Electric Mixer

This luscious cake has two chocolate mousse fillings and a rich dark-chocolate topping.

A purchased cake mix (spiked with Marsala for added zip) makes this elegant dessert a snap to prepare. For extra ease, you can assemble it the day before serving.

Offer this as a side dish with grilled lamb or as a light supper for two with a salad.

As Italian restaurants continue to grow in popularity, so does tiramisù. We updated this dessert made of triple cream cheese from Italy (mascarpone), ladyfingers, espresso and cocoa powder by adding nuts and tangerine juice and serving it frozen.

Don't try beating potatoes in a food processor: the fast spinning motion will develop the gluten in the potatoes and turn them into a gray, sticky mass. You can use an electric beater if your potatoes are mealy — russet or Idahos.

This crisp and creamy dessert pairs pistachio praline meringues with lemon buttercream. The unique praline is also used to garnish the sides of the cake. Assemble it a day before serving to allow the buttercream to set and the flavors to come out.

These sweets are enjoyed with coffee or tea at Bewley's on Grafton Street, a Dublin institution that has long been part of the city's folklore and culture.

Tinted white chocolate icing is used to make the festive plaid pattern that decorates these tasty sugar cookies.

There's enough espresso cream to top 6 cakes for a quick, elegant dessert. The leftover 6 are great to keep for snacks.

If I had to choose among all my cakes, this one would win first place because it is delicious by itself yet versatile enough to accommodate a wide range of buttercreams. The cake combines the soft texture of white cake with the buttery flavor of yellow cake. Using all the yolks instead of whole eggs produces a rich yellow color, fine texture and delicious flavor.

A southern soufflé that is a delicious addition to the Thanksgiving meal. It's much lighter than corn bread, yet with just as much rich, buttery flavor.

Marillenfleck This is one of the most popular of all coffee-house treats, and almost every baker has the recipe in his or her head. (The proportions are 200 grams each of flour, sugar and butter, but these don't translate as easily in the American volume method of measuring.) This version comes from my friend Gerda Hofer, who related it by heart. Don't be put off by the use of canned fruit, which is consistently flavorful and sometimes preferable to the bland fresh fruit we get too often these days; but you can use fresh fruit if you are sure it is at its peak of flavor. If using fresh apricots, sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons additional sugar before baking.

Start this recipe six hours to one day ahead.

The "tart shells" are crisp meringues; they're filled with a soft, mint-infused lemon cream. The meringue shells can be baked one day before serving the dessert.

Begin at least a day before you plan to serve the vacherins. (Don't make them on a humid day; moisture prevents meringues from drying properly and staying crisp.) Use a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or a 3 1/2-inch round can to trace the bases.

This makes more pastry dough than you'll need for 24 tartlets. We chose not to reduce the recipe because pastry can be a bit tricky—the slightest change can affect the outcome (halving eggs tends to increase the chance of error). If you want to make more tartlet shells—which could be filled with fruit, ice cream, or pudding for another party—they can be frozen for 1 month. The leftover dough can also be used to make cookies.