Cookbooks

Using only cake flour produces a cupcake that has a pure-white crumb.

This torte is best eaten the day it is baked, when the crust is still crisp. You will need a nine-inch bottomless tart ring; a springform pan will also work. Instead of making the jam, you can use 1 1/4 cups store-bought raspberry jam.

This rustic cake has the flavor and texture of an old-fashioned Eastern European dessert. Use either a nut grinder or food processor to grind pecans.

Once chilled, this cake can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to three days. In fact, it actually tastes best after being chilled overnight. Let it stand at room temperature for twenty minutes before serving.

This is about the easiest cheesecake you can make—it takes only fifteen minutes to assemble and one hour to bake. Although rich, this cake is lighter than traditional cheesecakes because it calls for ricotta instead of cream cheese.

Sifting together the flour and sugar four times is essential to achieve the light, airy texture of this cake. You should also be very gentle when folding and transferring the batter so that the egg whites do not deflate. If your tube pan doesn’t have legs, invert it over the neck of a wine, or similarly shaped, bottle to cool.

In traditional upside-down cake recipes, the fruit is first caramelized in a skillet. In our simplified version, the butter and sugar are creamed and spread into the cake pan; then the fruit is layered over the mixture and topped with cake batter.

We like to serve this cake warm, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you wish, you can make it a day in advance and keep it at room temperature loosely covered with foil. When ready to serve, warm the cake on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 300°F oven for fifteen to twenty minutes.

The combination of fresh fruit and whipped cream used to fill this cake, typically found in British desserts, is known as “fool.” You can substitute raspberries or boysenberries for the blackberries in this recipe.

This chocolate sponge cake should be baked the same day you plan to assemble the roulade, because it will be easier to fill and shape.

These traditional French cakes, usually baked in rectangular tartlet pans, are named for their resemblance to bankers’ bars of gold.

These lovely full-flavored cakes make a festive holiday dessert—but you can enjoy them any time of the year. The cakes can be baked a day in advance and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

These moist almond cakes are glazed with a thin layer of white chocolate and then topped with crisp White Chocolate Cutouts. Feel free to use your imagination when it comes to shaping and decorating—customize your cakes with a favorite cookie cutter, or adjust the color of the glaze to suit your color scheme.

Meringues are baked on very low heat so they stay perfectly white. It’s a good idea to check them periodically to make sure they don’t take on color. To test if the meringues are done, try lifting one off the parchment—if it comes away easily, it is ready; if not, continue baking, checking every five minutes. Moisture will cause meringues to soften, so avoid making them on particularly humid days.

The dark, crunchy crust of a cannelé gives way to a delicate, pudding-like center. Cannelés are baked in specially designed three-inch-deep molds made of copper, tin, ceramic, or silicone. If you do not have eighteen molds, bake the cakes in batches.

In place of the almond flour, you can substitute two ounces (about 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons) blanched almonds, finely ground in a food processor. Feel free to vary the flavoring by replacing part or all of the lemon zest with orange zest, or omitting it altogether and adding one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Feel free to substitute 2 1/2 pounds of your favorite dried fruits for the ones called for here. If you choose larger fruits, such as pears or apples, be sure to cut them into a 1/4-inch dice before using. Cakes can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to six months.

This dough yields enough to make any of the recipes in this chapter that call for it. The shape of your tart—round, square, or rectangular—should determine how you form the dough in the final step.

For the flakiest crust, make sure all ingredients (including the flour) are cold before you begin.

A staff favorite, this pie was inspired by the large selection of apples available throughout the autumn months at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. Using many varieties produces the best flavor.