Berry

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

You can decorate all the cones the same way or do each one differently. If time is short, simply use purchased ice cream.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A fresh and simple dessert that's quick to put together. The flavors develop better if it's made one day ahead.

Syllabub—a thick, frothy dessert made of wine, sugar and cream—originated in old England. This raspberry-topped version is served at Christiana Campbell's Tavern. Begin preparing it a day before serving.

Passion-Fruit Champagne Cocktail

Enriched with a little cream and sugar, jumbo-size refrigerator biscuits become shortcakes worthy of the season's best berries. Since there are more biscuits in the tube than you'll need, you could bake extras at the same time and save them for breakfast the next day.

For a light alternative to traditional Thanksgiving pies, tequila-poached pears (above) provide a southwestern twist. Popular in Mexico and Central and South America, prickly pear jelly is paired with raspberries for the sauce. Serve with the Lemon Bizcochitos and dessert wine, such as Muscat.

Crunchy candy-coated cranberries make festive garnish for this inventive dessert. Begin preparing the custards a day before serving.

Refrigerate these silky puddings for at least six hours and up to one day before serving.

This is a refreshing and fast adults-only dessert for any summer meal. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

A wonderful topping for crepes or for vanilla ice cream.

A milk pudding that dates back to the Middle Ages, syllabub was first prepared by milking the cow straight into a bowl containing "Sille," a wine that used to be made in Silléry, in France's Champagne region. "Bub" was medieval slang for a bubbly drink. There are a number of syllabub recipes in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Irish cookbooks. This modern version calls for a sweet dessert wine and whipping cream.

Giving a nod to tropical fruit, this irresistible treat combines rich ice cream with a nut crust and thick fudge sauce.

Caramelized Fresh Fruit These crackly-coated fruits bring back childhood memories of candied apples. I've given the Roman recipe here; in Venice, where they're coated with a thicker layer of caramel, they are called golosezzi veneziani. Set aside about 1/2 hour for the caramelizing and finish the procedure no more than 1 1/2 hours before serving so that the fruit remains crisp.

Though the cranberries look gorgeous, you wouldn't want to eat them—they're extremely tart when raw. The mint leaves, however, are positively delicious. Fresh raw cranberries yielded the most attractive garnish; thawed frozen berries may collapse and shrivel. Feel free to increase the amounts we've provided here if you'd like to make your decoration more elaborate.