Chocolate Avocado Pie

You might be hesitant to embrace the idea of Avocado Pie. After all, avocado is probably more famous for its starring role in guacamole, or as a sandwich or salad component than as a delicious dessert item. But avocado isn't unknown in the world of sweets: in fact, in several Asian countries (and in Brazil too, I hear) avocado shakes are quite popular.

Like the popular shake, the avocado in this pie gets its sugary boost from sweetened condensed milk. When pureed and mixed with the milk, the fruity side of avocado really comes out to play with your taste buds. And once you get past the vibrant Kermit color, it's got a nutty and surprisingly subtle flavor. Combined with chocolate, it gets even better—sweet, light yet satisfyingly rich, with a dark crunch from the chocolate chips and cookie crust. Though adding the chocolate morsels is optional, I find them to add a nice textural contrast to the creaminess of the avocado, and serve as a nice echo to the cookie crust.

While the unique flavor of this pie might not be for everyone, lovers of avocado would serve themselves well to give it a try.

Find the recipe with pictures on Serious Eats!

Magically Delicious: Rainbow Ice Cream Pops Recipe

It's a simple fact: food is more fun when it provides a pretty visual. And what could be a more fun way to enjoy the official treat of summer—ice cream—than in the form of rainbow ice cream pops?

How you attain your rainbow of ice cream hues is up to you. You can either use ice cream flavors which are naturally tinted in the colors of the rainbow (for example, strawberry for red; orange flavored for orange; French vanilla or banana for yellow; green tea or mint chocolate chip for green; any kid-friendly blue ice cream for blue; and blueberry for violet), or, if you don't want to invest in five ice cream flavors or feel that the flavors might not be harmonious, you can also attain this look by tinting vanilla ice cream with food coloring.

Assembly is easy: simply stack your colors in popsicle molds (I used the Orka mold) or even paper cups, insert a stick, and let them freeze. This recipe couldn't be easier, and the finished product is a pleasurable frozen treat with a visual twist that makes it that much more delightful to eat.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Grill It: Grilled Pound Cake Recipe for Serious Eats

Riddle me this: why should burgers and hot dogs have all the fun on your grill this summer?

They shouldn't, and here's the dessert to prove it: Grilled Pound Cake.

Simply butter slices of pound cake before putting them on either an outdoor or indoor stovetop grill, and let them get a little char. The nice part about this dessert is that it uses already-baked pound cake, so you can't under-bake it. The grilled toastiness of the cake makes it the perfect canvas for any number of toppings: I really enjoy ice cream and a seasonal fruit compote. Just be sure to prepare this before grilling meats, because you don't want to impart a burger flavor to your dessert!

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Bananarama: Banana Split Ice Cream Cake Recipe

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake is a wonderful way to enjoy all of the classic flavors of a banana split, but in ice cream cake form. Assembling the Neapolitan flavors of ice cream with dividing levels of crumbled chocolate cake or cookies and a layer of banana slices makes for a pretty presentation. The dessert is assembled and then frozen, which allows the flavors to meld and lends a nice banana tone to the whole dessert once you're ready to eat it.

Note: You have some freedom in terms of the ice cream flavors used in this recipe. While I went for the classic vanilla-chocolate-strawberry combo, feel free to tailor the flavors to suit your tastes.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Hot Dog Cookies Recipe for Serious Eats

In a culinary sense, the typical cookout menu focuses more on savory than sweet. But that doesn't mean that cookies can't come to your outdoor barbecue: it just means they should get festive.

Hot dog look aside, taste-wise, these treats are totally sweet. Starting with a simple and lightly sweet butter cookie dough, you simply tint a portion, shape appropriately, and add a squiggle of decorating icing to attain an adorable dessert trompe l'oeil morsel. Though the dough requires a chilling period, don't panic: it's only an hour, so go ahead, socialize, eat another (savory) hot dog, and then bake these babies off for a sweet ending to your meal.

Find the full writeup and recipe here!

Leftover Pie Parfait for Serious Eats

Leftover pie. It's not a common occurrence—who leaves pie uneaten, after all? But it has happened, maybe even in your own fridge: that one final slice, left to linger, and maybe getting a little dry around the edges.

But what to do? Do you just choke down the past-its-prime slice? Do you douse it in whipped cream, hoping to make it taste better?

No. What you do is salvage that slice by making it a pretty Pie Parfait. By choosing an assortment of ice cream and toppings which complement your pie, you can bring new life to a dying dessert. In fact, slightly stale pie will work best as its texture will hold up better against the ice cream, and it will better absorb the flavors of the additions.

The composition of your parfait is your own adventure. The basic rule is that you want to choose an ice cream, a topping, and a sauce which act either in harmony or in unison with your pie flavor. For instance, you could compose a harmonious concoction by pairing a slightly tart apple pie with cinnamon ice cream, graham cracker crumbles, and caramel sauce; or, you could go matchy-matchy and pair a slice of grasshopper pie with mint chocolate chip ice cream, thin mints, and chocolate sauce.

Plus, it's fun. Who wouldn't like to trick out their pie and eat it in a pretty cup? It's the perfect way to eat your leftover dessert.

For the full scoop, visit Serious Eats!

Tunnel of Penuche Cake Recipe for Serious Eats

Perhaps you've heard of Tunnel of Fudge Cake. In spite of its titter-worthy name, this rich, nutty fudge cake with a gooey center and chocolate glaze is a modern classic. It was entered into the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off, and it's largely accepted as the recipe that made bundt pans a must-have item, and a predecessor of the chocolate lava cake trend.

But for those of you who aren't into the chocolate overload of the famous Tunnel of Fudge Cake, I have configured a sweet counterpart: the Tunnel of Penuche Cake.

If fudge is the inspiration for the original, penuche (a "blonde" fudge made with brown sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla) is the muse for this honey-hued variation. The dense cake is somewhat blondie-like, redolent of brown sugar and butter and studded with bits of pecan. Although the gooey center effect is far more subtle in this version than the original— it's more like a slightly softer and richer cake in the center, giving way to a lightly crispy edge— it's still extremely pleasant to eat. Ungarnished, this would make a fantastic breakfast cake; when topped with a generous coating of butterscotch sauce or dulce de leche, it is suitable for eating any time of day.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Cinco de Mayo Sweet: Tortilla Torte Recipe for Serious Eats

Have you ever found yourself wondering why, in the field of desserts inspired by Mexican food, the choco taco must always reign supreme? I mean, there is so much possibility in the genre. I know that personally, I'd be mega-thrilled about a chocolate-peanut butter quesadilla or some Cadbury Creme huevos rancheros.

But for a sweet south of the border-inspired treat that really takes the cake, why not try out a Tortilla Torte? This recipe is lightly adapted from a family cookbook recipe shared with me by Kerry Haygood of cake pop bakery Lollicakes.

Composed of tortillas stacked over chocolate cream filling and topped with a billow of fluffy white frosting, this torte visually resembles fancy stacked sponge cakes, but ultimately makes for a very different dessert experience. The tortillas take a bit of getting used to—they will remain lightly chewy even when the chocolate has had a chance to set— but the taste sensation is unlike any other dessert I've ever tried. The floury taste of the tortillas mixes quite pleasantly with the rich chocolate-sour cream filling (which is also great by the spoonful) and the complementary tangy sweetness of the sour cream frosting.

That's to say: it's nacho typical dessert.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Cadbury Creme Scrambled Eggs for Serious Eats

It's a simple enough question: What would happen if you scrambled Cadbury Creme Eggs as if they were regular eggs?

Well, I recently found out the answer by testing it in my own kitchen. Now, the results may not be surprising: what you get is a big, buttery glob of chocolaty goo. I experimented a little bit more, by adding some heavy cream and whisking vigorously before scrambling, and while I wasn't able to avoid the ugly factor, at least this version had a little more substance and shape. The taste of the eggs is not exceptional on its own (it tastes like a Creme Egg melted in butter and cream), but it's rather good when put on top of "potatoes" made from diced day-old doughnuts that have been fried in butter and "toast with jam" made from pound cake.

Conclusion? In the future I may stick to regular eggs for scrambling—but it was a valuable lesson to learn that melted Cadbury Creme Eggs taste delicious on top of pound cake!

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Cadbury Creme Egg Salad Sandwiches for Serious Eats

Cadbury Creme Egg Salad Sandwiches. Yes, you heard that correctly.

The bag lunch staple gets a sweet upgrade for Easter with this sweet trompe l'oeil sandwich. Pound cake slices sandwich a "salad" comprised of yellow-tinted frosting studded with almonds and sliced Cadbury Creme Eggs. Green coconut bits resemble lettuce and provide the final garnish. It's a fun dish to serve at a party, and a perfect complement to your Cadbury Creme Deviled Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict.

The perfect way to get "hopped" up for Easter.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!