11 Thanksgiving Desserts That *Aren't* Pumpkin Pie
Tequila-poached pears. (Produced by Stephanie Han Kim; Photography by Christie Vuong; Food Styling by Matthew Kimura; Prop Styling by Christine Hanlon)
Tired of pumpkin pie? No problem. There are plenty of other Thanksgiving desserts you can serve after dinner this year.
You can make sweet and spicy tequila-laced pears, use the last of the season's bright purple plums in an upside-down cake, or bake the ultimate fall dessert with pumpkins and apples. The options are almost endless, but we narrowed it down for you.
Here are ten desserts to serve after Thanksgiving dinner that everyone will love:
Tequila-Poached Pears with Chili-Chocolate Sauce
Spoonably soft fruit and a velvety chocolate sauce get spiked with tequila and cayenne. Poach pears ahead of time for a quick dessert or skip the sauce and use a drinking chocolate mix instead, which is thicker than typical hot chocolate. Soma and ChocoSol make great Canadian options. —Chantal Braganza
Get our Tequila-Poached Pears with Chili-Chocolate Sauce recipe.
Plum And Black Pepper Clafoutis
Sometimes I flip the script and make this for my daughters for breakfast. It’s eggy and fruity and a touch sweet, and comes together so quickly. —Christine Flynn
Get our Plum And Black Pepper Clafoutis recipe.
Faisa Hayani Bellili’s Caramelized Plum Upside-Down Cake
"As soon as I heard about the Kitchen, I volunteered to help, cooking recipes from my homeland, Algeria. This cake is one my mum used to make. She always said plums are an unreliable fruit – they can be quite sour when raw. This brings out the best in them."
Get Faisa Hayani Bellili's Caramelized Plum Upside-Down Cake recipe.
Milk Punch Marble Cake
This twist on tres leches cake can be shaken up in no time with store-bought pound cake. Caribbean milk punch is a silky, booze-forward drink studded with grated coconut—an eggless eggnog you can drink year-round without shame. This recipe is courtesy of Zeke Goodwin, a Toronto-based food stylist and pastry chef. And if you have the time, bake the marble cake, too!
Get our Milk Punch Marble Cake recipe.
Pumpkin Cheesecake With Bourbon Whipped Cream
Everyone’s favourite fall gourd can be used for so much more than just pie (though, that’s delicious too!)
Get our Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Whipped Cream recipe.
Classic Cheesecake with Cranberry-Clementine Sauce
This rich and creamy dessert can be topped with any fruit sauce or simply melted chocolate — it’s up to you. (We’re partial to this cranberry sauce during the holidays, though.)
Get our Classic Cheesecake with Cranberry-Clementine Sauce recipe.
Related: 12 Cranberry Recipes To Try This Thanksgiving
Quince Tarte Tatin
Sweet, fragrant and available only at this time of year, these exquisite apple-like fruits are a little-known treat. Use them in an easy, classic French recipe for a stunning autumn dessert. Get our quince tarte tatin recipe.
Semolina and Ricotta Cake
Think of migliaccio as an Italian cheesecake, but lighter than most North American varieties. Originally from the Campania region of Italy, it was traditionally made with millet but the recipe evolved over time to use semolina. While the cake can be made with semola, the finer variety of semolina, we prefer to use the coarse variety here. Don’t skimp on the orange, as it provides a ton of flavour.
Get our Semolina and Ricotta cake recipe.
Tomato Soup Cupcakes
A post-war hack of using canned soup to flavour tea loaf became a baking craze in the ’40s and ’50s. We swapped the loaf tin for cupcakes.
Get our Tomato Soup Cupcake recipe.
Apple Dumplings with Manischewitz Caramel Sauce
While it's typically a Hannukah dessert, this lightly-spiced McIntosh apple wrapped in pastry combo is a sure hit for any festive season.
Get our Apple Dumplings with Manischewitz Caramel Sauce recipe here.
Pumpkin-Spiced Apple Pie
This pie combines everyone’s favourite fall flavours for the ultimate cozy dessert.
Get our Pumpkin-Spiced Apple Pie recipe.
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Jan Reitchelle Atanacio (she/her) is a Filipino poet, pastry chef, and language tutor based in Toronto, Canada. Her focus is currently pulled between writing for magazines, making bread, and finishing her great-grandfather's memoir. You might find her crying over a book somewhere on the TTC.
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