Decadent delights: 25 fancy desserts for your next special occasion
These fancy desserts are perfect for a date night at home, an anniversary or birthday dinner, or a dinner party. With hot, cold and make-ahead options, we’ve got your dessert covered!
When it comes to desserts, a bowl of ice cream, hot fudge sauce, and chopped nuts with a cherry on top is about as fancy as it gets at our place.
And while our retro sundaes are super satisfying, sometimes the occasion calls for something more… adult.
For many Christmases now, I have busted out a Christmas trifle, however at the time of writing this article, I have committed to making a new dessert for our Christmas Day feast – which I already know will be to the chagrin of my stepmother who is partial to a bowl of trifle or five.
While yet to decide on what dessert will stretch my talents, the decision alone sent me searching for all manner of desserts and led to amassing quite the collection.
Then, having an organized nature, this led to the grouping of them into several categories.
The round-up below sits between your usual dessert and your special occasion dessert. I would consider these fancy desserts perfect for a date night at home, an anniversary or birthday dinner, or a dinner party.
You’ll find hot or cold options and desserts that can be made ahead as well.
Enjoy these delicious fancy desserts.
Fancy desserts
This delectable and adorable Andes mint mini cheesecakes recipe combines chocolate graham cracker crust with creamy mint-flavored cheesecake, all topped with a swirl of rich chocolate and Andes mint candies.
With fantastic flavors and very little oven time, you'll find yourself making this apricot tart again and again!
A decadent treat to prepare on a date night. This twist on the classic Italian dessert will be your new favorite coffee and ice cream treat.
These chocolate mousse phyllo cups can be whipped up in about 15 minutes! An easy and delicious dessert that your guests will love.
This vegan, no-bake chocolate ganache tart is a creamy, melted dark chocolate ganache filling in an Oreo cookie crust separated by a layer of tasty cherry jam.
Easy crème brûlée recipe is made with just five simple ingredients. This decadent dessert is so simple to make.
This gluten-free strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe is a delightful blend of sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb. The golden oat crumble gives it a perfectly crisp texture, and each bite is filled with a lightly sweet and fruity flavor.
Made with fresh strawberries, dark rum and a bit of lime juice in a delectable ice cream base, this creamy, luscious, boozy ice cream is brain-freeze good! Use your favorite ice cream or frozen yogurt maker to churn a batch of this strawberry rum ice cream at home.
This Italian almond cake has a moist, dense almond cake with citrus undertones, topped with toasted almonds.
This delicious lemon tart has a cookie-like shortbread crust with a sweet and slightly tart lemon filling. A truly special dessert that is easier than pie.
These mini tiramisu cups are a simple and easy no bake dessert. Espresso and rum soaked ladyfingers are layered with an eggless mascarpone cream and finished off with a light dusting of cocoa powder.
This molten chocolate cake recipe is delicate and decadent. This sweet dessert is made with simple ingredients. You only need about 20 minutes to bring this irresistible chocolate lava cake to the table.
No-bake chocolate mousse cheesecake recipe is easy, creamy, and made with heavy cream and melted chocolate. With an Oreo cookie crust and sweet filling, this is the perfect chocolate dessert.
This kinder cheesecake is sure to be a new favorite. It’s a smooth, creamy, no-bake cheesecake with kinder chocolate throughout and kinder bueno pieces on top.
These individual no bake mini key lime cheesecakes are perfectly fresh with a side of tart and are ready in under 30 minutes.
This tart and creamy North Carolina lemon pie recipe is the ultimate Southern summer dessert. Fluffy whipped cream on a tangy lemon curd filling and a unique saltine cracker crust is the sweet and salty dessert you need in your life.
This no-bake Nutella chocolate cheesecake mousse is decadent and delicious! This creamy whipped dessert is easy to make and perfect for celebrating a special night with your loved one.
Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert that has delicate texture with a delicious rich and creamy flavor. When you want to impress your guests, this smooth custard-like gourmet dessert is the recipe to make.
Pineapple upside down cake is a vintage recipe that is so easy to make from scratch. It’s a delicious nostalgic treat.
Pistachios, honey, vanilla come together to make these delicious raspberry tartlets with pistachio crust.
Versatile French baked custard with strawberries and ground almonds - serve for a fancy dessert.
This strawberry ice cream cheesecake is the perfect dessert for summer parties, BBQs, celebrations, and more! This ice cake is quite the showstopper with two layers of no-churn homemade ice cream in a graham cracker crust.
Turkish rice pudding, also known as sutlac, is a creamy rice pudding that is both indulgent and comforting. Slowly cooked to perfection, this luscious dessert will leave you wanting more.
These mini cheesecakes are so cute and bursting with flavor. Each one is a perfect bite-sized treat.
This rich and creamy vegan coffee ice cream recipe is guaranteed to be a hit amongst all. Made with five simple plant-based ingredients, this recipe couldn't be easier.
Want to know what those other categories were? Check out these fancy dessert recipes, gourmet desserts and unique desserts for more delicious goodness.
You might also like these French dessert recipes and Italian desserts as well.