Baking

Serve these nuts as candy, use them to garnish a cake, or fold into homemade ice cream.

These are very thin, crisp, fragile cookies that complement soft desserts such as sherbets, ice creams, and fruit compotes.

This is a classic cookie to serve with a bowl of sliced fruit or a poached fruit compote (see page 364). The dough can be formed into logs of different shapes—round, square, oval—before chilling and slicing; or roll it out and cut with cookie cutters.

What makes these cookies crisp is the mixing together of baking soda and boiling water before adding them to the batter.

Homemade candied orange or tangerine peel (page 382) makes this soufflé special.

Homemade apricot jam is the secret to this easy soufflé. Plum jam and citrus marmalades are also good choices for soufflés.

Tall, airy angel food cake is lovely just plain, but I usually serve it with Summer Fruit Compote (page 364) and whipped cream. Day-old angel food cake is delicious sliced thin and toasted.

This is a moist and versatile cake that stores well. It can be made in any format from cupcakes to a multitiered wedding cake.

Pavé is the French word for “paving stone.” Chocolate pavés are very rich, smooth, and dense. Chocolate cakes like this are often called flourless cakes, because they are completely gluten-free.

It’s easy to make your own pumpkin or squash purée and it makes the best-tasting pie. However, most pumpkins are for carving, not eating, and their flesh is too watery and flavorless to make a good purée. Look for sweet pumpkin varieties (for example, Sugar Pie, Long Pie, or Cinderella) or use butternut squash. To make a purée, see page 324.

This cake is very versatile and can be made with apples, pears, peaches, plums, or any full-flavored, slightly acidic fruit. Arrange the sliced fruit as you would for a Tarte Tatin (page 366).

Nectarines and apricots are also delicious baked this way.

This is one of the most delicious tarts there is. The apples caramelize on the bottom of the pan, the pastry bakes crisp and brown on top of the fruit, and the whole tart is flipped upside down, revealing the dark caramel-drenched apples.