Check out this huge collection of Fancy Desserts that will impress anyone. Majestic cakes, French patisserie, elegant macarons, delicate pastry, plus many more ideas that can be made at home from scratch.
It's been a year where few of us have been able to showcase our culinary skills by entertaining guests at home. However, for some, we might be able to get back in the kitchen soon.
So why not make dinner parties extra special with some fancy desserts?
I've scoured the internet to bring you the most impressive, elegant, and beautiful fancy dessert ideas. Sit down with a cup of coffee and peruse these incredible sweet treats.
Don't expect anything quick and easy, instead, these are fancy desserts that many need love, time, and care to create.
And they will be worth every moment spent in the kitchen.
Of course, a few in this list might look very special but are actually easy fancy desserts. Shhhhh don't tell anyone!
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Fancy Dinner Parties
I've been daydreaming about getting to hold dinner parties again.
Oddly, I even dreamed the other day about sitting next to Harry Styles at a dinner party and accidentally eating his grilled cheese sandwich, but I digress.
I want to open my door to loved ones. Sit them around the table, pour some wine, and serve delicious gourmet food.
I yearn to host, chat, and fuss over people that I care about.
But mostly, I want to serve them the prettiest and fanciest of homemade desserts.
We're all a bit rusty after a year of staying home, so here are my top tips for hosting a dinner party:
- Preparation: Prep as much as you can the day before. From laying the table to chopping the vegetables and making any dishes that can be made ahead. Many of the fancy desserts in this list below are make-ahead. Check out these make-ahead side dishes. Be sure to run the dishwasher before guests arrive so you can put dirty dishes straight in.
- Timeline: Plan the menu and write a timeline so the cooking and serving runs smoothly.
- Accept help: It's not easy hosting a dinner party, from making fancy foods to spending enough time with everyone. If someone wants to help, let them! It's extra time to chat as you work.
- Make it welcoming: Put on some music, get yourself completely ready, finish laying the table, and prepare some cocktails. Check out this list of 40 Cocktails You Can Make At Home. Ensure you're as ready as can be when the doorbell rings.
- Keep it stress-free: There's nothing worse than panicking in the kitchen. Turn on some soothing music, plan ahead, and don't let any mishaps ruin the night. Even if you burn dinner you can still order pizza and enjoy your friends and loved ones. You could also take the stress out by getting everyone to bring a dish, potluck-style.
Dinner Party Desserts
So we're going to need some fancy dessert ideas...
Perhaps a delicate mille feuille with layers of crispy pastry filled with the silkiest crème pâtissière?
Maybe a vintage plate piled with pretty homemade French macarons in a rainbow of colours.
How about a beautiful towering display of choux pastry in a croquembouche, drizzled with salted caramel. Or an elegant canelé, the individual French pastry with a custardy rum and vanilla center enrobed in a crispy caramelized crust.
Maybe something international like a Norweigan Kransekake, Persian Love Cake, or an airily light Japanese cheesecake for a stunning final flourish to a national cuisine-themed dinner party. I do love a themed dinner party.
Many of the recipes in this list can be prepped ahead of time. Because nobody wants the dinner party host in the kitchen all evening!
Types of desserts
Deserts are a sweet course served at the end of a meal. There are lots of sweet desserts in Western cultures and they can generally be classified in the following categories:
- Candies & Chocolates
- Cakes & Cupcakes
- Cookies & Biscuits
- Custards & Puddings
- Gelatin-based
- Ice Creams & Frozen Desserts
- Pastries & Pies
- Fruit
I've tried to include as many from each category as possible in the list below.
There's everything from extra special cakes, French pastries, fancy chocolate desserts, delicate pies, champagne jellies and no-bake desserts.
There are so many delicious gourmet dessert recipes in this roundup, I guarantee you'll struggle to choose just one!
Dessert Ideas
So if you're looking for fancy desserts to make at home for a showstopping, beautiful sweet end to a meal, then check out this list.
It's full of elegant desserts that will impress any guest.
Whether you're looking for a beautiful recipe for a dinner party, celebration, wedding, or Christmas, there will be plenty in this list to inspire and excite you.
So, without further adieu, here are 45 of the BEST Fancy Desserts to make at home.
Fancy Desserts
If you're looking to impress guests, then feast your eyes on these fancy dessert recipes! From French patisserie and intricate pies to decadent layer cakes and beautiful fruity tartlets, you'll find a showstopping elegant dessert recipe to suit you.
Make these beautiful, delicate macaroons. The French delicacy melts in the mouth and tastes delicious. They're a fancy and elegant afternoon tea or after-dinner light dessert.
Fraisier cake is a delicious traditional French cake made with crème pâtissière and strawberries. The light and airy sponge layers are filled with silky-smooth creme mousseline and fresh strawberries.
These Homemade Eclairs will wow any dinner party guest! The pastry, filling, and frosting are made completely from scratch. Making this recipe is a labor of love, but it results in a tasty, fancy patisserie dessert.
A tasty, pretty Tiramisu made from scratch. This elegant layered Italian dessert has a creamy mascarpone filling that sits between three layers of homemade ladyfingers, soaked in rum & coffee. It's finished with a liberal dusting of cocoa powder.
A modern take on the retro classic Black Forest Gateau. This fancy cake has four chocolate layers that are filled with vanilla and a delicious brandy mousse. The cake is then studded with Morello cherries and ganache drizzled over it.
French Silk Pie has a rich chocolate mousse filling, buttery, flaky crust, and light swirls of sweetened whipped cream. It's then garnished with a liberal sprinkling of fancy chocolate curls! A pretty pie that will impress anyone.
Pavlova is an Australian & New Zealand classic. It's a heavenly fancy dessert confection that looks beautiful. Pavlova is light and cloudlike with a crunchy outside and soft, marshmallow-like interior. This pavlova is topped with sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit.
This fancy Chocolate Raspberry Dacquoise Cake has layers of almond, hazelnut, and pistachio meringue, with a filling of fresh raspberries, chocolate ganache, and a zesty raspberry coulis. It's all bound together in a raspberry cream.
This beautiful Cookies and Cream Cake has white chocolate whipped cream between the moist and tender cake layers. It's then topped with a rich chocolate glaze and Oreo cookies.
Kransekake is an elegant Scandinavian cake. It's a showstopping towering cake made out of 18 crisp almond cookies “glued” together with icing. Pretty flowers make it even fancier.
Earl Grey Macarons are a fragrant tea-infused macaron recipe. Vanilla bean macaron shells are filled with a delicious Earl Grey buttercream. This is a classic French fancy dessert that tastes incredible.
Marjolaine is a classic French layered pastry dessert. It's made with dacquoise (nut meringue layers). Crisp almond and hazelnut meringues are layered with dark chocolate ganache, chocolate whipped cream, and hazelnut buttercream. It's enrobed in a chocolate ganache and topped with fresh cream and hazelnuts.
This stunning coconut tart is made with a toasted coconut sablé crust. It's then filled with a rich, smooth, and creamy coconut panna cotta, then it's beautifully decorated with strawberry jelly, fresh strawberries, and toasted coconut, plus a sprinkle of pink peppercorns for a savory flavor.
Napoleon (also called Mille Feuille) a classic French patisserie. Layers of delicate pastry is filled with a rich cream. The name, mille-feuille, means a thousand leaves, after the many layers of flaky pastry.
Classic French Profiteroles have a light and airy choux pastry, filled with ice cream and topped with a warm chocolate sauce. A heavenly fancy French dessert!
Crème Brûlée is a French classic dessert. It's made of a rich, smooth, and creamy custard, topped with an irresistible sugar crust. You have to crack with the spoon to get to the custard.
Croquembouche is a fancy French classic dessert. It's made of a beautiful tower of choux pastry cream puffs filled with vanilla pastry cream. It's then drizzled with pretty caramel. A showstopper!
This beautiful Layer Cake is flavoured with orange and cardamom for a sophisticated taste. The zesty cake is sandwiched with layers of fluffy honey brown butter buttercream and garnished with dried orange slices! for a fancy display. It's light, super flavorful, and impressive.
This pretty Salted Caramel Cheesecake is made with a speculoos biscuit base and topped with a creamy, rich vanilla-infused cheesecake. It's then spiked with 2 layers of salted caramel. A showstopper that’s perfect for entertaining.
These Boston Cream Donuts are absolutely delicious. The classic American donut is made with the most delicious homemade doughnut dough, which is then filled with a smooth and velvety pastry cream. They're then topped with a thick chocolate glossy glaze. They're light and fluffy and absolute perfection!
These beautiful and delicious coffee liqueur cream puffs are a decadent treat. They're a coffee lover's dream in a light puff! They're filled with light coffee liqueur whipped cream and coated with a sweet coffee glaze.
Canele has a moist and custardy interior, which is sealed inside a thin, crispy, caramelized shell.
Create an elegant showstopping fancy cake with this Glam Black and Gold Cake. Perfect for New Year's Eve or a party. Learn how to make golden chocolate spheres, color black frosting, and assemble your cake in the step-by-step tutorial.
This pretty and elegant Rose Apple Tart recipe makes the most of apple season and looks absolutely beautiful. This fancy twist on an apple pie is spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom for warm and flavorful undertones.
These elegant, creamy cheesecakes have a surprise! Inside is a chocolate-covered strawberry. Slicing these individual delicacies open brings a smile to everyone's face when they discover the strawberry.
This Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake is fluffy, creamy, and light-as-air! It's lightly sweetened, with a slight tang. Perfect with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a handful of fresh berries, and a dollop of freshly whopped cream.
Hazelnut Cake with Stracciatella Frosting and Cranberries is a fancy cake with a delicious flavor. The nutty cake layers are sandwiched with a light and creamy frosting full of chocolate pieces and dotted with cranberries,
Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears are a fancy, classy and elegant light dessert. Pears are poached in mulled wine and served with a light and fluffy homemade cinnamon cream.
This light and fluffy lemon buttermilk cake is filled with a zesty summer berry compote to compliment the flavours. Decorated it with pretty cream cheese buttercream flowers for a fancy and beautiful cake.
These light and airy French madeleines are flavoured with hazelnut. They're then topped with melted chocolate and crushed hazelnuts. Chocolate, nutty, fluffy and delicious.
This banana nut cake is topped with a tasty salted caramel sauce tantalizingly dripping over the sides of the cake, plus and a topping of chopped nuts.
Apple Rose Puffs are an easy-to-make fancy dessert. Apple slices and puff pastry are rolled into a rose-shaped dessert and then baked to perfection. Pretty, elegant and simple.
These pretty Mini Lemon Basil Curd Tarts are sweet, zesty, and creamy. They have a shortbread crust to compliment the zingy filling. They will satisfy your sweet tooth with a refreshing & herby twist from the basil.
Mini thin, delicate crepes are piled high, filled with creamy ricotta, and garnished with chopped pistachios and icing sugar.
This winter beauty is a Mulled Wine Creme Brulee Tart for a twist on the classic French dessert. It's an incredibly luxurious creme brulee tart with spiced mulled wine and boozy fruit. The gingerbread tart shell and cookie decorations make this tart one of a kind and extra fancy.
Make the classic French patisserie at home! These individual Gateau Saint Honore Pastries are not only beautiful, but they taste delicious! They're made of a puff pastry base, sweetened whipped cream, fresh raspberries, cream puffs filled with vanilla pastry cream, and topped with raspberry icing and candied rose petals on top.
A sophisticated take on the party classic! These jello shots are given a fancy twist by making them an edible version of a French 75 cocktail, a refreshing champagne cocktail with gin and lemon. They're then topped with some pretty edible gold leaf.
This beautiful cake is infused with chamomile tea to give it an aromatic, summery taste. It's gently floral and complemented by the salted honey buttercream.
Chocolate soufflé is a rich, light, fluffy and airy elegant French dessert. However, you only need 7 ingredients to make it! Serve topped with fresh berries, a sprig of mint, and a dollop of whipped cream.
This surprising cake is made with kale! The naturally green cake will delight and intrigue everyone from the moment you slice into it. You can't taste the kale, so it tastes like an apple cake.
This Persian Love Cake is moist and tasty. The sponge is made with ground almonds, rose, and cardamom for a wonderful flavor. It's topped with pomegranate icing, pistachios, and rose.
Doberge cake is a New Orleans classic dessert made of layers of cake filled with two types of pudding. This pretty doberge cake is filled with strawberry and pistachio cream.
This pretty berry-topped flan has a light and airy cake crust, coconut cream filling, fresh berries, and strawberry glaze. It's a perfect fancy summer dessert.
This apple-flavored cake is baked, then slices are lightly cooked on the grill or barbecue. This caramelizes the sugars for a wonderfully sweet and smokey taste. It's topped with apple icing and salted bourbon butterscotch.
This fancy Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake recipe is all made from scratch. It has a chocolate chip cookie crumb crust, no-churn vanilla ice cream studded with edible cookie dough, a gooey chocolate ganache center and a fluffy and light whipped cream icing.
Camilla Hawkins
Wow Kate you've really done a great job curating all these show stopping desserts! Your Apple & Kale Cake is definitely calling me with that apple icing! There's just one problem though, I might have to arm wrestle you for Harry Styles:-)