I made 7 of Ina Garten’s most popular desserts, and the best one was the easiest to make

To make Garten’s tiramisu — which serves eight — you’ll need: 

• 6 extra-large egg yolks at room temperature 
• 30 Italian ladyfingers (Garten recommends the brand Savoiardi) 
• 17 ounces mascarpone cheese 
• 1 ½ cups brewed espresso 
• ½ cup good dark rum 
• ¼ cup sugar 
• Bittersweet chocolate, shaved or grated 
• Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

This apple spice cake was among the many recipes that Garten developed while working at her Barefoot Contessa store. 

“We used to have all kinds of cakes like this out on the bakery counter, and you could come buy a whole cake, but you could also buy a piece,” Garten said in an early episode of her “Barefoot Contessa” show.

“It’s not fancy,” she added. “Just really delicious and earthy, and you always want to come back for more.” 

There’s a flurry of delicious fall flavors in Garten’s apple spice cake. The rum-soaked raisins reminded me of caramel, infusing some sweetness to the tart Granny Smith apples. Each bite was filled with the delicious nuttiness of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and I loved the surprising zing of the orange zest. 

The cake wasn’t too sweet, so I even enjoyed a few slices at breakfast during the week. But I recommend following Garten’s instructions and pairing it with ice cream and caramel for the “perfect dessert.” 

To make Garten’s chocolate cake, which serves 12, you’ll need: 

• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature  
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 
• ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• ⅔ cup half-and-half 
• ⅔ cup hottest tap water 
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder 

To make the frosting, you’ll need: 

• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate 
• 1 ¼ cups heavy cream 
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (diced), at room temperature 
• 1 tablespoon Kahlúa
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Garten’s blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake appears in her most recent cookbook, “Go-To Dinners,” where she writes that everyone who makes this recipe “can’t believe how easy it is!” 

She also shared the cake on Instagram in celebration of Mother’s Day this year. 

“For Mother’s Day, let mom sleep in while you bake her my Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake,” she wrote in the caption. “It’s so easy to make — and who wouldn’t love cake for breakfast?!!!” 

Garten’s cake also got the top spot in my ranking of Barefoot Contessa breakfast recipes. 

The sweet blueberries and zingy lemon keep the overall flavor interesting, and the cake was also extremely easy to whip up in the morning. 

I made the cake for my mom just before Mother’s Day and she was also a fan. 

“This was superb,” she declared after trying her first few bites. “I give it a 10/10.” 

Garten’s recipe is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dinner, and it’s one I’ve loved making for everyone. 

Get the full recipe for Ina Garten’s blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake here.

To make a serving of 20 (large) brownies, you’ll need: 

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces bitter chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 cups chopped walnuts 
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons instant-coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Garten actually got the recipe for Beatty’s Chocolate Cake from her friend Michael Grimm, who frequently appears on “Barefoot Contessa.” 

The cake was named after Grimm’s grandmother Beatty, who would bake it for her husband and the customers on his milk deliveries, said Grimm’s friend Monte Mathews, who shared the famous cake’s origin story on his blog Chewing The Fat. 

When I first tested and reviewed Beatty’s Chocolate Cake, I wrote that Garten’s cake is “packed with chocolate and still light as air — a true feat.” It’s deliciously rich yet fluffy and moist, and the buttercream is truly the perfect icing on top with its hint of sweetness. 

Beatty’s Chocolate Cake still tastes great days later, making it perfect for leftovers. While it’s not the quickest or easiest cake to make, the work was extremely worth it. This is a cake you make for someone you really love. 

Get the full recipe for Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake here.

To whip up the cake at home, you’ll need: 

• 3 (8-ounce) packages of Tate’s Bake Shop chocolate-chip cookies
• 12 ounces of Italian mascarpone cheese
• 2 cups of cold heavy cream
• ¼ cup of Kahlúa liqueur
• ½ cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• Semisweet chocolate (for the garnish)

If you can’t find Tate’s Bake Shop at your local supermarket, Garten recommends using another thin, crisp chocolate-chip cookie for the recipe instead. 

Garten’s mocha chocolate icebox cake was the first dessert I had made from scratch in a long time, and it’s beyond simple and fun to whip up. 

The cake looks extremely impressive thanks to its 10 layers, which you can easily see in each slice, and it tastes even better. Tate’s Cookies give the cake a rich and buttery flavor that will satisfy every sweet tooth, and I loved how the mocha whipped cream paired with the crunch of the chocolate-chip cookies. This is also one of those cakes that gets better with each day it sits in the fridge, which was a delightful treat to look forward to as my family and I finished it all week. 

It might not make a grown man cry, but anyone who tries this cake will be thinking about it for a long time. I know I still am, and I can’t wait to make it again and again. 

Get the full recipe for Ina Garten’s mocha icebox cake here.