Dessert Recipes

Orange-kissed cheesecake on a chocolate graham cracker crust, made lighter with nonfat cottage cheese and reduced-fat cream cheese. Bright citrus meets dark cocoa in every forkful.

Lebanese Baklawa Be'Aj features phyllo squares shaped into lily petals around an egg-white walnut and almond filling, soaked in rose water and orange blossom syrup. A showstopper pastry for special occasions.

Buttermilk chocolate hazelnut cake bakes whole wheat pastry flour with cocoa, brown sugar, and a layer of toasted hazelnuts. Lighter, healthier chocolate cake with no butter and no whole eggs.

Amazing lemon meringue pie uses both cornstarch and flour for a curd that holds clean wedges. Lemon juice goes into the meringue too for a stable foam that resists weeping.

Chocolate banana split cake with cocoa-banana layers, fresh sliced bananas, homemade chocolate sauce, whipped topping, and a cherry on top. No butter, no egg yolks.

Four flavor pound cake with lemon, vanilla, almond, and rum extracts in a light oil-based batter with folded egg whites. Served with fresh strawberries.

Raspberry chiffon pie with a light, airy gelatin filling and a buttery toasted oat crust. Fluffy beaten egg whites give it a mousse-like texture.

New Year's Eve clock cake: three airy white cake layers stacked with silky chocolate cream filling, wrapped in rich Hungarian chocolate frosting and decorated to look like a clock striking midnight.

Poppy seed cake made with real vanilla bean and a folded meringue for an incredibly light, tender crumb. Topped with cream cheese frosting for a classic finish.

Always Popular lemon meringue pie tempers the egg yolks before cooking, then finishes with boiling water for a fast, fail-proof curd. Topped with classic French meringue in a baked pastry shell.

Port wine blueberry cake reduces ruby port into a syrupy concentrate, then folds it into a low-fat buttermilk cake studded with fresh berries. A sophisticated grown-up dessert.

Childhood PB&J turned into a two-layer peanut butter cake filled with more peanut butter and red jelly, topped with fluffy seven-minute frosting. Nostalgic birthday cake for grown-ups.

Soft orange poppy seed cookies made with cream cheese, fresh orange zest, and orange juice. Light, cakey, and bright with citrus in every bite.

A feather-light cheesecake lightened with whipped egg whites for an airy texture, on a cinnamon zwieback crust, finished with a sour cream, crumb, and almond topping. Far lighter than dense New York style.

Tart apples baked with butter, plumped raisins, and lemon, then crowned with a golden meringue and served warm. An elegant, simple dessert that looks far harder than it is.

Mile high peach pie with a graham cracker crust and a frozen peach mousse beaten from finely chopped peaches, sugar, and egg whites. The 15-minute beat gives the filling its signature towering height.