Nothing caps a special holiday meal like a seasonal homemade cake. Choose any one of these beautiful desserts for Christmas, your next dinner party, or even a simple family gathering – everybody will be gleaming! 

The first is a spiced orange and almond cake. I adore baking with almond flour, as it lends a richness and moistness to baked goods, and offers an addictive texture. Orange zest and cinnamon are baked into the cake, then it is doused in a honey sugar syrup and showered with toasted pistachios and walnuts. You can think of it like baklava in cake form, and a lovely spice cake for the holiday season. 

Next up is boozy. Oh my, do I love a good tipsy tart. This is a traditional South African dessert, similar to a sticky toffee pudding, but with a brandy-fortified glaze that makes this cake unforgettable and irresistible. Served warm with ice cream, this is comfort dessert at its best. 

Finally, a bright option for all my lemon lovers. Lemon ricotta cookies are one of our family’s favorite Christmas traditions, so making a cake version as a more formal plated dessert during the holidays was a no-brainer. The lemons make it bright and fresh, and it’s fluffy and moist from the ricotta. 

All three cakes can be made ahead and don’t require any special decorating skills. 

Orange Cinnamon Almond Cake

This tender almond flour cake is loaded with quintessential spices and flavors of the holiday season – orange, cinnamon, almond and vanilla. Topped with a sweet honey glaze and showered with pistachios and walnuts, it’s like biting into a moist and fluffy cake version of a baklava. The best part is, because of the honey sugar syrup and almond flour, it stays moist for days, though you probably won’t have many leftovers.

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Tipsy Tart

This cake is adapted from Woolworth’s “Taste”, a website and publication that the venerable Woolworth’s of South Africa puts out. A Tipsy Tart is a traditional South African dessert, somewhat akin to a Sticky Toffee Pudding in the U.K. You can imagine this as a boozy fortified version, with a bit more holiday spirit from the orange zest, cinnamon and spices. Serve it warm, with vanilla ice cream if you like the hot/cold contrast, or simply a dollop of whipped cream.

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Lemon Ricotta Cake

“Like a cloud” is how I’ve heard this cake described from those I’ve served it to. Fluffy, lemony, moist from the ricotta and touch of almond flour, and just plain pretty, it is a simple cake that reaches lofty heights.

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