Dessert/6 recipes

Boston cream pie with two split sponge layers, thick vanilla pastry custard, and a warm chocolate glaze that drips down the sides. The Massachusetts state dessert built from scratch.

Feather light angel food cake, a fat-free sponge built on whipped egg whites and cream of tartar, baked tall and cloud-soft, then swathed in a glossy boiled-syrup meringue frosting. Airy, snowy, and pure.

Phyllo fruit nests are an oil-free, low-fat dessert: torn phyllo sheets baked into crisp golden cups, then filled with poached pears or apples and a drizzle of fragrant syrup.

No bake date drops, chewy stovetop cookies made by cooking chopped dates with butter and eggs, then folding in crispy rice cereal and chopped nuts for a quick treat.

Tiramisu made with mascarpone blended with cottage cheese for a lighter, less heavy filling. Coffee-soaked ladyfingers, a cloud of whipped egg whites, and a dusting of cocoa, with no baking required.

Rhubarb-strawberry cobbler with cinnamon and orange zest in the filling and fluffy buttermilk biscuit topping. A classic spring dessert where tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries bubble under golden drop biscuits.

Brown sugar pound cake with a deep caramel note and a toasted-pecan frosting that drips down the sides. A dense, buttery tube cake from TV weatherman Willard Scott's kitchen.

Flourless chocolate mousseline cake with rum, coffee, and whipped cream folded into a rich chocolate-egg batter. Baked in a water bath for a dense, silky texture.

Mohn kuchen: a traditional German poppy seed cake with a pressed shortbread base, creamy cooked poppy seed filling, and buttery streusel top. Dense, nutty, old-world dessert.

Rhubarb oatmeal crunch with a buttery oat-cinnamon crumble crust and a vanilla-glazed rhubarb filling. A classic farmhouse dessert served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Italian tiramisù cake with three layers of sponge brushed in espresso and rum, layered with mascarpone cream, and dusted with cocoa. Make-ahead Italian dessert.

Indian lassi panna cotta: silky Italian-style set cream infused with cardamom and rose water, topped with crushed pistachios and toasted coconut. A cross-cultural make-ahead dessert.

Peach and raspberry cobbler with fresh fruit bubbling under golden drop biscuits. A two-stage bake that keeps the fruit juicy and the topping flaky and crisp.

Spiced gingerbread baked in mason jars with molasses, crystallized ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. A charming gift-worthy dessert served warm with lemon sauce.

Sugar-free strawberry-pineapple-orange ice cream churned in a home freezer with light milk and a sugar substitute. Diabetic-friendly summer dessert sweetened by fresh and canned fruit.

Godiva ultimate chocolate layer cake: three buttermilk cocoa layers brushed with Godiva chocolate liqueur and stacked with a cocoa-liqueur buttercream. Boozy, deep, unapologetically chocolate.