Ice Cream

Carl Taplin of Gott's Island, Maine, writes: "Every summer, I look forward to homemade vanilla ice cream. Do you have a favorite recipe for it?"

This lovely dessert combines the flavors of cherries jubilee in an easier rendition of the classic recipe.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Try the compote on pound cake, too.

In Thailand, mangoes often appear on the table for dessert — served both on their own and incorporated into a sweetened sticky rice. If you can't get your hands on really good mangoes, you'll find that canned mango purée delivers the best flavor for this ice cream. However, many canned brands taste like peaches, so we recommend Ratna brand, which uses Alphonso mangoes, an Indian cultivar renowned for its bright orange flesh and very intense flavor. Ka-Me brand is a runner-up — the recipe will work fine, but the color and flavor will not be as intense. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 17 3/4 hr (includes chilling and freezing)

Crème fraîche gives this exceptional ice cream irresistible tang and a silky texture.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

At fenix restaurant in The Argyle hotel in Los Angeles, chef Ken Frank layers the ice cream with spice cake, then tops it with the rum-spiked bananas.

Candida Sportiello writes: "As owner and chef of Il Giardino restaurant, on the tiny island of Ventotene off the coast of Naples, I've been cooking professionally for twenty-five years — but I've been cooking for pleasure for a good fifty years. As is the Italian way, most of my favorite recipes were handed down from my mother and grandmother, so they date from the early 1900s." This rich dessert is called a semifreddo ("half frozen") in Italian.

This gelato, named after Bernardo Buontalenti, a sixteenth-century Florentine who may have been one of the world's original ice-cream makers, is made with any number of flavorings. The "secret" ingredient is usually a liqueur (such as Di Saronno Amaretto). A delicious alternative would be a pinch of mixed spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Make these with fresh rhubarb when it is in season, from late winter through midsummer.

Here's a great idea for a summer dessert. To make preparation even easier, use your favorite cherry or pecan ice cream.

Any favorite ice cream can be used in these treats. Both the walnut cookies and the "sandwiches" themselves can be prepared several days in advance.

Brandysnaps are popular in Scotland, and lemon curd is a British fixture. Here is a double treat of lemon curd: Some goes into the ice cream; the rest is offered as a sauce.