2,009 vanilla recipes

Pina Colada party cake: white cake mix doctored with pineapple juice and toasted coconut, soaked with pineapple syrup, topped with rum-extract frosting. Tropical island flavor, no booze required.

No-bake peach ice cream cake layered with gingersnap crumbs, toasted almonds, crystallized ginger, peach frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream, and caramel sauce. Frozen overnight and sliced like a loaf.

Devil's food cake mix upgraded with melted chocolate chips, sour cream, vanilla pudding, and pureed raspberries, served with a mango-raspberry sauce and fresh kiwi garnish.

Amish friendship bread with hazelnuts and dried cherries: a cinnamon-scented sweet bread loaded with crunchy nuts and chewy fruit. Bakes 4 loaves built for sharing with friends.

Vegan lemon tofu cheesecake with silken tofu, tahini, and lemon zest on a Grape-Nuts crust with maple syrup. Dairy-free and egg-free.

Cottage cheese pie is an old-fashioned custard pie with a tangy curd filling lightened by beaten egg whites and warmed with vanilla. A simple, frugal dessert with a creamy texture between cheesecake and custard.

Low-fat cheesecake made with overnight-strained yogurt and blended cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. Dense, silky, and tangy on a graham cracker crust with no cream cheese at all.

Microwave rum cake with devil's food cake mix, rum-soaked layers, apricot preserves filling, and a glossy boiled frosting made from corn syrup and egg whites.

French-style apple pie with sauteed tart apples in a single pastry shell, layered with a cooked vanilla custard filling and finished with an apricot preserve glaze on the crust.

Port wine blueberry cake reduces ruby port into a syrupy concentrate, then folds it into a low-fat buttermilk cake studded with fresh berries. A sophisticated grown-up dessert.

Chocolate pecan cookie slices shaped into logs, baked, then cut on the diagonal and drizzled with white chocolate. A slice-and-bake method that yields 40 elegant cookies.

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.

COMMENT: What makes this dessert so irresistible? As it bakes, a pudding sauce forms beneath the cake layer. Cocoa-based and made without eggs, its an old-fashioned treat that should be served with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a big spoon.

Frozen ricotta cheese pie with orange juice concentrate, vanilla ice cream, and whipped topping on a raspberry jam-lined graham cracker crust. No-bake summer dessert.

Rhubarb meringue pie with a from-scratch shortening crust, tangy rhubarb-orange filling cooked on the stovetop, and a golden vanilla meringue topping. Three layers, all homemade.

Punch bowl cake layered with yellow cake, cherry pie filling, chocolate and vanilla pudding, pineapple, bananas, whipped topping, and nuts. A retro layered trifle for a crowd.