Baking

Old-time taste in a hurry. Serve in deep bowls with ice cream or whipping cream.

This simple, delicious recipe mixes hot and cold, sweet and tart. It's from a high-school cooking class of thirty years ago. If there is a problem with eggs in your region, do not prepare this dessert.

Even if your crackers fail to puff, they'll still taste delicious. This recipe is an accompaniment for Scallop Chowder .

This silky-smooth dessert has only two grams of fat per serving. Just be sure to mix the ingredients according to the recipe instructions and not to overbake the custard, or it will lose its luxurious texture.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Baked in individual ring molds, these little desserts feature caramelized pears, streusel topping and sweetened cream.

Thanks to purchased frozen dough, this bread is a snap to make. Serve it with soups, salads and pastas.

A crunchy salad topper. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The following recipe was inspired by pissaladière, the Niçoise tart that features a similar topping.

Wisconsin cheddar stars in these flavorful and easy-to-make biscuits.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For best results, choose ripe yellow bananas that do not have brown speckles on their skins. This dessert is great served either slightly warm or at room temperature.

Chef Lionel Lévy uses black olives in this unusual clafoutis but still serves it as a dessert, along with a mâche salad drizzled with lemon-honey vinaigrette. We like that combination in place of an after-dinner cheese course, but we also think it makes an excellent (and surprising) first course.

Barm brack is a dark and fruity yeast-raised cake (barm means "yeast"; brack means "speckled"). Tea brack is the much more common baking powder version.

Executive chef Bridget Batson of Hawthorne Lane serves this dessert with homemade caramel sauce (you can use purchased if you like). If you're running short of time, omit the homemade ice cream and mix chopped peanut brittle into your favorite vanilla ice cream.