Dessert recipes

A layered Italian cassata cake with orange-ricotta filling, chocolate, candied citron, and vanilla frosting topped with pistachios. A Sicilian bakery classic you can make at home.

A light, fat-free poppy seed bundt cake built on apricot puree and egg-white meringue, finished with a tangy lemon glaze. A clever lower-cal cake that doesn't taste compromised.

Peanut butter puffs made with phyllo dough folded into crispy triangles around a sweet peanut butter filling, then drizzled with melted chocolate and chopped pecans.

Twice-baked citrus walnut biscotti, crisp with anise and bright lemon and orange zest, then half-dipped in glossy tempered chocolate. Crunchy Italian cookies built for dunking in coffee.

Starlight double-delight cake, the retro Pillsbury bake-off winner where a chocolate-peppermint cream cheese frosting doubles as part of the batter. Two moist mint-chocolate layers, frosted in the same blend.

Low-fat strawberry cheesecake swaps cream cheese for pureed cottage cheese folded with gelatin and whipped egg whites for a light, mousse-like filling. Finished with a glossy crushed-strawberry glaze.

Microwave chocolate turtle cheesecake layered with gooey caramel, pecans, cream cheese filling, and a chocolate chip topping. Ready in 40 minutes with no oven required.

A rich, fudgy chocolate sheet cake with sour cream baked in a jelly roll pan and slathered with a creamy peanut butter chip frosting. Feeds a crowd and travels like a dream.

Lemon chiffon cake with bright lemon juice, fresh zest, and a cloud-light crumb leavened by stiff-beaten egg whites. The vintage springtime cake that's still impossible to beat.

All-butter pie crust with egg yolk for a rich, flaky pastry. Includes instructions for single crust, double crust, pre-baked shell, and five decorative edging styles.

This rich dip made from strawberries, cream cheese and liqeur will add sophistication to your next dinner!

Yeasted anise biscotti from Genoa, made with a sponge starter for a lighter, bread-like crumb. Twice-baked with butter and aniseed, these are nothing like ordinary biscotti.

San Francisco-style crustless honey and spice cheesecake with dark honey, ground cloves, allspice, and a shot of espresso. A dense, creamy dessert for dinner-party finales.

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.

A show-stopping cheesecake with swirled chocolate and vanilla layers on a cookie crumb crust, finished with a glossy semisweet chocolate ganache glaze. Rich, creamy, and utterly indulgent.

Singing cake, a heritage spice-and-chocolate Bundt loaded with raisins, nuts, strawberry jam, and unsweetened chocolate, in a buttermilk batter lifted by whipped egg whites. Named for the hissing sound it makes baking.