Our Favorite Holiday Dessert Pairings with Sweet Wines
Tis the season to eat, drink and be merry, especially with all of the yummy desserts people make this time of year! Have you decided which desserts you’ll be whipping up for friends, family and holiday parties? More importantly, have you thought about the sweet wines you’ll be serving with those tasty treats? We can help! Since we love sweet wine, and we’re also big fans of dessert, we’ve come up with a list of our favorite holiday dessert pairings with the perfect sweet wines to help get you inspired. Cheers to a holiday season that’s sweet as can be!
Pumpkin Pound Cake with Essensia Orange Muscat
Pumpkin is a traditional flavor of the season, so you can never go wrong with a pumpkin dessert like this pumpkin pound cake made with Essensia Orange Muscat. That’s right! We added this sweet wine with orange marmalade characteristics into the ingredients for a delectable mix of sweet and spice. For extra decadence, drizzle some Essensia from your glass over your slice of pumpkin pound cake for a treat that takes the cake … every … last … crumb.
Triple Chocolate Port Wine Cake with Starboard Batch 88
This triple chocolate port wine cake is the way to any chocolate lover’s heart! Rich and velvety, this cake doesn’t need frosting because it has Starboard Batch 88’s sweet chocolate-raisin character baked right into the recipe. Serve with a glass of Starboard for a chocolatey sensation that’s sure to become a new holiday favorite!
Pfeffernüsse Spice Cookies with Deviation
Pfeffernüsse cookies are traditional German spiced cookies usually served during the holiday season. Infused with warm baking spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice and of course a pinch of pepper, these powdered-sugar-coated delights pair marvelously with the rose character of our Deviation dessert wine. It’s a sweetly-spiced match made in heaven – or maybe under the mistletoe.
Homemade Apple Pie with Essensia Orange Muscat
Classic homemade apple pie is one of those desserts that’s perfect year round, not just during the holidays, although pie and the holidays go together like bells and their jingles! This recipe incorporates Essensia Orange Muscat, which adds a harmonious interplay of citrus flavors with tart green apples and baking spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Enjoy a slice of apple pie with a glass of Essensia for the sweet taste of nostalgia this holiday season.
Banana Cream Pie with Essensia Orange Muscat
Speaking of holiday pairings with pies, this unexpected pairing has quickly become a Quady family favorite! In all of our years pairing desserts with sweet wine, we’d never thought to try banana cream pie with Essensia Orange Muscat until we saw it recommended by the Wall Street Journal. Now we can’t get enough! Banana cream pie is soft, smooth and creamy, while Essensia has a rich sweetness reminiscent of orange marmalade. As noted by Allie Quady, “Banana cream is to Essensia what peanut butter is to jelly – the perfect foil for something highly sweet and tart.”
No-Bake Cheesecake with Red Electra Moscato
It isn’t the holiday season if there isn’t any cheesecake being served! Creamy with a touch of tartness, this sweet treat makes a divine pairing with Red Electra Moscato’s sweet cherry-berry profile. Cheesecake and berries make a marvelous combination! And this no-bake recipe means you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the good stuff. Seconds anyone?
Cherry Hot Chocolate Cocktail with Elysium Black Muscat
Get cozy in cooler temps with a treat and cocktail in one! This cherry hot chocolate cocktail recipe mixes the rich berry flavors of Elysium Black Muscat dessert wine into homemade hot chocolate for a sweet twist on a holiday classic. Warm up in the sweetest way after dinner with this dessert wine and dessert combo!
Which dessert and sweet wine pairing looks appetizing to you this holiday season? What other dessert pairings do you enjoy? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to share your own Quady wine pairings with us on social by tagging @quadywinery … cheers!