Cookbooks

A cocoa shell forms a crisp foundation for two silky-smooth fillings: an even layer of creamy, tangy mascarpone cheese and gorgeous rosettes of espresso-flavored chocolate ganache. The flavors are strong, yet not particularly sweet; if you prefer, you can mix one to two tablespoons of sugar into the mascarpone filling. To produce perfect ganache every time, make sure the mixture is at room temperature before you start to beat it with an electric mixer. Any warmer or colder, and the mixture may seize or become grainy.

Move rice pudding out of the bowl and into crisp tartlet shells; top each with juicy, ruby red blood-orange segments. The filling is flavored with vanilla bean and blood-orange juice. The tarts can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled for an afternoon tea or as a delicious final course after dinner. Arrange the blood-orange sections in a floral pattern, then drizzle the tarts with extra juice.

Take all the layers of classic cheesecake—crumbly graham-cracker crust, rich, creamy filling, and fresh fruit topping—and combine them in a modern tart. Sour cream ups the tanginess factor of the filling; almonds round out the cookie crust; and sugar sweetens the plums, which are cooked into a jam. Save some of the cooking syrup for tossing with the blueberries before scattering them over the top.

Brown butter, vanilla-bean seeds, and freshly grated ginger are used here in good measure to flavor individual pear-custard-filled pies. The pleated pastry shells are formed in a standard muffin tin, allowing for easy removal after baking.

Rhubarb shines in this scrumptious dessert. For the filling, the rhubarb is simply tossed with sugar, salt, and a bit of cornstarch. The topping can be used on any single-crust fruit pie, or on a crumble itself, naturally. Make a few extra batches and store them in the freezer for convenience; they’ll keep up to six months in airtight containers. This pie is best enjoyed the day after it’s baked; try it alone or with a scoop of vanilla (or strawberry) ice cream.

Fresh currants are one of summer’s overlooked treasures. They are just as adaptable to baking as other more common berries, such as blueberries and raspberries. In fact, naturally tart currants are often paired with those sweeter berries for a perfect balance of flavors. Here, red currants and raspberries are tossed together and baked in a double-crust pie liberally sprinkled with sanding sugar. It’s exactly the type of dessert you want to make—and eat—after a visit to a farmers’ market or roadside fruit stand in high summer.

Although countless theories exist to explain the name “chess pie,” not one is considered definitive. Whatever its origin, the pantry pie relies primarily on sugar, eggs, and butter for its deceptively complex filling. Here, the traditional dessert is reinterpreted as a more modern-looking tart. An easy crumb crust made from store-bought vanilla wafers replaces the standard rolled-out pie dough, and is baked in a fluted tart ring instead of a pie plate. In testing the recipe, our editors found that Nilla wafers worked better than other brands. The filling is thickened with fine cornmeal; during baking, it forms a thin crust on top, which, when sliced, reveals a creamy golden custard. This version just might become a classic in its own right.

Here, handfuls of glossy gooseberries—which are not berries at all, but relatives of tomatillos—settle into custard tarts that are equally appealing for their ease of preparation. The fruit’s flavor can vary—some gooseberries are bracing and tangy; others are sweet, reminiscent of apricots, plums, and grapes. Look for gooseberries in farmers’ markets and specialty grocers in late June and early July. Or grow them yourself, as Martha does.

This recipe comes from Julia Dunlinson, mother of Martha Stewart Living design director James Dunlinson, who hails from England. Despite the name, plate cakes are actually pies, baked on dinner plates. You will need an eight- to nine-inch ovenproof plate, such as one made from stoneware or ironstone. This recipe is for a raspberry-and-apple-filled pie, but any summer berries can be used; the amount of sugar will vary with the tartness. Whipped cream is divine with tart fruits like gooseberries or black currants (see variations below).

In dessert making, sweet potatoes are best known as the filling for a rich, dense, single-crust Southern pie. Yet they become surprisingly light when baked in a soufflé. Here, layers of paper-thin phyllo dough overlap to form a crisp pie shell, which stands tall as the filling cools and sinks (this is one soufflé that’s supposed to fall).

Any berry will work in Old Bachelor’s Jam; here, it’s made with blackberries, raspberries, and kirsch. Some say the liqueur-infused jam was named for its capacity to warm single gentlemen on winter nights. Jam will keep for 1 month, stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Cornmeal and blackberries appear together in many baked goods and desserts, as their late-summer flavors complement each other beautifully. This recipe calls for you to prepare your own jam, for which you will be rewarded with a few extra jars. Otherwise, seek out a top-quality store-bought jam to use in its place; spike it with two tablespoons kirsch.

This pie has all the makings of a favorite summer dish: ease, seasonal flavor, and laid-back appeal. Peaches and cream are a justly celebrated pair, even more so when the “cream” is crème fraîche: Its slight tartness beautifully complements the sweet fruit. As the pie bakes, the crème fraîche sets like a custard, the peaches become tender, and the crumb topping turns golden and perfectly crisp.

For some people, apple pie just isn’t the same without a slice of cheddar cheese melted on top or served on the side. This recipe does that custom one better by mixing the cheese right into the crust, so you can enjoy the combination of flavors in every bite. The method for making the crust is a simple variation on the standard pâte brisée recipe—shredded cheese is added to the dry ingredients with the butter to form the dough.

The press-in crust for this tart, flavored with ground hazelnuts and cinnamon, doubles as a crumble topping that browns atop the fruit-and-custard filling as it bakes. It’s another highly adaptable, versatile recipe that works well with any type of stone fruit or berry.

Strawberries are America’s favorite summer fruit, hands down. Here, a graham-cracker crust holds a luscious strawberry filling topped with swells of sweetened whipped cream. To make the filling sliceable, some of the berries are briefly cooked with a small amount of cornstarch (and cranberry juice, to enhance the color); the rest are stirred in off heat. The result is a pie with a fresh, true strawberry flavor—and all the crumbly, creamy qualities of the best icebox desserts.

It’s not uncommon to encounter tarts like this one all over Italy, where it is known as crostata di miele e pignoli. The filling combines two ingredients typical to Italian baking—honey and pine nuts—with those universal to dessert making (eggs, cream, sugar, and butter). If you can find a creamy, spicy, floral variety such as Tasmanian leatherwood honey, use one-quarter cup in the filling, and balance it with one-third cup of pale, mellow honey, such as acacia. Otherwise, use all acacia, as suggested below. The crust is pasta frolla, an Italian short pastry with a crunchy, cookielike texture. Be careful not to overcook the tart; the filling should still jiggle in the center when you remove it from the oven, and it will firm as it cools.

The filling for this Italian-style tart begins with a flavorful reduction of port wine and brown sugar; half a fresh Thai chile is added for a subtle—but entirely optional—bit of heat. Start with the best fruit you can find. Small, oval Italian prune plums are firmer and sweeter than other plums; plus, since they are a freestone fruit, their pits are not attached to the flesh and are therefore easily removed.

References to quince pie date as far back as the 1400s; the dessert later garnered a mention in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Quinces look and taste like a cross between an apple and a pear; in fact, they are usually paired with one or the other, as in this recipe. Here, peeled, halved quinces are first poached in dessert wine with the reserved peels (for their signature rosy color) and a split vanilla bean (for flavor). Baking the pie in a cast-iron skillet helps the crust turn a deep golden brown and gives the pie a truly home-style appeal. You may substitute four additional Granny Smith apples for the poached quinces; soak the raisins in one-third cup of warm Calvados in place of the poaching liquid.