Recipe Sifter

Easy pound cake creams sugar with margarine, beats in eggs and vanilla, then bakes in a tube pan starting from a cold oven for a tender, tall crumb. Six ingredients, no leavening, no fuss.

Goopy chicken with boneless breasts browned in seasoned flour, then braised in cream of chicken soup gravy with lemon juice. Skillet or slow cooker method for fall-off-the-fork tender.

Raspberry chocolate coffee cake with layers of fresh berries, chocolate chips, and almond streusel. A tender vanilla batter baked with two layers of fruit and crumbly nut topping.

Baked chicken liver pate with brandy, sage, thyme, and cream, molded in juice cans and rolled in fresh parsley. A make-ahead appetizer that freezes well for up to 3 weeks.

A hearty cornmeal and whole wheat quick bread sweetened with honey and made tender with buttermilk. No yeast, no kneading, just stir and bake into a wholesome, high-fiber loaf with a cornmeal-dusted crust.

Low-fat carrot fig cake that replaces oil and butter with pureed dried figs for moisture. Loaded with grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and raisins, drizzled with a simple pineapple juice glaze.

Anise almond biscotti are twice-baked Italian cookies with toasted almonds and warm anise seeds. Crisp, dunkable holiday treats that keep up to 4 weeks. Makes about 2 dozen.

Fig rum loaf with dried figs, dark rum, orange zest, and chopped walnuts. A dense, aromatic quick bread that improves with an overnight rest, perfect for holiday baking and gifting.

Three-layer Southern coconut cake with a tangy crushed-pineapple filling and billowy seven-minute frosting. An almond-scented butter cake stacked with grated coconut between every layer.

Plum streusel coffee cake layered with fresh plum halves, brown sugar cinnamon crumble, and chopped walnuts. Two layers of fruit and streusel sandwiched in a tender batter.

Kushli are deep-fried Indian half-moon pastries stuffed with toasted coconut, almonds, semolina, sugar, cardamom, and raisins. Crisp, fragrant sweets for festivals and tea-time treats.

Southern smothered steak with flour-dredged round steak browned in bacon drippings, then simmered in its own gravy until fork-tender. Four ingredients, pure country cooking.

Milky Way candy bar cake with six melted candy bars in the batter, buttermilk, and chopped nuts. A rich, fudgy Bundt cake with deep caramel-chocolate flavor.

Stanford Court's bread pudding starts with homemade brioche layered with sliced apples, raspberries, and rich egg custard. A San Francisco restaurant-quality dessert baked to a golden crown.

White chocolate raspberry cheesecake on a vanilla wafer crust, with melted white chocolate folded through the batter, layers of fresh raspberries and a glossy chocolate glaze. Baked low and slow for a crack-free, creamy slice.

Czech kolaches made with soft yeast dough and a homemade apricot filling. These pillowy rolls get an indentation pressed in the center to hold sweet fruit puree.