Baking

The pastry for this tart is very light and crisp. For best results, handle it as little as possible and keep it cool. You will need a 12 1/2- by 1-inch fluted round tart pan with a removable bottom, available at cookware shops and by mail order from Bridge Kitchenware, tel. (800) 274-3435 or (212) 838-1901.

Vanilla ice cream is just the right accompaniment to these cookies; orange segments would be a fresh, pretty garnish.

A French flourless nut cake, topped with poached pears, is lovely for Hanukkah.

Our food editors loved shavings of Stilton cheese on these tarts. We understand that nobody has much room for dessert after a big meal, much less one with cheese, but these tarts are actually quite light and refreshing: The Stilton lends depth and provides a savory counterpoint to the sweet grapes and crust.

Crunchy candy-coated cranberries make festive garnish for this inventive dessert. Begin preparing the custards a day before serving.

A favorite recipe of Duncan Hines from Still Cookin' After All These Years.

Washington pears and California raisins complement each other deliciously. This is perfect with vanilla ice cream.

Buttermilk and walnuts make the difference in this delectable layer cake.

If you are using salted pistachios, omit the 1/4 teaspoon salt in the ingredient list.

Piparelli Abstinence during Lent means that for the forty days preceding Easter, Catholics all over Sicily are supposed to eat cucina magra (literally, lean food). This means no meat, no fat, no eggs. Theoretically. Modern Catholics get to choose what they give up for Lent, and this is called fare un fioretto, or making a sacrifice. There is little indication that pastries and sweets are even near the top of the "to give up" list, other than the presence of quaresimali, the general term for the category of austere cookies that appear in pastry shops during the spring. Piparelli are the Lenten cookies that the people of Messina like best. At the Pasticceria Vinci Domenico in Messina, piparelli are such a favorite that they're now made year-round.

This classically simple milliard is similar to a clafouti - both desserts are a cross between a cake and a custard and are about as thick as a thin cake layer.

More pastry chefs are using spices typically associated with savories in their sweets. Here, Chinese five-spice powder, a blend of warm spices and aromatic flavorings, adds allure to a fruit filling.

Petites Profiteroles This recipe is an accompaniment Tomato and Celery-Infused Beef Consommé with Tiny Choux Puffs You'll need only about one third of the profiteroles to go with the consommé; freeze the extras and serve them for dessert at your next dinner party with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

Filled with raisins and brown sugar and baked in Marsala and cider, these apples make a warming ending to the meal. Accompany them with vanilla ice cream and some purchased almond biscotti.

This recipe originally accompanied Corn Bread Succotash Stuffing . The corn bread also can be served on its own.