When Alabama Living first came up with the idea of rounding up “decadent desserts,” we assumed many of the recipes submitted would be for dishes made with chocolate. Apparently, “decadent” doesn’t necessarily mean that a dish contains chocolate, but it does usually translate as rich and indulgent. We hope you enjoy trying these luscious dessert recipes, which ranged from those using caramel to butter to heavy whipping cream and, yes, cocoa, and, of course, a fair amount of sugar.

Hummingbird Cake

Karen Turnquist of Vinemont got the recipe for Hummingbird Cake from her mother, an avid baker in Texas who baked the wedding cake for Turnquist and her late husband. “My mom baked all the time, and that cake was her wedding gift to us.” Turnquist remembers the first time she ate a piece of Hummingbird Cake: “I loved it because of all that’s in it.” Loaded with sugar, pecans, pineapple and bananas, and topped with a cream cheese icing, the cake is a favorite for special occasions. “It is rich,” she says. That’s why it fit so perfectly into our category of decadent desserts.

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1½ teaspoons oil
• 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
• 2 cups bananas, chopped
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Icing:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 stick butter
• 1 16-ounce package powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pecans, chopped

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; add beaten eggs and oil. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, pecans and bananas. Put in a well-greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

To make icing, combine cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix well. Frost cake and sprinkle pecans on top. Refrigerate cake.

Karen Turnquist

Karen Turnquist’s Hummingbird Cake is a rich dessert that’s loaded with sugar, pecans, pineapple and bananas and topped with a cream cheese icing. (Brooke Echols / Alabama Living)

Blueberry Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups fresh blueberries (fresh is best, but you can use frozen)
• 3 large eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 package white chocolate baking chips
• 1 16-ounce loaf French bread, cut into cubes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine eggs, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Stir in blueberries and white chocolate chips. Stir in French bread cubes and let stand until bread is softened, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until knife in center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Laurie Myer

Laurie Myer’s Blueberry Bread Pudding combines fresh blueberries, white chocolate, French bread and heavy whipping cream for a dynamite dessert. (Brooke Echols / Alabama Living)

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1¾ cups white flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs

Filling:

• ½ cup white sugar
• 2½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups tart cherries (canned or frozen, if thawed first)
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• Whipped cream (homemade or store bought)
• ⅓ cup chocolate syrup

Instructions

Mix the cake ingredients in a large bowl. Divide between two 8-inch cake pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes, then cool completely. Meanwhile, stir sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl until combined. Add cherries and toss. Stir in butter and almond extract. Set aside. Slice the 8-inch cakes in half, horizontally. Place one onto a plate or stand, then drizzle the top with half of the chocolate syrup. Top with the other half of that cake round. Add on cherry filling (reserving ¼ cup), spreading across top. Place another cake round on top of cherry filling. Drizzle with the remaining chocolate syrup. Top with the remaining cake round. Spread whipped cream over the entire cake. Use extra cherry filling to decorate top of cake.

Robin O’Sullivan

Kay’s Caramel Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 box Duncan Hines golden cake mix. Bake as directed on the box. Makes 2 layers.

Caramel icing:

• 2¼ cups sugar, divided
• ¾ cup evaporated milk
• 1¼ sticks butter
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

Brown ¼ cup sugar in heavy pan. Remove from the stove. Add butter and mix well. Then add 1 cup of sugar and mix well. Place pan onto the heated eye of the stove. Add evaporated milk and bring to a boil. Add another cup of sugar and let boil until a soft ball forms in ice water (soft boil stage on candy thermometer is about 15 minutes). After reaching the soft ball stage, remove from heat and add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and 1½ teaspoons of vanilla. Beat well with a whisk, about 10 minutes. When the icing starts to dry on top, start icing the cake. Ice the first layer edges before placing the second layer on top of the first layer. Ice top and then edges. Cool cake at least 15 minutes and then remove from the pans. Recommended: Use baking spray with flour to grease pans.

Kay Fillingim

Peach and Pecan Custard Pie

Peach and Pecan Custard Pie certainly tastes decadent, and we have it for every special occasion at The Buttered Home. Trust me when I tell you that while a custard pie isn’t all that sweet, the addition of pecans and peaches take this custard to another level. It becomes everything we would want in a decadent pie: sweetness without heaviness.

Ingredients

• ½ cup pecan halves
• Pie crust
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 cups sliced peaches, fresh, frozen or canned
• Pinch of salt
• ¾ cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup low fat milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add sugar, milk, yogurt, eggs, flour, cornstarch, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Fit a standard pie plate with pie crust. Place all but a few peach slices and pecans, reserving some for the top, in the pie crust. Pour custard mixture over. Add reserved peaches and pecans directly to top of pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and tent edges if needed. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-60 minutes more until a knife comes out clean in the center after testing. Cool for one hour.

Brooke Burks, The Buttered Home

This story originally appeared in Alabama Living magazine.