Written by Tom Hambly
in Pizza Oven Last Updated December 4, 2023
So you’re having a pizza party and all the guests have had their fair share of pizza, you need some desserts and you’ve still got a hot oven. What can you make?
Here is a list of the best desserts you can cook in a pizza oven. Some are simple go-to’s that you can knock out with no preparation, and some will take some prior planning.
For each dessert in the list, there is a recipe with guidance on how to recreate it yourself. When you’ve gained some experience in cooking in your wood fired oven, then you can adapt your own recipes.
I’ve done some other articles on cooking in a pizza oven. Check out the other posts in this series for some more inspiration – 25 foods to cook in your pizza oven and also 15 breads to cook in your pizza oven.
Guide To Cooking Temperatures
You can cook lots of dishes in the wood fired oven. I’ve put together this table as a guide to temperature. Once you try a few things then you can adapt your regular recipes to be used in your pizza oven.
| Fahrenheit | Celsius | Style Of Cooking | What To Cook |
| 750°F + | 400°C+ | Pizza cooking | Pizza, garlic bread, naan bread |
| 540 – 600°F | 280 – 320°C | Grilling | Steak, sardines, shrimp |
| 450 – 540°F | 230 – 280°C | Roasting | Turkey, Roast potatoes, whole fish |
| 400 – 450°F | 200 – 230°C | Baking Bread | Sourdough, pizza rolls, foccacia |
| 320 – 400°F | 160 – 200°C | Baking Desserts | Carrot cake, brownies, cinnamon rolls, strawberry cobbler |
| 210 – 250°F | 100 – 120°C | Slow cooking | Pulled pork, BBQ ribs, stews |
Guidelines For Cooking Desserts
Cooking dessert is fairly straightforward in a wood fired oven.
Some recipes will require temperatures to be accurate so I recommend getting an infrared thermometer if you don’t already. Make sure to get one that goes to high enough temperatures.
When cooking desserts, you will usually be doing this with residual heat from cooking something else. This leftover heat is great because it has given a nice even cooking temperature throughout the oven as the oven has had time to “soak” the heat.
To bake, you shouldn’t have a live fire in the oven, but embers brushed to the side are OK. So you need to build up the fire until the oven is more than hot enough, and then let the fire die down until it is ready to bake.
You can use standard cooking pans and skillets to cook desserts in the oven. It might be useful to get an oven hook so you can retrieve dishes easily from the oven.
10 Desserts To Cook In A Pizza Oven
Brownies
Brownies can be made in a rectangular pan and cut into squares or they can be cooked in a skillet and served straight from the skillet (like the recipe linked). Everyone loves a warm chocolate brownie served with some vanilla ice cream.
Nutella Pizza
A list wouldn’t be complete without the classic Nutella pizza. This is the most simple way to use up your leftover pizza dough, and it tastes absolutely divine with melted hazelnut chocolate.
Just make a pizza base as you usually would, and then top with Nutella until cooked through. Add some fruit like strawberries if you have them.
Wood fired apples
Apples can be baked whole, with an inner stuffing of raisins, cinnamon, and sugar. They go soft and delicious and are then served with cream and, optionally, your favorite sweet liquor. Get them lined up on a tray ready to go.
S’mores
Toasting marshmallows on a fire is a classic outdoor dessert. This adaption has you toast them all together in a skillet so that you don’t have to get inside the scorching oven.
It still has a fun aspect because everyone digs into the pan with crackers and fruit once it’s all gooey inside.
French Toast With Blueberries
This can be an after-dinner sweet treat or made the next morning for breakfast in the residual heat from the night before. Use a skillet or rimmed baking sheet to cook all the pieces at once.
Serve with yogurt and berries or butter and maple syrup!
Baked Bananas
Cooking bananas on the embers of a campfire or barbecue is what I’ve done since I was a kid for a super simple and delicious dessert. You can do the same in a pizza oven.
Just add directly in their skins, or wrap in foil if adding chocolate chips, then leave unattended for 25 minutes until dark brown. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.
Strawberry And Rhubarb Cobbler
Using a cast iron skillet is a great way to cook in the pizza oven as you’ve probably noticed in a few of these recipes.
This time filled with fruit and topped with a cobbler topping for a classic dessert. You can do different variations of fruit or pie toppings in your pizza oven.
Apple and Cranberry Crisp/Crumble
A dessert known as a crisp or crumble is fruit baked with a sugary, crunchy topping. Using your cast iron skillet to make a crisp/crumble in your wood fired oven couldn’t be easier.
Add your favorite fruit, add your toppings, and bake until crunchy. Serve the dessert in the cast iron skillet right on the table.
Dessert Pizza with Mascarpone and Fruit
This is a refined dessert pizza with mascarpone and fruit and is an impressive way to finish your pizza party. You can use regular leftover dough, and add pretty much any fruit you have on hand. Add some sugar to sweeten it all up and it is a sure winner.
Cinnamon Rolls
These are heavenly when eaten warm and fresh. Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon and sugar, roll it up, cut it into chunks, and then bake. You can even fill the rolls with other fillings to mix it up – jam, fruits, syrups – anything sweet really.
Apple Pie
An American favorite that is popular worldwide. Pies are great for an after-dinner treat because they can be prepared ahead of time, and be ready to be baked in the residual heat of the oven.
This pie has cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples but the fruit inside can be swapped for other berries or whatever fruit is available.
Conclusion
It’s a shame to waste that heat of the pizza oven after you spent all that time firing it and preheating it. Prepare something while you wait, and throw it in after you’ve finished your pizzas.
You must try a Nutella pizza first if you’ve never tried one, as the combination of fresh dough and melting hazelnut is absolutely divine. It’s also a handy way to use up all your dough!
For other ways to use up the dough, check my article on baking breads in your pizza oven.
