Chocolate

Arrange the candy cups in single layers in decorative boxes lined with tissue paper.

Hungary is justly renowned for its baked goods, and dobostorte, probably inspired by Turkish layered pastries such as baklava, is one of its best and arguably the favorite. This famous seven-layer cake is purportedly named after a nineteenth-century Budapest pastry master, but the idea of thin cake layers sandwiched with creamy frosting dates much further back. This version uses thin sponge cake layers complemented with a rich buttercream. To create a batter with proper consistency, it is preferable to weigh the flour and sugar. Since most home ovens heat unevenly, it is advisable not to bake too many layers at the same time.

Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, and chocolate mousse team up with fruit in this incredible dessert. Begin making the cake one day ahead. Enjoy the extra mousse later.

"Many of my friends are chocolate lovers, and this recipe seems to do the trick every time," writes Ann Bolger of East Lansing, Michigan.

Canela, a Latin American cousin of cinnamon, is a leading player in this sauce. Once used by affluent Romans in love potions and perfumes, the spice, derived from the inner bark of a tropical evergreen, is hugely popular in New World cuisine, in everything from soups to desserts. This recipe is a component of Grill-Roasted Rack of Lamb in Red Mole .

Candida Sportiello writes: "As owner and chef of Il Giardino restaurant, on the tiny island of Ventotene off the coast of Naples, I've been cooking professionally for twenty-five years — but I've been cooking for pleasure for a good fifty years. As is the Italian way, most of my favorite recipes were handed down from my mother and grandmother, so they date from the early 1900s." This rich dessert is called a semifreddo ("half frozen") in Italian.

Mocha custards are the "coffee" part of this whimsical "coffee and doughnuts" dessert.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 45 min

This dessert has a baked chocolate-cookie crust and a chilled light-and-fluffy filling of pureed fresh raspberries folded into whipped mascarpone cheese.

This recipe was developed by Houston pastry chef Pamela Manovich, with the help of Girl Scout Laura Watkins.

Great to give as gifts in pretty boxes or tins or to have on hand for unexpected company.

Cape Cod's cranberry bogs — which supply the crowning glory of countless holiday desserts — provided the inspiration for this festive and luscious cheesecake. Chocolate wafer cookies (used in the crust) are sometimes located in the ice cream section, displayed above the freezer case.

"My sister, who lives near Chicago, takes me into the city for dinner at Erwin restaurant whenever I visit her," says Marion J. Matczynski of Parma Heights, Ohio. "One time I tried the peanut mousse cake; it was to die for."