Dessert, Egg Recipes

Rum pecan pie with a brandied butter crust, layered chopped pecans under a mosaic of pecan halves, and a dark rum and maple-kissed filling. Holiday dessert with a grown-up flavor twist.

Rich flourless chocolate mousse cake spiked with Cointreau or Chambord, baked in a water bath and topped with billowy whipped cream. An Italian-style showstopper dessert.

Cranberry walnut tart layers a flaky blind-baked crust with a brown sugar and corn syrup custard studded with tart cranberries and toasted walnuts. The holiday pie's more sophisticated cousin.

A delicate sponge cake rolled around a silky white wine custard filling, served with warm strawberry currant sauce. A vintage jelly roll dessert that pairs dry white wine with sweet berries.

Low-fat spicy pumpkin pie with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves in a diabetic-friendly filling. Uses calorie-free liquid sweetener with just 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for warmth and depth.

Texas-style chocolate sheath cake with buttermilk and a warm marshmallow-nut cocoa icing spread on while the cake is still hot. One pan, one hour, and feeds a crowd.

Oatmeal peanut butter drop cookies with plumped raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla. A hearty, old-fashioned cookie packed with oats and peanut butter flavor. Makes 3 dozen.

Bolognese sponge cake layered with vanilla custard and rum, frosted in coffee zabaglione buttercream, then crowned with chocolate-dipped almonds and walnut sides. From Il Cantoncino restaurant in Bologna.

Pineapple chiffon cake layered with chocolate cookies and a light-as-air gelatin mousse. A no-bake, low-calorie dessert with bright tropical flavor and lemon zing.

Salzburger Nockerl, a classic Austrian souffled dessert with billowy egg white mounds baked over cream, butter, and currant jelly. Golden, airy, and served straight from the oven.

Chocolate fruitcake with cocoa, candied cherries, pecans, golden raisins, and mixed dried fruit, topped with a semisweet chocolate-almond glaze and toasted almonds.

Dense, moist apple cake packed with dates, walnuts, and golden raisins. Oil-based batter loaded with fruit and spice bakes into a pudding-like texture in a 13x9 pan.

Downhome cafe banana bread with four ripe bananas, butter, and a touch of lemon juice for brightness. A classic, tender loaf with simple pantry ingredients and old-fashioned flavor.

Tender zucchini bundt cake spiced with cinnamon and studded with nuts, crowned with tangy lemon cream cheese frosting. Elegant from-scratch dessert for summer gatherings.

Buttermilk bundt cake with a chocolate swirl baked in a fluted tube pan and finished with a chocolate chip drizzle. Tender crumb with a fudgy ribbon inside.

Lemon glazed poppyseed bundt cake is a tall, tender bundt scented with lemon extract and speckled with crunchy poppy seeds, finished with a tart lemon powdered sugar glaze that cracks slightly as it sets.