10,000 bitter recipes

Three-layer butternut cake with tangy cream cheese frosting and chopped nuts. Rich buttermilk batter laced with butternut flavoring bakes up tender and moist, then gets slathered in a thick, nutty frosting that'll have folks lining up for seconds.

Classic New York cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, silky cream cheese and sour cream filling, and a no-crack hot-then-low oven method for a perfectly smooth top.

Any fruit coffee cake layers a tender butter cake with cooked fresh fruit (apples, peaches, apricots or blueberries) and a walnut crumb top. Endlessly adaptable bakery-style coffee cake.

Basic graham cracker cheesecake crust: three ingredients pressed into a springform pan and chilled. The blueprint no-bake crust that swaps to gingersnap or chocolate wafer for any cheesecake variation.

Cinnamon coffee yeast cake baked in a ring mold with butter-dipped dough rounds coated in cinnamon sugar. A pull-apart monkey bread style breakfast with soft, enriched yeast dough.

Simple buttered bread crumbs made with just 2 ingredients in minutes. Use as a crispy topping for casseroles, mac and cheese, baked vegetables, or pasta dishes.

Whole lake trout, salmon, or walleyed pike baked with herb stuffing, white wine, and lemon. Includes two stuffing options: celery-savory and fennel-tarragon. A stunning centerpiece for any dinner.

Whole bananas baked in their skins until caramelized and tender, then split and loaded with butter, salt, and pepper. Three ingredients, 20 minutes, pure Brazilian comfort.

As a matter of record, the sour cream coffee cake has been served in city school cafeterias since 1959.

Kangaroo steak with wild mushrooms and red wine, seared fast in butter and served pink inside. An authentic Australian recipe ready in 15 minutes on a skillet or barbecue plate.

Split langoustines grilled with garlic, parsley, and lemon butter for a sweet, smoky shellfish main with seared edges. An elegant 20-minute restaurant-style dish that works equally well on a stovetop grill pan or outdoor grill.

Frankfurter Kranz: a traditional German ring cake with three rum-soaked sponge layers, a rich egg-yolk buttercream filling, and a crunchy almond praline crown. The classic Frankfurt coffee-table cake.

Sauce Aurore (Aurora sauce) made from a silky bechamel base with tomato paste stirred in for a blush-pink French classic. Seven ingredients, one saucepan, about 15 minutes.

Showstopping three-layer cappuccino torte with a nutty graham crust, thick semisweet fudge layer, and espresso chocolate buttercream. A make-ahead dessert that chills overnight.

A hearty and scrumptious casserole made with hash brown potatoes, cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Kreatopita Therini is a Greek summer meat pie with veal, zucchini, eggplant, and tomato baked between buttered phyllo layers. Fresh, herby, and golden-crisp on top.