You might be a Bananas Foster baby—or were you born in the year of Hummingbird Cake? Take a look back at 60 marvelous years of dessert trends. They're our birthday gift to you!
The Most Popular Dessert the Year You Were Born
1940: Best-Ever Bread Pudding
The secret to incredible bread pudding with a soft middle and crisp edges starts with leftover dinner rolls. I picked up the rich brown sugar sauce recipe from my friend Kathryn Gartmann. A big drizzle of it takes this dessert over the top and really makes it the best bread pudding ever. —Maria Petrella, Taste of Home Prep Cook
1941: Classic Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Lemon Chiffon Cake

1943: Lemon Frosted Fruit Bars
I found the Lemon-Frosted Fruit Bars in a 1943 Betty Crocker cookbook titled Your Share: How To Prepare Appetizing, Healthful Meals with Foods Available Today. The recipe book was printed when the U.S. government began rationing foods like sugar and butter during World War II. Inside there are tips for saving sugar, with recipes like these bars that used dried fruit and molasses to add sweetness instead. You don’t even miss the sugar! —Nancy Mock, Burlington, Vermont
1944: Shoofly Pie
1945: Moist Lazy Daisy Cake
1946: Carrot Sheet Cake
1947: Giant Molasses Cookies
Old-Fashioned Whoopie Pies
1949: Old-Fashioned Banana Cream Pie
1950: Homemade Chocolate Pudding
1951: Hummingbird Cake
1952: Rich Rum Cake
1953: World's Best Lemon Pie
1954: Icebox Cake
1955: Layered Strawberry Jell-O Mold
1956: Coconut Chiffon Cake
1957: Madeira Cake
1958: Cherry Chocolate Marble Cake
1959: Baked Alaska
1960: Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
1961: Ambrosia
1962: Million Dollar Cake
1963: Stained Glass Gelatin
Chocolate Fudge Cake
1965: Frozen Grasshopper Torte
1966: Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
1967: Hello Dolly Bars
1968: Key Lime Pie
1969: Orange Chocolate Fondue
1970: Creamy Pina Colada Pie

1971: Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse
Let me tell you why Julia Child’s chocolate mousse recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking is one you’ll use for life: Aside from the technique of using both the egg whites and egg yolks, I love how she adds an ample amount of brewed coffee in addition to orange liqueur. Those two ingredients combined with quality chocolate and just enough sugar to balance the flavors is a true work of art. —Lauren Grant, New York City, New York

1972: No-Bake Pudding Cheesecake
The 1972 print ad for the Jell-O No-Bake Cheesecake with Pudding says this recipe is “a perfect summer dessert, because you don’t have to bake it.” Now that I’ve tried it myself, I have to agree, with one caveat: it’d be a welcome dessert any time of the year. —Nancy Mock, Burlington, Vermont

1973: Sock-It-to-Me Cake
I like to think that when a baker asked someone if they wanted a piece of this buttery cake, the answer was “sock it to me!”—which is how this cake got its name. Duncan Hines published the “Sock It to Me Cake” recipe on the back of its boxed mix in the 1970s, and the rest is history. —Vallery Lomas, New York City, New York
1974: Watergate Salad
1975: Berry Trifle
1976: Easy Banana Pudding
1977: Easy Fresh Strawberry Pie
1978: Black Forest Chocolate Torte
1979: New York Cheesecake
1980: Lemon Pudding Dessert
—Muriel DeWitt, Maynard, Massachusetts
1981: Mud Pie
1982: Strawberry Poke Cake
1983: French Silk Pie
1984: Red Velvet Cake
1985: Frozen Yogurt
1986: Easy Four-Layer Chocolate Dessert
1987: Pecan Pumpkin Bars
1988: Lava Chocolate Cakes
1989: Tiramisu
Lemon Bars
1991: Mudslide Cheesecake
1993: Rocky Road Ice Cream
-Dale Langford
Atwater, California