Electric Mixer

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Icebox Desserts by Lauren Chattman. Strategically placed wafer cookies look like large polka dots when this cake is unmolded. Then, when you slice it, you see the stripes. Make sure the cake is fully frozen before slicing for the cleanest look.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Icebox Desserts by Lauren Chattman. Lavender honey is especially fragrant and flavorful, but any other favorite honey is fine in this wholesome-tasting pie. I think fresh peaches sweetened with a little honey and cinnamon are the perfect accompaniment, but plums, berries, or any other fresh fruit of your choice may be substituted. Use organic, whole-milk yogurt if at all possible. The Stonyfield Farm brand is widely available at supermarkets and natural foods stores.

Îles flottantes, puffy clouds of softly poached meringue floating on a vanilla custard sauce, may look ethereal on the plate, but this is really a homey French farmhouse dessert. It was probably devised to make ingenious use of fresh farm eggs and milk, plus a little sugar.

These little scallop-shaped cakes are a classic teatime treat in France.

Bev Heinecke of San Anselmo, California, writes: "Many of our favorite family recipes come from my mother-in-law, Hannah, who was a wonderful cook. When my sons were younger I made her chocolate macaroons and pancakes all the time. I don't make them quite as often as I used to, but they're still a hit with my husband."

Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert's book the Le Bernardin Cookbook. To read more about Ripert, click here. Eric: We used to have a captain who would sell this cake to our female clientele by saying it was like the heart of a man: hard on the outside and meltingly soft on the inside.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again—the grill was the original toaster. And there's nothing like a quick sizzle on the grill to transform ordinary pound cake into a singular, even extraordinary dessert. Especially when paired with a pineapple "salsa" and tequila-scented whipped cream.

The trick to stuffed soup buns is to fill them with a solid form of soup. The tender wrappers are filled with an aspic made from pork and chicken bones, which melts into a savory broth during steaming.

TREND: Deconstructed desserts (breaking down a dish into its essential components, then serving the parts as a whole) WHO: Gale Gand, pastry chef at Tru in Chicago and host of Sweet Dreams on the Food Network WHAT: The elements of Black Forest Cake — chocolate cake and pudding, cherries, whipped cream, and kirsch — are reimagined as sensuous, separate bites and sips.

TREND: Roasted fruit WHO: Diane Rossen Worthington, author of The Taste of the Season: Inspired Recipes for Fall and Winter WHAT: Cooks have known for ages that roasting completely transforms meat and vegetables, taking them to new depths of flavor. Fruit is now getting the treatment, and this winter comfort dessert comes from a cookbook author who really knows about cold-weather cooking.

TREND: Exotically flavored chocolate WHO: Katrina Markoff, CEO of Vosges Haut-Chocolat in Chicago WHAT: Markoff, one of the first to infuse chocolate with unexpected ingredients, named this Asian-tinged creation after one of her most popular truffles. Its Japanese flavors — ginger, wasabi, and black sesame seeds — are the building blocks for an inspired cake.

Profiteroles I've been eating chocolate éclairs all my life, which is why pâte à choux–based desserts take me back to my childhood. Cream and chocolate are ideal accompaniments, whether in a cream-filled éclair or, as in these profiteroles, in the form of ice cream and warm chocolate sauce. This recipe makes enough batter for about four dozen profiteroles (it is not one that can be cut down easily); pipe the extra onto a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze. Bake frozen profiteroles directly from the freezer, extending the cooking time at 350°F as necessary. Eat them the day they are baked.

Use a variety of holiday cookie cutters to make these classic French shortbreads.

Chunks of fresh cranberries and dark, milk, and white chocolate chips dress up oatmeal cookies for the holidays.

This delicious bar cookie comes courtesy of the author's mother and is a nice follow-up to the fondue. The shortbread layer is topped with a very moist apricot-walnut cake layer.

The dough needs to chill overnight before rolling out, so plan accordingly.

These soft ginger cookies are dipped in dark chocolate for sophisticated fun.