Mascarpone

No cooking required for this dessert that needs to be assembled at least 24 hours—and up to three days—in advance.

Dolce all'Amaretto Though this is nothing like the Treviso-born tiramisù popularized across the world, we've christened it with the same name because it's just as much a "pick-me-up." The hazelnut cookies soak up the sweet vermouth and are layered with the creamy, whipped mascarpone. Since no cooking is necessary, it is perfect for summer entertaining.

"My husband and I recently visited New York with some friends," says Helene M. Strassman of Gaithersburg, Maryland. "One evening, we had dinner at Babbo. The whole meal was fantastic, but the best part was the maple and mascarpone cheesecake. I asked our waiter for the recipe, but he politely refused. Maybe Bon Appétit could persuade pastry chef Gina DePalma to part with it." Be careful when boiling down the maple syrup for this recipe. It gets very hot, as a caramel syrup does. Use a heavy, large, deep saucepan because the syrup bubbles up high and vigorously when boiled. Let the syrup settle before measuring it.

Italy's sweet and buttery-smooth mascarpone cheese adds flavor and creaminess. Begin this cheesecake at least one day ahead.

This dessert had its heyday on American menus about 15 years ago, and it turns up a little less frequently these days. The popularity of tiramisu never wavered in Rome, however, where it continues to be served at dinner parties and restaurants.

The coconut tuiles (cookies) that go into this layered dessert (left) are delicate, so the recipe provides for quite a few extras to allow for breakage. Tuiles are also terrific with ice cream. The syrup gets an interesting (and delicious) kick from nontraditional dessert ingredients like black peppercorns and a jalapeño chili.

In a fresh interpretation of the classic Italian dessert, we've replaced the traditional chocolate and coffee with berries and fruit liqueur. For a garnish, we like the looks of fresh berries, but we used frozen berries in the filling to keep it moist. They're also more uniform in flavor--and less expensive.

This dessert has a baked chocolate-cookie crust and a chilled light-and-fluffy filling of pureed fresh raspberries folded into whipped mascarpone cheese.

From the Williamsburg Inn's Regency Room.

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.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.