Recipe Sifter

Old-fashioned date and pecan cake baked low and slow in a tube pan. More fruit and nuts than batter, with a dense, rich texture similar to fruitcake.

Chinese steamed honey sponge cake with almond powder and fluffy whipped egg whites. This traditional method produces a pillowy, moist crumb without an oven, and the cake resteams beautifully for leftovers.

Cranberry apple quick bread with walnuts, warm spices, and a simple confectioners' sugar glaze. Tart cranberries and tender apples in every slice.

Rich egg yolk bread with dried cranberries, pecans, and orange zest baked in a tube pan. The best way to use leftover yolks from meringue or angel food cake.

Meatball bake with beef and sausage meatballs, lima beans, carrots, and onion braised in a thick stewed tomato sauce. A hearty one-dish comfort food casserole.

Apple crumb coffeecake layers a buttermilk batter with pre-cooked apple-currant filling under a buttery crumb topping. Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, ideal for brunch tables.

Greek Pasta Flora with a Cognac-butter pastry crust and a rich filling of stewed apricots, dried figs, raisins, apricot jam, and orange zest. A traditional Athenian lattice tart.

Black currant tea brownies layer cassis-infused fudge squares with a glossy berry preserve and a silky black currant tea ganache. A boozy, perfumed showstopper.

Mint pastry wafers made with a buttery cream dough sandwiched around chocolate mint wafers, dipped in sugar, and baked golden. A flaky, minty-chocolate sandwich cookie.

Australian melting moments biscuits: cornstarch-tender shortbread cookies sandwiched around vanilla buttercream icing. Makes 30 sandwich biscuits in 2 hours.

Traditional Irish teacakes made with yeasted dough, butter, eggs, and a hint of nutmeg. Soft, golden buns best eaten warm with a generous smear of butter.

Portzilke are traditional German-Russian yeasted fritters loaded with raisins, fried golden in deep fat. A heritage pastry from the Volga German tradition, puffy and sweet.

Blackberry cream nut tart with a flaky shortening crust, white chocolate cream cheese filling, boysenberry-glazed blackberries, and a walnut lattice topping.

Moist persimmon bread studded with walnuts and raisins, lightly spiced and finished with a touch of bourbon. The persimmons keep the loaves tender for days.

Orange baked chicken breasts with rosemary and paprika in a flour-thickened citrus sauce. Simple weeknight dinner served over noodles or rice with built-in gravy.

Quick raisin bread made with buttermilk, cereal flakes, and no yeast. A simple batter loaf with plump raisins throughout that bakes in one hour with zero rise time.