Give thanks: These dessert recipes are sure to switch up your Thanksgiving classics

Maple pecan chocolate pie

• 1½ cups flour, 160 grams
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
• About ⅓ cup ice cold water
• Parchment paper and pie weights or beans for blind baking

• 2 cups pecan halves
• ⅔ cup maple syrup
• 4 ounces Demerara or brown sugar*
• 3 eggs
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 2 tablespoons, or ½ ounce, 15 grams Dutch unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 cup whipping cream
• About 2 tablespoons sugar, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch coarse sea salt

1. Make the pastry: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter, coating it well with the flour, and, using your fingers or a pastry blender, blend the butter into the flour until it's the size of large peas. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add only enough water to bring the mixture together into a ball. Wrap the pastry in wax or parchment paper and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Blind bake the pastry: Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes. Working on a well-floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 12-inch circle.  Place in the pie plate and crimp the edges. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the pastry and fill the bottom of the pie with pie weights or beans.
4. Place pecans on a baking sheet.
5. Place pie crust and pecans in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The pastry should just be starting to cook, and the pecans should smell nutty, but not turning dark brown. Remove and cool. Carefully remove the parchment and beans and store in a tight container for another blind bake.
6. Coarsely chop the toasted pecans and set aside.
7. In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, cream and salt. Whisk in the cocoa until smooth. Gently fold 1½ cups of the pecans into the filling.
8. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of the chopped toasted pecans onto the bottom of the prebaked crust. (The nuts will act as a bottom layer and help the pastry stay crisp.) Pour the pie filling on top. Place on the lower shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the filling is no longer wobbly when you gently shake the pie. If the pecans or crust seem to be browning too much, gently cover with foil.
9. Remove and let cool. The pie can be made one day ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate.  Just before serving, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, if using, and the vanilla and beat until the cream holds its shape. Sprinkle the pie with coarse sea salt if desired.

Upside-down apple cake with ginger

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened, plus butter for greasing the cake pan
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• Pinch salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 to 4 apples and/or pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch thick slices (use a variety of apples, tart and sweet and floral)

• 1½ cups white flour, 180 grams
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine or Kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk, or ¼ cup heavy cream and ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ sticks butter, melted and cooled

• 1 cup heavy cream, for whipped cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for whipped cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Liberally grease a 9-inch cake pan on the bottom and sides; set aside.
3. In a bowl mix together the 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, salt and ginger. Press the mixture down on the bottom of the cake pan, making sure to cover the entire bottom. It should look like a thin crust. Lay the apple and/or pear slices on top, covering the entire bottom “crust.”
4. Make the cake batter: in a bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ginger.
5. In a small bowl whisk the eggs and add the milk and vanilla. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and gently mix until smooth. Pour the cake batter over the apples, smoothing the top with a soft spatula.
6. Bake on the lower third of the oven for about 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and place on a cooling rack. Let cool in the cake pan for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, use a flat kitchen knife to work your way around the cake gently loosening it away from the sides of the pan. Place a large serving plate on top and quickly but carefully flip the cake over. You may need to tap on the bottom of the cake pan with the kitchen knife to release the bottom of the cake. Let cool thoroughly.
7. The cake can be covered and refrigerated for a day. Serve at room temperature.
8. If you like, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, if desired, and the vanilla and whisk until firm. Serve on the side of the cake.

Lemon tart

• 1½ cups (180 grams) all-purpose white flour
• ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¾ teaspoon fine salt
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon or Meyer lemon zest
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup fresh lemon or Meyer lemon juice, use the lemons you zested
• Dash fine salt
• Confectioners’ sugar for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the tart (or pie) pan.
2. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and, using your hands or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small pea shapes. The crust will be quite flaky. Pour the mixture into the prepared tart pan and press down on the bottom of the tart pan, as well as working your way ½-inch up the sides.
3. Bake on the middle shelf for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile make the filling: in a medium bowl, using your fingers, mix the sugar and lemon zest together.
5. In a medium bowl, using a whisk or a handheld electric beater, whisk the lemon sugar and eggs until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the baking powder and lemon juice and salt and whisk until light and fluffy, another 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Remove the crust from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. The crust will still be hot. Add the filling and return the tart to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes. If the tart starts to brown, loosely drape a piece of foil on top. The tart is ready when you gently jiggle it and it’s not loose or liquidy. Remove and cool the tart for 10 minutes. If you baked this in a tart pan, use a kitchen knife to work your way around the tart, gently loosening it from the tart frame. Remove the tart from the pan. If using a pie plate simply leave the tart in the pan to cool. When thoroughly cool, sift confectioners' sugar on top and serve in thin wedges.

Other dessert ideas

• Click here for a recipe to make maple creme caramel.
• Click here for more pie recipes and tips.
• Click here for more cake recipes.