20 Warming Dessert Recipes For When It’s Cold
Crumbles, lava cakes and a lot of cream — these warm desserts are designed to keep you cosy.
As early autumn temperatures drop, we’ve had to bid farewell to fresh berries, sorbets and icecream cones.
Instead, we turn to richer flavours, like chocolate, caramel and stewed seasonal fruit, served warm to beat the chill. In this recipe collection, there are plenty of sweet servings that can stand in for a lit fire or boiled jug.
Some, like the caramel brownies or quick-to-make pastries, have a sturdy structure making them portable enough for workday morning or afternoon tea. Others demand to be eaten immediately upon serving, like pan-fried pears or cinnamon-dusted churros.
Fresh cream, chocolate or caramel sauce and icecream often accompany these fresh bakes (providing textural contrast and delicious decadence). We suggest you preheat your oven now.
What could be better than a chocolate brownie? Perhaps a chocolate brownie filled with homemade caramel.
Chocolate and berry lava cakes
These gooey lava cakes transcend the seasons. Fill with feijoas for an autumnal spin, or stick to frozen berries if you’re a black forest fan.
Orange, ricotta and fennel cake
This citrus cake is coated in a syrupy gloss, creating sweet aromatics and visual appeal.
These warm mini cakes benefit from the pairing of something cold, and also something tangy. Outside of passionfruit season, you could turn to a sour jam or jelly.
Churros with chocolate dipping sauce
Make an event of this delightful dessert and share in the cooking with your guests or loved ones. The churros are finished with a cinnamon sugar dusting, while the decadent dipping sauce blends caramel and chocolate.
Sponge pudding with apple and rhubarb
This fruity mix is melted under a crumbly and cakey topping, drawing out syrupy sweetness.
Sticky banana and date puddings
Caramelised banana is a cold-weather comfort. In this dessert, the rich flavour is enhanced by sticky-sweet dates and a caramel cream.
Baked oatmeal with raspberries
This cast-iron dessert could also be served for breakfast. However, if you’re set on an after-dinner treat, you could plate up with a scoop of ice cream.
Baked bananas with miso, orange and pine nuts
Savoury meets sweet in this citrus-tinged dessert. Split bananas are glazed with miso, runny honey and rich demerara sugar.
Doughnuts with chocolate sauce
These mini doughnut bites are super moreish, especially when slathered with a chocolate sauce.
Gluten-free date and honey pudding
Sink into this pillowy pudding, which swaps flour for ground almonds to cater to flour-free sweet tooths.
These precise parcels will suit apple crumble lovers. They’re a little crispier and benefit from the earthier flavour of pear.
We’re entering the last few weeks of plum season, so it’s time to make the most of the stocks. In this oven-baked dessert, they cook out to a tender texture and gain extra sweetness.
Fried pears with hazelnut praline
This pan-fried dessert is deceptively breezy. Seasonally abundant pears are coated in a nutty praline and topped with a dollop of creme fraiche — it comes together in less than half an hour.
Cobblers are an underrated dessert serving. They blend the airy texture of cake with the syrupy goodness of a crumble. This recipe makes use of abundant feijoa stocks.
The morning of your day off calls for a strong cup of coffee and a homemade pastry. This recipe pairs puff pastry with tinned fruits and bakes until irresistibly golden.
Strawberry croissant bread and butter pudding
The classic bread and butter pudding meets a slight twist in these cosy bowls, with the laminated pastry layers of croissants creating a crunchy texture.
This recipe is fresh from recipe editor Angela Casley’s oven and has already proven to be a popular dessert serving among readers. A big scoop of icecream is a must.
Bitter chocolate self-saucing pudding
Deeper flavours abound in this pudding dish, as high-quality Dutch cocoa is mixed with bitter dark chocolate. Serving with a pour of heavy cream for a luscious texture.
Toasted chocolate and banana brioche sandwiches
Is your pantry a little cleaned out for a weekend baking project? Turn to this simple treat instead — thick white bread toasted with sliced banana and your favourite chocolate.