108 brandy recipes

Old-school dark fruitcake soaked overnight in brandy and orange liqueur with figs, apricots, currants, walnuts, and pecans. Makes four loaves; ages beautifully.

A hearty bundt cake packed with oats, sesame seeds, raisins, and mixed nuts. Warm spices, rum, and brandy give it deep, earthy flavor that lives up to its name.

Flourless-style chocolate almond torte with fresh raspberries and framboise, layered with raspberry jam glaze and a poured chocolate ganache. A showstopping French-inspired dessert.

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding with cognac-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, suet, and warm spices, steamed in a mold and served with brandy butter sauce. A Victorian holiday classic.

Chocolate fruitcake with cocoa, candied cherries, pecans, golden raisins, and mixed dried fruit, topped with a semisweet chocolate-almond glaze and toasted almonds.

Smoky puréed black bean soup loaded with cumin, coriander, chili, and eight cloves of garlic. Finished with brandy and topped with Parmesan and fresh cilantro.

Drunken crawfish pie tucks two pounds of crawfish tails into a buttery brandy-spiked cream sauce with the Cajun holy trinity, sealed inside a double crust and baked golden. A Louisiana classic that turns brunch or supper into an event.

Holiday mincemeat with chopped beef, suet, apples, sour cherries, dried fruit, and broken nuts simmered slowly with brandy and warming spices. A massive 48-serving batch for Christmas baking and gift-giving.

Frozen layered parfait with honey-almond cream base and raspberry mousse top, served with warm raspberry sauce. The dinner-party showstopper from the Masterchefs collection.

Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry recipe

Classic French chicken liver pate with cognac, cream, butter, and fine spices. Marinated in cream overnight, blanched four times, then processed silky smooth.

Bourbon pumpkin pie with a broiled pecan praline topping and apricot glaze on the crust. This showstopper Thanksgiving dessert layers three distinct textures in one unforgettable slice.

Traditional Sicilian fruit-filled pastries stuffed with figs, dates, chocolate chips, nuts, and warm spices, glazed with a lemon icing. A holiday cookie tray showstopper.

Cored apples packed with a savory-sweet filling of ground veal, Parmesan, walnuts, raisins, and sage, then baked until soft and drizzled with a honey-apple brandy butter. An Italian-inspired showstopper that blurs the line between entree and autumn celebration.

Traditional British whole wheat Christmas cake with rum-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, almonds, stout and citrus zest. Aged dark fruit cake for the holiday season.

No-starter friendship Bundt cake with brandied fruit, coconut, dates, and a hit of orange and walnut extracts. The classic friendship cake without the 30-day countdown.