These Dairy-Free Desserts Truly Deliver

Subtle and ethereal meringue is an ideal way to feature seasonal fresh fruit. Chef Saehee Cho tops hers with lemon curd, edible flowers, and the first straw­berries of the season, but any ripe seasonal fruit will do.

Edgar Castrejón shares the recipe for Pastelitos in the cookbook, Provecho: 100 Vegan Mexican Recipes to Celebrate Culture and Community.

This classic peppermint bark candy makes a great homemade gift. 

We couldn’t believe how simple it was to make these frozen treats. You can strain out the seeds if you like, but we love the texture they lend to the popsicles. Feel free to use boysenberries, pitted cherries, or other favorites instead of the combination of fruits here.

During Passover, when most foods made from wheat flour are forbidden, almond desserts are popular, especially with Sephardic Jews. A version of this recipe dates back to at least 1855 and is probably much older. When baked, the batter forms a dense (but not heavy) torte, like a soufflé–only with an earthy side. We serve it here with a simple raspberry sauce, but it’s equally delicious plain or with sliced strawberries.

Use the best-tasting oranges you can find for this sorbet. Because every orange has a different level of sweetness and acid, adjust the sorbet syrup and lemon juice to taste.

Aquafaba, the beany liquid in canned chickpeas, is astonishing stuff; it whips up just like egg whites in recipes. Here, it’s paired with coconut cream to create a completely vegan version of pavlova, a crunchy meringue that typically uses egg whites and dairy cream. Don’t be afraid of the time—the aquafaba has to chill and the pavlovas have to bake in the oven. 

Sauvignon Blanc’s characteristic green-apple flavors blend seamlessly with the fruit itself. The recipe was a preview from The Apple Cookbook: 100 Sweet and Savory Recipes by Amy Traverse.

“This recipe is from my mother-in-law’s box of typed 3- by 5-in. cards, handed down from her mother,” says Beryl Schwartz of Ojai, California. “Nothing reminds us of the holidays like the aroma of molasses wafting through the house!” Schwartz adds cloves and ginger for extra spice and rolls the cookie balls in turbinado sugar for crunch.

This ultra-moist, can’t-believe-it’s-vegan cake is a version of one in Oakland cookbook writer Bryant Terry’s The Inspired Vegan. Terry’s Tennessee grandmother used a lot of molasses in her cooking, and it’s a favorite ingredient for Terry too. You’ll have extra candied nuts, but that’s okay—they make great snacks.

Refreshing and sweet with a hint of earthiness, this sorbet shows off tomatoes’ fruity side.

Pineapple holds up to skewering, doesn’t fall apart on the grill, and makes an elegant, surprising dessert—especially when drizzled with a simple-to-make caramel sauce. You’ll need 16 wooden skewers for this recipe.

Light and refreshing, this sorbet is a delightful way to end a heavy meal. If you want to serve sparkling wine with the sorbet, choose one that’s sweeter than the one in the sorbet. Extra-dry sparkling wine is actually sweeter than brut. (We liked Chandon Riche extra dry for this recipe.) Pear juice may be substituted for the sparkling wine.

We were blown away by this cake’s great nutty texture and intense espresso taste.

This is our brown rice take on classic coconut sticky rice. The long cooking time yields an unctuous sauce that clings to the spoon. We love it with the tang of dried apricots on top, but feel free to customize it with fresh tropical fruit (mango is particularly tasty) or berries.