Mary Berry's best-ever dessert recipes

Finish your meal on a high with Mary Berry’s best cake and pudding recipes.

The undisputed Queen of Cakes, Mary Berry’s recipes are foolproof and much loved both in the UK and beyond. Famous for no soggy bottoms and the lightest sponges, her cakes and puddings are guaranteed crowd-pleasers. From classic desserts to indulgent cakes, we’ve picked our favourite Mary Berry’s dessert recipes.

Victoria sponge

A much-loved British classic, not much beats a well-made Victoria sponge and Mary Berry's recipe is simply the best. The all-in-one method makes it one of the simplest cakes to make, just make sure you're accurate with weighing the ingredients as there's no icing to cover any mistakes.

Love to Cook/BBC Books

READ MORE: Mary Berry's best-ever dinner recipes

Carrot and walnut cake

An unbeatable classic, this carrot and walnut cake is beautifully moist. For this recipe, it's important to use full-fat cream cheese otherwise it will just run off the cake. Easy to put together, this is a foolproof recipe you'll want to make again and again.

Brioche frangipane apple pudding

When you feel in need of a comforting pudding, this one really fits the bill. Combining buttery brioche base with tart apples and sweet frangipane, it’s perfect for Sunday lunch, served with ice cream, custard or cream.

Simple Comforts/BBC Books

Malted chocolate cake

One of Mary Berry's most popular recipes, this malted chocolate cake is perfect for a special occasion. A great showstopper dessert, the cake's creamy malted chocolate icing is incredibly indulgent. Conveniently, both the cake and the icing can be prepped ahead of time, frozen and defrosted before assembling.

Marbled coffee ring cake

A tea-time treat, this marbled coffee ring cake looks spectacular and requires much less effort that you'd imagine to put together. All you need is a ring mould for the cake itself, while a plastic bag (a sandwich bag for example) can be fashioned into a piping bag to decorate the cake with the white chocolate drizzle.

Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook/DK

READ MORE: 34 of Mary Berry's best cooking tips

Vanilla cupcakes with swirly icing

Impressive to look at yet easy to make, everyone will love these vanilla cupcakes. You can easily achieve the swirled effect by using a regular piping bag or plastic bag – simply spoon the coloured icing down one side of the bag, then spoon the non-coloured icing down the other side. Be careful with food colouring though, you don't want your icing to look artificial.

Tiramisù

A take on the classic Italian dessert, this tiramisù can be made into individual portions or as a large sharing dish to bring to the table. Make sure you give the sponge fingers a good dunking, so they absorb all the flavour from the coffee and brandy. If you can't find sponge fingers, try trifle sponges or sponge cake, although these will be less robust once dipped.

Mary Berry's Quick Cooking/BBC Books

Christmas pudding

A British Christmas classic, Christmas pudding is an absolute must for Christmas Day. In this recipe, Mary Berry suggests making it up to three months ahead, so the pudding has enough time absorb and intensify all the flavours. When the big day comes, the pudding can be steamed before serving and enjoyed with brandy butter.

Apple and lemon sandwich cake

The ultimate cream sponge cake, this sandwich cake combines tart apples with zesty lemons in a refreshing summery treat. The grated apple in the sponge mixture helps the cake stay really moist while the lemon flavour cuts through the richness of the cream. You can prep this cake ahead of time as it will keep in the fridge for up to a day and the cooked sponge also freezes really well.

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Lead image BBC/Rumpus Media/Plank PR/Pete Bateson