Berry

This pull-out-all-the-stops cake for special occasions may be prepared in steps in advance and glazes on the day it is to be served.

The piquancy comes from fresh thyme and just a bit of Dijon mustard.

Serve this quick treat with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

Here's a beautiful pie with a sweet-tart filling and a sensational crust.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended preparation time.

A finale that is great on its own or served with some whipped cream that has been accented with brown sugar.

The frozen berries aren't thawed before you use them, so this dessert is super fast.

Use firm, dense apples such as Granny Smith, Fuji, or Pippin, which will hold their shape when cooked. Fresh ginger gives this sauce its gentle bite—don’t substitute the ground kind.

You can start baking this beautiful cake two days ahead: Make the cake layers and the raspberry curd a day before assembling; then the completed cake can be refrigerated a day before serving.

Fresh orange juice always makes the best cranberry relish. Zest whole oranges before squeezing them for juice.

Nancy Pellini Morrow of Haddonfield, New Jersey, writes: "My friend and I had a wonderful meal at Canyon Southwest Cafe in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Everything we ate was top-notch, but the best part was the cheesecake with mixed-berry sauce we had for dessert."

'90S SEINFELD After Elaine exclaims that she only likes the tops of muffins ("The Muffin Tops" first aired on May 8, 1997), her former boss thinks Elaine has hit on a clever marketing idea. But when you only sell the tops, what do you do with the hundreds of muffin "stumps" (bottoms) that are left? Elaine and her gang take to the streets with garbage bags of stumps, trying to pawn them off on anyone and everyone. There are no takers; even the homeless turn them down with disdain. It didn't take long after the airing of the episode for muffin-top pans to appear on store shelves — another TV triumph. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr