Mousse

This luscious cake has two chocolate mousse fillings and a rich dark-chocolate topping.

Start this recipe six hours to one day ahead.

Crumbled amaretti add great crunch and nice almond flavor to this layered dessert.

When my Scottish stepmother married my father, in 1963, she had a lot to learn about cooking. Once she made my father what she thought was a charming American variety of onion for dinner; they turned out to be bulbs of garlic. She's come a long way since then, providing our family with increasingly exotic taste memories influenced by years of living in Mexico and Brazil. The secret to a good fool, whatever the fruit, is to taste as you go. Some need more sugar; any fruit with little acidity benefits from a smidgen of lemon or lime juice; and more delicate flavors, like mango, require less cream. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr (includes chilling)

This light and airy mousse uses fat-free half and half with unexpectedly smooth results. You can spoon sliced, sugared strawberries over the top to add an extra-special touch of spring.

Also great layered with some sweetened mixed berries or other fruit and presented in parfait glasses.

At the Rob Roy Room of the Banff Springs Hotel at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, this delicious mousse comes in an elegant cookie basket.

A very pretty, fresh-tasting dessert that can be assembled a day ahead.

Susanna Foo, who was born in Mongolia, learned to cook classic Chinese cuisine from relatives. After arriving in the United States, she took a course in French cooking at the Culinary Institute of America. So when she and her husband, E-Hsin Foo, opened Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine in 1987, her menu naturally featured Chinese dishes interpreted with French techniques. Foo emphasizes fresh, locally available ingredients and delicious sauces, and the results of her approach have brought a slew of local and national awards.

This dessert is a dense and rich chocolate mousse-like cake chilled in a mold.