Easy fall dessert recipes!

A collection of the most amazing Greek and non-Greek fall desserts to make your autumn harvest taste delicious and your home smell fantastic! Here you will find a beautiful collection of recipes using apples, pumpkins and even pears!

Although I adore summer, fall is where my heart truly lies. There is something about the early days of autumn, when the morning air is brisk, the afternoon sun still warms your soul and the late evening chill ensures that sleep is sound and cozy. Fall is about harvesting and preserving the gifts of summer and enjoying the fruits, quite literally, of the fall season. Apples, pears, pumpkins. These are a few of the delicious reasons I love fall baking. What follows are some of my favourite easy fall dessert recipes starring these fall faves.

Milopita (Greek apple cake)

This is a classic Greek apple cake, and I promise that if you try it – you will love it. This cake is a cinch to make (it only requires one bowl!), and is loaded with apples! It is definitely the only Greek milopita recipe you will need.

I love this recipe for Greek apple cake (Milopita) because it uses SO many apples. You will be amazed at how many apples are in here. This is perfect because sometimes when you go apple picking you have more apples than you know what to do with! The flavours of the apples, combined with the cinnamon is just fantastic, and the cake is lovely and moist.

This Greek milopita freezes well too, which is very handy. I like to wrap individual pieces and freeze them. Then they are ready to grab and go when I want a delicious dessert with my take along work lunch.

Vegan apple cake

I want everyone to enjoy a great apple cake, so I created this vegan version, inspired by the traditional Greek apple cake. Not only is this cake egg and dairy-free, but it is also free of refined white sugar, it includes some whole-wheat flour and is sweetened with pure maple syrup. This is a cake you can feel good about having many slices of!

I love this recipe for vegan apple cake because I do have vegans in my life that I love, and love to bake for. Also, this is a great cake for periods of lent, when many Orthodox Christians follow a lenten diet and only eat Nistisima (Lenten) foods. These do not contain meat, dairy or eggs, so this cake is perfect!

I like to store this cake in the refrigerator because I find that it does not last that long at room temperature. Don’t worry though, it won’t last that long regardless! It is so good, and so good for you, that it will disappear fast!

Apple pie soufra

Apple pie flavoured soufra in a round stainless steel pan.

This apple pie soufra recipe is honestly pretty amazing! I came up with this idea when I was thinking about the traditional Greek soufra dessert recipe, which is made with phyllo and custard. I decided to jazz it up a bit and included amazing apple pie flavours.

I love this dessert because the phyllo gets nice and crunchy, the apples are full of cinnamon and sugar deliciousness, and the custard is sweet and creamy. My added touch of cinnamon sugar on top before the soufra is baked puts this apple pie soufra dessert over the top!

This is a dessert that I like to serve the day it is made. Having said that, it is also quite amazing the next day. I like to serve it slightly warm, or at room temperature. I reheat it in the oven to keep the phyllo crispy.

Easy pumpkin bread

Oh boy! You are going to love my recipe for pumpkin bread. This is the most flavourful, most moist and most simple pumpkin break you will every make.

I absolutely love this cake. I usually double the recipe so that I can either store one in the freezer, or bring it along to work to make my co-workers very happy! I love the addition of pumpkin seeds on the top of the cake. It looks pretty, but also adds some crunch and a nice flavour to the loaf.

I serve my pumpkin bread with a glass of milk or a nice cup of Greek coffee. The great thing about this recipe is that it can also be made into pumpkin muffins.

Perfect, easy pumpkin muffins full of spice and walnuts.

Pumpkin muffins. So easy, and so delicious!

Apple baklava

This is my fall take on the classic Greek baklava. This apple baklava dessert is a cross between an apple pie and a traditional baklava, and it is definitely a dessert you want to make soon! Full of apples, walnuts and spices, it’s hard not to love this one!

This dessert is really so impressive and everyone who tries it, loves it. It combines the best of both worlds – a classic Greek dessert with a North American classic.

I like to serve apple baklava with a scoop of ice cream or even a dollop of whipped cream. To keep the theme Greek, I sometimes also serve it with a healthy spoonful of thick Greek yogourt. So good!

Pumpkin pita (Greek kolokithopita)

No, not pumpkin pie! This, dear readers, is a pumpkin pita and it is a traditional Greek pita (although less well-known than spanakopita and tyropita). This pita is probably one of my favourite pitas that my parents make. It is filled with shredded pumpkin (or other winter squash), rice, cinnamon and other aromatics.

Making this Greek kolokithopita or pumpkin pita is not hard, but it does take a bit of time to make the phyllo dough. It is well worth the effort however. I like to serve this pita as a sweet ending to a meal, but it honestly can be a meal as well. I serve it with a salad and am very satisfied!

I may be pushing the envelope here in that many would not consider this kolokithopita to be dessert, and honestly, I am not sure I do either. But, it is sweet, it is delicious, it does use pumpkin…so I included it!

Mini apple pies with phyllo (Milopitakia)

Milopitakia or mini apple pies with phyllo, filo

If you feel like apple pie, but don’t feel like making pie dough, this milopitakia recipe is the answer! In some ways I like these even better than a traditional apple pie. The phyllo gives a great crunch, which complements the apple filling so well.

I also love this dessert because serving them is so much easier than serving an apple pie. Particularly handy when you are having a group of people over, set out a platter of these mini apple pies and everyone can just grab their own.

I like to freeze a few of these milopitakia before they are baked. I freeze them on a baking tray and once frozen I transfer them to a freezer safe bag to save space in my freezer. Then, I allow them to thaw for about 20 minutes before baking. So handy, and so good!

Almond and pear cake

I can’t get enough of this lovely dessert. My parents’ have a very productive pear tree and I am always trying to find ways to ensure that not a single pear goes unappreciated. One of the ways I do this is by baking this almond and pear cake.

The texture of this cake is fantastic, with the combination of almond flour and regular flour and the beaten egg whites. I keep the pears in large pieces, so that you are sure to get pear with every bite of cake.

Everyone loves this amazing cake and I find that it actually tastes better the day after it is made. That is really handy when you are preparing for company. You can make the dessert the day before your guests arrive, making the day of your event a little less rushed.

Easy apple crisp

Everyone needs a fail-proof, easy and delicious apple crisp recipe in their collection of fall dessert favourites. This is truly the only recipe that you will need. It is loaded with flavour, well balanced in its sweetness, and is so easy!

Making apple crisp is so much fun because you get the great flavour and aroma of cooked apples with cinnamon, but you don’t have to fuss with pastry.

I love to serve apple crisp warm, and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Thick Greek vanilla yogurt would also go well.