Recipe Sifter

Watch this decadent cake recipe disappear swiftly. With its thick frosting and rich chocolate layers, it's a huge hit at any event.

Reduced-sugar chocolate cake uses egg substitute, margarine, and nonfat dry milk for a lighter tender cake. Cake flour gives a fine crumb in a 9-inch pan, cut into 16 modest squares.

Banana layer cake stacks two tender 8-inch rounds and slathers them in a real banana frosting brightened with lemon juice. Twice the banana, twice the reason to skip the boxed mix.

Beef pie freezes four 8x8 pans at once, layering diced cooked beef, peas, and onions in a butter-flour gravy under a poppy seed-dusted pastry. Batch-cook dinner for the freezer.

Oatmeal cookies rolled in chopped nuts with a chocolate star pressed into each warm center. The classic peanut blossom cookie technique applied to oats.

Egg-free bran muffins loaded with chopped apples, dried apricots, and walnuts, made with apple juice and all-bran cereal. Brushed with cinnamon sugar while hot.

Microwave upside-down brunch cake with ham, crushed pineapple, and brown sugar under a cornmeal batter. Sweet and savory in under 30 minutes.

Topsy-turvy apple pie: a double-crust cinnamon apple pie baked over a brown sugar and pecan layer, then flipped so a glossy praline-pecan top crowns every slice. A clever twist on apple pie.

Linguine carbonara with crispy bacon, Parmesan, and a silky egg and cream sauce tossed hot so every strand is coated. A rich, comforting Italian pasta classic.

Jumbo cream cheese peanut butter cookie: one giant cookie-dough pizza slathered with fluffy peanut butter cream cheese frosting and chopped peanuts. A sliceable dessert for 12 in 45 minutes.

Cream of green chile soup with potatoes, Monterey Jack cheese, and crispy corn tortilla strips. A rich, cumin-spiced bowl straight from New Mexico's kitchen.

Indian French toast: savory vegan besan-and-tofu batter with green chiles and onion, soaked into bread slices and pan-fried golden. A spicy eggless twist on breakfast toast, inspired by Indian besan toast.

A fun, kid-friendly chocolate sheet cake with sour cream for extra moisture and a creamy rum frosting you can decorate like a board game. Birthday party crowd-pleaser.

Vegetarian Mexican loaf made with crumbled veggie burgers, cornmeal, green chiles, corn, and chili powder baked in a water bath. Sliceable, savory, and served with homemade tomato sauce.

A three-layer chocolate cake with cocoa and walnut extract, blanketed in fluffy marshmallow icing and showered with chopped black walnuts. All the joy of an ice cream sundae, no melting required.

Chocolate chip cheesecake on a chocolate wafer crust with sour cream, vanilla, and mini semi-sweet chocolate pieces. Rich, creamy, and loaded with chocolate throughout.