Baking

The easiest way to crack the coriander seeds is to put them in a heavy-duty plastic bag and pass over them with a rolling pin. For a great sandwich, split a biscuit and fill it with sliced ham or smoked salmon.

A buttery shortbread with bright lime flavor and a crunchy topping.

Raynaudes is not far from the garlic capital of the southwest, at Lautrec, south of Albi. Lautrec garlic is a special variety, protected by an appellation d'origine contrôlée, with pink skin. It keeps well and the cloves are a good even size.

Baguette-like loaves make this Irish classic easy to slice, providing perfectly sized portions.

An almond-spiked crust and twice the amount of filling you'd find in most Key lime pies are the secret here.

In this bourbon-spiked baby, homemade génoise (a kind of spongecake) subs for the traditional vanilla wafers, and brown sugar contributes a molasses-like sweetness. Glazed pecans add some crunch to the layers of silky pudding, ripe bananas, and tender cake.

Traditionally served as a coffee cake in El Salvador, "quesadilla" cake isn’t made with tortillas but has a pound-cake-like denseness. The unusual addition of parmesan cheese gives the sweet cake its rich depth.

This pound cake not only keeps well but also intensifies in flavor over the first day or so. It's delicious toasted or served with ice cream.

Somewhere between custard and cake lies the clafoutis, a simple French country dessert traditionally made with cherries. In this dark chocolate and raspberry version, your blender does most of the work.

This is probably my favorite dessert in the book. It looks and tastes like you struggled all day, yet from start to finish it takes less than 45 minutes to prepare (and 25 minutes of that is baking).

This is a taste of prewar Hungary, from the family repertoire of my dear friend, Judy Abrams, gifted teacher and poet. Based on ground walnuts and leavened only with eggs, this light, fudge-luscious cake has not a jot of butter or flour, making it Passover-perfect for meat or dairy meals. To conclude a meat meal, it is delectable plain or dusted fancifully with confectioners' sugar (a Passover recipe without cornstarch below) or glazed with a simple chocolate icing. For a dairy dish, cover the torte in swirls of lightly sweetened whipped cream or serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream on the side, accompanied by a steaming cup of strong cappuccino. Enjoy this beautifully moist and virtually no-fail torte not just on Passover, but year round. When well wrapped (without icing), it keeps very well, tasting even better a day or two after it is made. As with all nut pastries, be sure the walnuts you are using are very fresh-tasting.

Butter and cream make these crumbly, tart-spiked treasures rich, moist, and tender.

These crispy, lighter-than-air popovers make an elegant afternoon treat spread with butter and homemade jam and served with your favorite Assam or Lapsang Souchong blend. It's crucial to follow the recipe, making sure that all ingredients are at room temperature. While a popover pan may seem an extravagance, the depth of the cups creates a dramatic presentation. You can use deep ironstone custard cups, but avoid using muffin tins.

These individual vanilla soufflés include a surprise layer in the middle: almond cookies soaked in an orange liqueur syrup.
The soufflés are thickened with a cooked mixture of butter, flour, and milk called a panade, which adds body and richness. Egg yolks are whisked into the panade to form the soufflé base, and then beaten egg whites are folded in to create the soufflé batter.

There's no better partner for caramel than a nice, crisp apple. Here, that great combination gives added appeal to a simple winter crisp.

Potatoes help make the dough amazingly moist and tender.

Candy turtles—chocolatecovered caramel and pecan candy—meet graham-cracker-crusted ice cream pie.

This cashew, pine nut, and walnut tart is reminiscent of a pecan pie, but caramel sauce stands in for the cornsyrup filling. Serve with dollops of freshly whipped cream.

Bananas Foster—the New Orleans favorite—in bread-pudding form. The caramel sauce is especially rich and flavorful, thanks to a splash of dark rum.