No shade to plain apples and honey, but there are so many more sweet treats to be had on Rosh Hashanah. This year, why not expand your horizons with a sticky toffee pudding or a syrup-soaked tishpishti? Or, at the very least, try a new dessert twist on apples and honey! Your tastebuds will thank you.
Read on for our absurdly long list of desserts you can (and should) make to mark a very sweet Jewish New Year.
Tishpishti Is Sephardi Honey Cake, But Better
This syrup-soaked semolina cake is steeped in history.
Honey Pomegranate Cake | The Nosher
Think traditional honey cake with a gorgeous jeweled top.
Easy Ma’amoul Cookies
Jews enjoy these cookies filled with dates on Rosh Hashanah.
The Cutest Mini Honey Cakes
These bite-sized cakes are delightful and keep forever!
Sephardic Orange Chiffon Cake
This iconic cake has been made for generations by the Jews of Spain.
Blueberry Honey Cake
Fresh blueberries, moist honey cake and a hint of spice.
Classic Apple Strudel
The apple filling’s as easy as pie (no, but really).
Persian Upside-Down Cake with Dates and Cardamom
The dates from the Rosh Hashanah seder are paired with two fragrant ingredients found in so many Persian sweets: cardamom and rosewater.
Russian Apple Piroshki
Airy fried buns with an apple-caramel filling.
Basbousa Cake with Halvah Cream and Semolina Crumble
This cake is sweetened with a rich and floral syrup.
Baklava with Honey and Cardamom
You won’t miss refined sugar or butter with this sweet treat featuring cinnamon and cardamom-spiced nuts covered with honey syrup.
Apple Babka
Babka gets the High Holiday treatment with a spiced apple filling.
Sticky Toffee Pudding Is the Perfect Rosh Hashanah Dessert
This classic British pud is sweet and luxurious.
Ruth Webber’s Beloved Honey Cake
With a recipe created by a Holocaust survivor, this dessert represents tradition, renewal and endurance.
This One-Bowl Tzimmes Cake Is Sweet Perfection
Think of it as a cross between honey cake and carrot cake, with an Ashkenazi twist.
Rose Water-Flavored Agar Agar
These nut-sprinkled jello treats are an Indian Iraqi Jewish staple.
Date and Honey Cake
Ditch the honey cake for this moist loaf made with pressed dates.
Easy Israeli Honey Cookies
The dense, dark, round duvshaniyot are a must in your High Holiday nosh rotation.
Apple and Honey Pie Pops
A cinch to make and fun to eat.
Meringue-Topped Apple Pie Bars
Tasty, toasty and totally amazing!
Gluten-Free Apple Kugel
Making kugels gluten-free is actually really simple if you have the right ingredients.
Mini Almond and Grape Crostatas
These single-serving pastries feature 12 whole grapes for good luck.
Date Honey Cake
Date honey, called silan throughout the Middle East, changes everything.
Easy Vegan Apple Turnovers
A quick and satisfying dessert.
Tayglach
These nostalgic Ashkenazi dough balls soaked in honey syrup are too delicious to be consigned to history.
Apple Tahini Crumble
Tahini is the perfect, unique addition to this modern apple crumble.
Apple and Honey Ruffle Milk Pie
This elegant dessert is the perfect Greek-Jewish fusion for Rosh Hashanah.
Easy Apple Pie Cookies
Streusel topping is as much the star as the filling and crust are in these charming, bite-sized treats.
One-Bowl Apple Sharlotka
This dessert is dense with apples, but the cake surrounding the fruit is light and airy.
Poppy Seed and Apple Cake
This cake is even better to enjoy the next day after you make it!
Israeli Honey-Sesame Cake
This delicious cake is full of symbolism.
Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese & Honey Frosting
Cream cheese frosting for Rosh Hashanah? Truly revolutionary.
Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake
Moist and tender, not overly sweet and laced with a heavenly streusel topping and filling.
Sunken Plum Cake
A sweet, versatile cake for end of summer and the holidays.
Andrew Zimmern’s Favorite Apple Cake
Chock-full of apples, this cake is super moist and fruit-forward.
Salted Honey Apple Upside-Down Cake
A tender, rich and, dare we say it, quite sexy cake to kick off the new year.
Traditional Honey Cake with a Delicious Twist
This cake is transformed with a few easy tweaks.
Quick and Easy Sephardi Pumpkin Patties
At the traditional Sephardi Rosh Hashanah seder, one of the special seven blessings is symbolized by pumpkin.
Apple Kugel Crumble Cake
The sweet noodle kugel you need.
The Best Vegan Honey Cake
This classic bake has a plant-based twist.
Easy Apple Streusel Honey Cake
Bonus: It’s ready in under an hour.
Cream Puffs with Candied Pecan and Date Honey Custard
If you’re looking to impress, this stunning dessert from an iconic Jerusalem bakery will do the trick.
Italian Honey-Walnut Cookies
Sfratti are delicious and have a long Jewish history.
Honey Pomegranate Mandelbrot
The sweet-tart glaze adds color and personality to the light and crispy cookie.
Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe
A simple, crowd-pleasing dessert.
Mom’s Apple Cake Recipe
When you need a break from honey cake.
Sweeten the New Year for The Nosher. From apple kugel to the perfect round challah, The Nosher helps you cook your way through the holidays. Donate today and help us keep the kitchen humming and the smiles coming.
