Baking

An intriguing dessert from Restaurant Le Beaujolais in Banff, Alberta, Canada. For the best flavor, be sure to serve the tart warm.

A sweet, buttery dessert that's a snap to make. It's excellent with tea.

There will be some leftover pastry dough after rolling out the crust and decorative leaves for the pie. The scraps make delicious snacks when pieced together and baked .

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

All of the components for this sophisticated dessert can be made the day before, then assembled quickly at the last minute. Sabayon (also called zabaglione) is a custard sauce that is whisked over hot water until it is light and foamy.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 25 min

Call them galettes sucrees, mandelbrot, or biscotti — I love these Moroccan cookies, made by Rosette Toledano of Netanya, who, as her daughter says, "puts her heart in her cooking."

Very nice for a fancy dinner party, these little tartlets have an almond crust, tangy lemon filling and strawberries on top.

Fill these with sorbet and/or sliced fresh fruit.

I first created this recipe at Routh Street Cafe in 1984. I've since had it on menus at five different restaurants in some form or another. It's also delicious when spread with a mixture of one part jalapeño jelly and three parts cream cheese whipped together. It's also best served warm.

Upside-down cakes made with fruit became popular in America only at the end of the nineteenth century, although they had a long history in Europe. The addition of pineapple, a New World food, most likely came about after 1903, the year a Hawaiian businessman named James Dole began marketing cans of the tropical fruit on the mainland. The modified dessert found particularly wide acceptance in the Midwest.

These chewy cookies are great with ice cream, espresso or a glass of Marsala.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Becoming a muffin master is easy. Flavor the basic muffin batter below by adding, for example:

• 1 chopped banana and 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toasted almonds, 3/4 cup dried cranberries, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup chopped drained canned pineapple and 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

In these easy scones, cumin seeds complement the sharp cheddar, and self-rising flour eliminates the need for baking powder or baking soda. If you prepare the dough the night before, you can just pop the scones into the oven when guests arrive.