Baking

This delicacy only tastes decadent—the cake is so low in fat, you can afford to splurge by adding coconut and a luxurious sauce.

You can bake this cake as two layers, fill it with your favorite fruit preserves (try black cherry or raspberry), and frost it with the Mocha Buttercream Icing. Or bake it in a tube pan and top it with any icing or just a light sifting of cocoa or confectioners' sugar (like snow on mountaintops!).

Dried cherries add a tart and festive flavor.

The creamy, butterscotchy goat's-milk caramel called cajeta makes this flan delicate and earthy all at once. Whipped cream balances the sweetness.

A decadent candylike dessert that tastes like a Snickers bar, all grown up.

The ricotta needs to drain overnight for this recipe, so begin one day ahead. Grade B maple syrup has a deeper flavor than Grade A; it's available at Trader Joe's and specialty foods stores, and from vermontcountrystore.com.

No, it's not a mistake. This cake really doesn't contain any eggs. The oil in the batter makes the cake moist; the rest of the ingredients provide enough structure to give the cake a great crumb.

These dessert soufflés are light and satisfying. The vermouth really brings the sauce together.

Finally, PB&J for dessert. In this whimsical sweet, a peanut butter shortbread cookie is topped with a layer of blackberry jam. Some frozen shortbread dough is grated over the jam before baking for a nice finishing touch.

Classic spoon bread is a savory pudding served as a side dish. In this dessert version, the slightly sweetened batter is baked in individual ramekins, then topped with strawberry preserves.

A fun take on the crowdpleasing cream cheese brownies.

Start making the dough one day in advance; it needs to be refrigerated overnight.

Editor's note: The recipe below is from Donna Hay's book,Instant Entertaining.

Danish blue cheese, which is more economical than Roquefort, adds a rich tang to these cheese puffs.

Soufflés are usually associated with extravagant meals, but they're cheaper to make than you may think. A soufflé is made primarily of eggs, a very budget-friendly ingredient.

The zesty lemon-cream filling for the cookies can be made one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate the filling; bring it to room temperature before using.