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10 Thanksgiving Desserts That *Aren't* Pumpkin Pie

Who needs pumpkin pie when you can choose from one of these fall desserts?
10 Thanksgiving Desserts That *Aren't* Pumpkin Pie

Produced by Stephanie Han Kim; Photography by Christie Vuong; Food Styling by Matthew Kimura; Prop Styling by Christine Hanlon.

Tired of pumpkin pie? No problem. There are plenty of other Thanksgiving desserts you can serve after dinner this year.

You can make sweet and spicy tequila-laced pears, use the last of the season's bright purple plums in an upside-down cake, or bake the ultimate fall dessert with pumpkins and apples. The options are almost endless, but we narrowed it down for you.

Here are ten desserts to serve after Thanksgiving dinner that everyone will love:

Chili-chocolate sourced being poured over Tequila-poached pears Produced by Stephanie Han Kim; Photography by Christie Vuong; Food Styling by Matthew Kimura; Prop Styling by Christine Hanlon.

Spoonably soft fruit and a velvety chocolate sauce get spiked with tequila and cayenne. Poach pears ahead of time for a quick dessert or skip the sauce and use a drinking chocolate mix instead, which is thicker than typical hot chocolate. Soma and ChocoSol make great Canadian options. —Chantal Braganza

Plum and black pepper clafoutis Photography by Suech and Beck. Excerpted from A Generous Meal by Christine Flynn. Copyright © 2023 Christine Flynn. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
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Sometimes I flip the script and make this for my daughters for breakfast. It’s eggy and fruity and a touch sweet, and comes together so quickly. —Christine Flynn

Caramelized Plum Upside Down Cake from Meghan Markle charity cookbook Photo, Jenny Zarins

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"As soon as I heard about the Kitchen, I volunteered to help, cooking recipes from my homeland, Algeria. This cake is one my mum used to make. She always said plums are an unreliable fruit – they can be quite sour when raw. This brings out the best in them."

marble cake with whipped cream on top and liquid around the base of the cake, placed in a pink square plate with a metal spoon on the side of the plate. Recipe, Zeke Goodwin; Produced by Aimee Nishitoba; Photo, Christie Vuong; Food styling, Ashley Denton; Prop styling, Madeleine Johari.

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This twist on tres leches cake can be shaken up in no time with store-bought pound cake. Caribbean milk punch is a silky, booze-forward drink studded with grated coconut—an eggless eggnog you can drink year-round without shame. This recipe is courtesy of Zeke Goodwin, a Toronto-based food stylist and pastry chef. And if you have the time, bake the marble cake, too!

round pumpkin cheesecake with three slices cut and waiting to be served Photo, Carmen Cheung.

Everyone’s favourite fall gourd can be used for so much more than just pie (though, that’s delicious too!)

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Cranberry cheesecake

This rich and creamy dessert can be topped with any fruit sauce or simply melted chocolate — it’s up to you. (We’re partial to this cranberry sauce during the holidays, though.)

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a cake on a cake stand with four slices cut into it Recipes and text by Jess Maiorano; produced by Stephanie Han Kim; photography by Christie Vuong; food styling by Ashley Denton; prop styling by Madeline Johari.

Think of migliaccio as an Italian cheesecake, but lighter than most North American varieties. Originally from the Campania region of Italy, it was traditionally made with millet but the recipe evolved over time to use semolina. While the cake can be made with semola, the finer variety of semolina, we prefer to use the coarse variety here. Don’t skimp on the orange, as it provides a ton of flavour.

10 Thanksgiving Desserts That *Aren't* Pumpkin Pie Cake design by Michelle Ashurov, Produced by Chantal Braganza and Sun Ngo, Photography by Christie Vuong, Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari, Food Styling by Michelle Lucas Larving
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A post-war hack of using canned soup to flavour tea loaf became a baking craze in the ’40s and ’50s. We swapped the loaf tin for cupcakes.

Apple dumplings sit on a plate soaking in caramel sauce (Photo: Erik Putz)

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While it's typically a Hannukah dessert, this lightly-spiced McIntosh apple wrapped in pastry combo is a sure hit for any festive season.

Pumpkin-spiced apple pie served on a plate Produced by Sun Ngo; Photography by Christie Vuong; Food Styling by Sage Dakota; Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari; Recipe by Jennifer Pallian

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This pie combines everyone’s favourite fall flavours for the ultimate cozy dessert.

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