs into a silky dessert. It feels miraculous.
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Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
11/27
Peanut Butter Brownies
These swirled brownies could be the star of your Christmas cookie exchange—or just keep you fueled while you embark on a marathon of holiday baking.
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Photo by Squire Fox
12/27
Clementine Pound Cake
Citrus zest and chocolate go hand in hand in this beloved recipe from baking icon Cheryl Day.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
13/27
Pecan Pie
A touch of salt in both the crust and filling brings balance to this classic pie.
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Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine
14/27
Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Filling
Found yourself with a can of pumpkin purée sitting in your pantry? Don’t wait for next year’s pumpkin pie—make this impressive rolled cake now.
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Originally from Chittagong, Bangladesh, Anikah is a writer and recipe developer with bylines in Delish, Food52, Kitchn, Food Network, and Taste of Home. Prior to joining Epicurious, she was the assistant food editor at Food Network Magazine. She has a master’s in Food Studies from NYU and a culinary arts ... Read More

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