Candy Thermometer

Gianduia, a ground hazelnut and chocolate confection from the Piedmont, inspired this spectacular terrine.

Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

The parfaits can be made a day ahead.

(Three Generations of Squash) Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 days

Melissa Harden of Omaha, Nebraska, writes: "To celebrate our recent engagement, my fiancé and I spent a long weekend at the Mondrian in Los Angeles. Our stay was perfect, as was dinner at the hotel's Asia de Cuba restaurant, where I couldn't get enough of the rich Cuban Opera cake." A traditional Opera cake is made from very thin layers of cake, coffee buttercream, and coffee mousse — all covered with chocolate glaze. This version, which is perfect for a special occasion, is taller than your average Opera cake, owing to its thicker layers.

With a texture somewhere between ice cream and sorbet, this dessert has a slightly tangy flavor all its own.

This recipe was created to accompany Midwestern Butterscotch Fudge Marshmallow Sundaes. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe was created to accompany Lemon Rhubarb Cake Roll. .

Gianduia is a classic Italian combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. If you can't find foil candy cups, buy twice as many paper ones and use two (one inside the other) per candy. (Doubling the paper cups makes a sturdier form.) Arrange the confections in holiday tins, or place on decorative trays, wrap in cellophane and tie with gold ribbons.

This classic chocolate cake gets its unlikely moniker from its color--the same as the deep, rich soil that lines Old Man River. It's usually made in a single-layer rectangular baking pan, but we dressed ours up and fashioned it into a layer cake.

This recipe was created to accompany Praline Pecan Tarts .

White chocolate can be finicky to work with. We tried making this "leather" with different brands of white chocolate but achieved the most consistently good results with Callebaut and Baker's Premium White. You will need to repeat this recipe 4 times to make enough leather for 8 Tepee Birthday Cakes-do not try to save time by making one big batch.