Nigella's Autumnal Desserts

Apple and Blackberry Kuchen

Kuchen, in this context, may be simply "cake" in German, but what it means in America, taken there by German refugees, is a sweet, but not too sweet, yeasted dough, baked in a slab and topped as desir…

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

There are few things I find more satisfying in the kitchen than using up produce: the very notion of waste sends shivers down my spine. So, when I noticed a couple of apples wilting in the fruit bowl,…

Apple and Walnut Crumble

In How to Eat, I suggested this as a recipe for two. Yes, my portions are always generous, but the thing is, on certain days, we just ate this, the two of us, for supper in its entirety. Or almost: I…

Autumnal Birthday Cake

There is no reason on earth why this, adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, has to be a birthday cake, but since the first two times I made it were for my sister-in-law's and a friend's birthdays…

Blackberry Crisp

I feel, in the interests of fair trading, I should probably name this Blackberry Soggy, since what is so more-ish about it is its butter-fudgy topping. But since "crisp" is what these kinds of non-cru…

Blackberry Galette

This is really a free-form pizza-like tart, which I made for the first time while we were doing the photography for How To Be A Domestic Goddess. We happened to have some polenta pastry left over and…

Caramel Croissant Pudding

I always think that some of the best recipes come from the thrifty refusal to throw anything away. Certainly, I made this one Monday evening because I had two stale croissants left over from the weeke…

Chocolate Pear Pudding

This is a cross between Pears Belle Helene and Eve's Pudding, but the only important thing to remember is that this is easy, quick, very comforting and seems to please absolutely everyone. It's not ha…

Cider and 5-Spice Bundt Cake

Most of the time I refer to this as my Cider and 5-Spice Gingerbread, but I changed the name out of concern for those who expect a little more gingeriness from their gingerbead (although anyone is fre…

Coffee Shortbreads

I know that the essence of shortbread is its buttery plainness, and that adding coffee should be all wrong, but it is – convincingly – so very, very right. Instant espresso powder (a baking essential…

Crepes Suzette

This is probably the queen of retro desserts and deservedly so. My version is a speeded-up and simplified one by virtue of using shop-bought crepes. But there is no need to feel this is a cop-out. For…

Double Apple Pie

I don’t want to nominate favourites, but even so, I have to say this is a pie I am ecstatic about – perhaps because it’s so far removed from what I’ve spent my life cooking. The notion of putting Ched…

Flourless Chocolate Brownies With Hot Chocolate Sauce

However much people have eaten, there is always, I've noticed, room for a brownie. This is a different kind of a brownie, most definitely for party-pudding, melting, fudgy and damply rich. I compound…

Gleaming Maple Cheesecake

This is an exquisite cheesecake, tangy and delicate, with the pronounced smokiness and subdued sweetness of the maple syrup. It has a fabulously light, smooth and voluptuous texture, and two things he…

Gooey Chocolate Stack

This is for those days or evenings when you want to usher a little something out of the kitchen that makes you thrill at the sheer pleasure you've conjured up. It isn't about showing off, it's about i…

Holiday Hot Cake With Eggnog Cream

A warming, welcoming pud full of seasonal spice that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. Truly a pudding to give thanks for. As for the eggnog cream, by all means add a grating of nutmeg if…

Jumbleberry Crumble

Since you never know when you might be in urgent need of a crumble, I make up enough topping for at least 4 of these and let it sit safely in the freezer until required. Sprinkle it over your fruit of…

Love this dessert, I make it throughout winter.

Lokshen Pudding

Some people might not be convinced by the idea of a pasta pudding: but just remember how fabulously comforting rice pudding is and try not to be alarmed. You must try it. There's no one I've made it f…

Maple Buttercream Cupcakes With Bacon Sprinkles

As someone who has happily come up with a bacon brownie recipe, I was only too enthusiastic about the idea of bringing bacon to a maple-syrup cupcake. I use very thinly sliced rindless streaky bacon t…

Marmalade Pudding Cake

Now, this is a beauty. I don't mean flash or fancy — rather the opposite; there is something austerely handsome about its appearance, and yet gorgeously warming about its taste. But then, this laid-ba…

My whole family really enjoyed this cake. It was delicious and the perfect way to use up my slightly over-cooked marmalade. Great winter comfort food.

Molten Chocolate Babycakes

These are the acceptable face of culinary cute: their intensity guarantees the triumph of chic over prettiness. And, what's more, they're easy to make. You can make the mixture up a few hours in advan…

My Grandmother's Ginger Jam Bread and Butter Pudding

This is the wholesome, comforting version of a trad English (white) bread and butter pudding that my maternal grandmother always made. Use apricot jam or regular orange marmalade if ginger's not your…

No-Churn Brandied Pumpkin Ice Cream

The genesis of this particular recipe is the Pumpkin Bundt Cake or, rather, the fact that having made it, I had a small amount of pumpkin purée left over. I paired it with half a tin of condensed milk…

No-Churn Chestnut Ice Cream

In my view, there is no bad way to eat chestnuts, ever: my greatest — and exquisitely extravagant treat — is a marron glacé. Nothing, though, gives me quite the same frisson of intense, sugary delight…

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns

The Northern Europeans, and especially the Scandinavians, are wonderful bakers and eating these for breakfast or tea on a cold winter's day makes me feel grateful for a climate many moan about. But th…

Om Ali

I first ate this at Ali Baba, an Egyptian restaurant in London that the great Claudia Roden took me to about 30 years ago, and have loved it ever since; it found its way into my second book, and I've…

Orange Scented Brioche Pudding

This is really an old-fashioned bread and butter pudding with a fragrant flourish. You can get ready-sliced long brioche loaves, which makes life simpler, but if you need to get out a bread knife your…

Pecan-Plus Pie

This is somewhat of an Anglo-American enterprise. I have taken a pecan pie, and added other nuts, simply because for me, the English festive season means bowls of mixed nuts and the memory of my grand…

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

It’s no secret that I love a bundt cake: it just looks instantly celebratory. Plus, once you have the tin (and if you don't, you can bake this cake in a 20cm/8 inch square tin) you do want to get good…

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The pumpkin component here may come out of a can, but I don’t see that’s anything to be apologetic about. By all means, make your own purée if you prefer (making absolutely sure it is as drained as dr…

I made this for a dinner party recently, and it was an absolute hit! When I first read the recipe, I wondered if I should add spices to make it more like a traditional pumpkin pie. I decided to follow Nigella's recipe to the letter, and I am so glad I did! The balance of flavors is perfect. The pumpkin is subtle and shines just enough. It is so much better than a standard pie filling! Definitely adding this to the Thanksgiving table!!

Queen of Puddings

I wasn’t brought up on nursery food, so this sort of old-fashioned English pudding holds a certain exotic charm for me. Traditionally, a Queen of Puddings is made with breadcrumbs, but this is the Mar…

Red Roast Quinces

When the two great Australian food writers, Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer, came to London some 30 years back, I went to a dinner cooked by them; this was the pudding and I remain, all this time…

Rhubarb Crumble

When the Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb comes in each year, with its hot pink, slender stems, I feel my spirits lift! Of course you can make crumbles with hardy outdoor rhubarb — indeed, that’s the normal w…

Roly Poly Pudding

I feel better just contemplating this. You get the comfort of a syrup pudding steamed for many, many hours in 30 minutes. And you do practically nothing to make it: roll out half a packet of good shop…

Rum-Spiked French Toast

This is my favourite French toast recipe of all time, and yet I don’t make it nearly enough. It came into my life some years back when I had a small bit of old-fashioned sandwich loaf that needed usin…

Speculaas Biscuits

You’re unlikely to get very far in Amsterdam without coming across these festively spiced and beautiful biscuits, and nor would you want to. They are the perfect Christmas cookie. Traditionally — and…

Steamed Syrup Sponge

I know a steamed pudding sounds stodgy, but I cannot tell you how glorious this is: light beyond words, feathery textured and comfortingly, not cloyingly, sweet. This is predicated on two things. You…

Sticky Chocolate Pudding

This is a variant on lemon surprise pudding, in which the mixture divides on cooking to produce a sponge above the thick lemony sauce which forms below. Indeed, it is known in my house as Lemon Surpri…

Sticky Toffee Pudding

There is very little that can compare with the glory of a sticky toffee pudding. My STP is altogether deeper and darker than the original version: it is still sweet, but the muscovado sugar and black…

Sticky. Toffee. Pudding. Three of the greatest words in the English language. This is rich, indulgent and so comforting. The recipe makes a large amount of sauce but the leftovers were fantastic on my morning porridge!

Toblerone Fondue

Buying the fondue set was my first mistake... Please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.