Cake

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 4 hr A wonderful welcome to spring, this butter- and oil-free torte gains its richness from pecans. If you want to keep the cake pareve, or if you intend to serve it several times, leave it unfrosted.

"I love cooking with the new recipes every month when Bon Appétit arrives," writes Gabriella Hughes of Windham, Maine. "One dish I'd really like to make is the gingerbread with lemon icing from Standard Baking Co. in Portland, Maine. Could you request it?" Serve these tender gingerbread muffins with whipped cream for teatime or dessert.

"My husband and I recently went to Chez Mimi in nearby Santa Monica," writes Randi Fine of Sherman Oaks, California. "We shared a luscious dessert called caramel chomeur, a cake baked atop caramel sauce and served with vanilla ice cream. I've searched my cookbooks, but I can't find a recipe close to it." Chef Mimi Hebert tells us that this dessert from the Great Depression era was called chomeur (from the French word for "unemployed") because it was inexpensive to make.

Whether you use store-bought applesauce or make your own, this lovely, moist cake will make it hard to stop after one piece. It's very important to beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick, as this, along with the baking powder, is what gets the cake to rise nicely. This cake makes a great gift — it can be made ahead, cooled, glazed, then frozen.

"The strawberry cream cake recipe from "A Swedish Midsummer Party" in your June 1997 issue reminded me of a dessert my grandmother, who was of Swedish descent, used to make," says Jill M. Kuhn of Sherman Oaks, California. An electric carving knife makes slicing this dessert a breeze.

For convenience, you can use the mini candy bars available in one-pound bags.

This is one of the many types of apple cake popular throughout central Europe. I have seen apple cakes, a traditional Rosh Hashannah dessert, served on Sabbath and holiday tables from Israel to Australia.

Pastel de tres leches is a traditional Nicaraguan Celebration Cake usually reserved for the holiday season. In this recipe we preserve the traditional presentation, and add some typical American holiday flavors. The cake is composed of four components: Sponge Cake, Rum Milk Syrup, Meringue, and Cranberry Compote.

Pumpkin and apricot are a winning combination in this cake; it's topped with a spiced cream cheese frosting. For decoration, place several dried apricots between sheets of plastic wrap, and using a rolling pin, roll to flatten. With scissors, cut out leaf shapes from the apricots, and arrange them on top of the cake.

Some cooks may prefer the convenience of substituting dried egg whites for the fresh ones called for in the following recipe. (This will eliminate having to find a use for the yolks.) Dried egg whites are increasingly available in supermarkets or by mail order. Here, you will need 1/4 cup dried egg whites, reconstituted by stirring 3/4 cup lukewarm water into them as package instructions indicate.

A big, beautiful dessert that layers chocolate and coffee ice creams with mocha sauce in a macaroon cookie crust.

This cool indulgence is actually made with light cream cheese and low-fat sour cream. Begin preparing it the day before your party.

Don't worry if you can't wait for this yummy cake to cool - it's also delicious warm.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.