Baking

Editor's note: The recipe below is taken from All the Presidents' Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House by Roland Mesnier with Christian Malard.

This voluptuous rum-spiked pie will surprise you with its complexity—a hint of curry powder adds an elusive undertone that makes it particularly delicious.

An homage to Denmark's sublime almond pastries, these delicate little cakes provide a nice hit of almond to complement the licorice pudding ; they're also a lovely nibble on their own with a cup of tea.

This over-the-top cake has impressive looks and moistness. Start the cherries ahead: They soak in brandy for a week and then in syrup for at least two days.

For the true pizza lover: a dessert version.

Serve these mini pizzas as an appetizer with drinks.

Great with orange or Romanesco cauliflower. Serve with a green salad.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg. Contributed by Michel Richard. Michel Richard adds an element of surprise to even the most classic of dishes. His version of crème brûlée pairs a smooth, cool layer of vanilla custard with a topping of silky dark chocolate mousse. The contrast is exceptional. The dessert can be made the day before and refrigerated, but the caramelizing must be done just prior to serving. When caramelizing the topping, we prefer a propane torch — available in most hardware stores — to the smaller, more expensive, and less effective culinary torches.

This big-deal cake can be made a day ahead.

Crystallized ginger makes these a little different. It's available, already chopped, in the spice section of many supermarkets.

A layer of sliced fried plantains forms the crust; picadillo — a Latin dish of ground meat, tomatoes, and spices — makes a savory filling. This would be a lovely supper with bread and a salad.

In Trinidad, this rustic coconut loaf with a biscuit-like texture is traditionally eaten with bul jol, which is also known as pick-up saltfish . The bread is quick and easy to make, and is great for breakfast with tropical jams such as guava, passion fruit, or mango. Coconut know-how: To open a coconut, pierce "eyes" with an ice pick and drain out liquid. Break coconut open with a hammer, and then pry out the meat and scrape off the brown skin. Chop or grate meat by hand or in a processor.

This clever appetizer is halfway between a pizza and a flatbread.

Florence Myers of Gainesville, Missouri, writes: "In the late 1950s and early 1960s I was a counselor at an all-girls summer camp in New Hampshire. When we went on long hikes in the mountains, the camp cook, Peggy Ward, would pack up plenty of her wonderful ginger cookies. I've passed that cookie recipe on to many people, including my granddaughter. She tells me that every time she makes the cookies people ask her for the recipe." Old-fashioned flavor in a super-easy cookie.