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Chocolate-Custard Tart
Craft pastry chef Karen DeMasco takes extravagance to the extreme by topping her lush chocolate crust and rich egg custard with a dollop of brandy whipped cream.
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Three-Chocolate Mousse Cake from La Bergamote
169 Ninth Ave., at 20th St.; 212-627-9010.
The intensity of the cocoa sponge cake and dark-chocolate mousse in La Bergamote’s cake is tempered with creamy layers of white- and milk-chocolate mousse. $37.
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Apple-and-Pear Streusel Tart
None other than New York’s Sexiest Chef, motorcycle-riding Johnny Iuzzini, is behind this seductively simple pastry with delicate crumble topping.
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Apple Galette from Balthazar Bakery
80 Spring St., at Crosby St.; 212-965-1785.
Flaky puff pastry makes this a rather rustic version of a French apple tart, which lends an air of countrified sweetness to the spread. $30.
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Hazelnut-Praline Layer Cake
Chock-full of nuts, spiked with Frangelico, and piled with praline buttercream, this stately cake will make you want to lick the bowl.
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Klimtort from Café Sabarsky
1048 Fifth Ave., nr. 86th St.; 212-288-0665.
The thin layers of this hazelnut cake made by Kurt Gutenbrunner’s Viennese café are brushed with chocolate filling before a bath in ganache and a dab of gold leaf. $50.
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Mrs. Maccioni’s Fruitcake
Señora Le Cirque’s creation, packed with cognac-soaked candied fruit, may change your opinion about the much-mocked dessert.
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Panettone from Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Circle, nr. 58th St., third fl.; 212-823-9366. If you’re wary of even muttering the word “fruitcake” to your guests, pick up Thomas Keller’s version of this Italian sweet bread, studded with dried fruit. $28.
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Linzer Cookies
Just tie up these zest-laced cookies in a tumbler or nestle them in wooden boxes and they’re perfect to bring to the party.
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Green-Tea Sweets from Amai Tea and Bake House
171 Third Ave., nr. 16th St.; 212-863-9630.
These leaf-shaped cookies fit in with holly (or mistletoe) and share a gift box with loose-leaf tea. The finishing touch? A portion of the proceeds go to helping restaurants become environmentally sustainable. $32.