Cake

Make this showstopping dessert even more stunning by garnishing it with fresh raspberries and mint sprigs.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

The crunchy honey-almond praline pieces in the ice cream are an easy, homemade version of turrón, a popular Spanish candy.

Peaches sweetened with brown sugar fill pecan-studded biscuits — a southern-style twist on an all-American favorite.

Caramel and orange add sophisticated French flair to this rich American dessert. Begin preparing it at least a day ahead.

"I have prepared the plum torte from Marian Burros’s The Best of De Gustibus many times, and I’ve also tried variations using different kinds of fruit," says Peter Wayne Gagnon of Pineville, North Carolina. "My experiments helped me arrive at my own version of this dessert." Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

This dessert had its heyday on American menus about 15 years ago, and it turns up a little less frequently these days. The popularity of tiramisu never wavered in Rome, however, where it continues to be served at dinner parties and restaurants.

This cake is a southern tradition for festive occasions. It can be completely assembled and chilled one day before serving.

This variation on the classic Irish apple cake has a top and bottom crust made from a biscuit-like dough. You can cut this cake into wedges or dish it out with a spoon like a cobbler.

A tweed cake gets its name from the classic wool fabric it resembles. The effect is achieved by folding coarsely grated chocolate into the batter before baking. If you can't find matzo cake meal, you can grind batches of regular matzo meal in a clean electric coffee/spice grinder until it's the consistency of flour.

For more information about melting chocolate, see Meltdown.

This recipe creates enough batter for a 3-quart bundt pan, but it can also be baked in smaller pans, though baking time will vary accordingly.