Candy Thermometer

Lemon curd separates the layers of this fine-crumbed, very-special-occasion cake. Get started at least one day ahead: The frosting base and lemon curd must chill overnight before using. For the frosting, high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina) works best.

Alternating layers of strawberry and white chocolate mousses form stripes in this creamy frozen dessert.

A salad topping.

Cranberries make a traditional breakfast spread festive and seasonal.

For more information about making petits fours, see <epi:recipelink id="">Perfect Petits Fours</epi:recipelink>.

Bill Borger created this rich dessert and its decadent sauce.

Cooking rhubarb to the right consistency is trickier than you might think — it changes from barely tender to falling apart in a matter of seconds. Watch it carefully while it's poaching. In this recipe you’ll need to boil the rhubarb syrup to the "soft-ball stage." To determine this, just drop a small amount of syrup into a cup of cold water. If you can form it into a sticky lump that flattens when pressed, it has reached the right consistency. This technique is especially useful with small amounts of syrup, from which it can be difficult to obtain an accurate temperature reading with a thermometer.

The twist here is that the praline is made with oats rather than nuts.

The recipe below was based on the apricot soufflés served by Sally Darr at her former New York City restaurant, La Tulipe. This recipe calls for five large egg whites. When separating your eggs, serve the yolks for the accompanying crème anglaise.

Tocqueville presents this elegant soufflé-like dessert with mint ice cream and mint syrup.

In Italy this classic peasant soup is known as aquacotta, or "cooked water."

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 25 min It seems like people have been making fun of the railroad for as long as we can remember, but no one jokes about the French toast that used to be served on the Santa Fe line. The train might have run late, but when indulging in a breakfast like this, who cared?

This recipe is an accompaniment for Meringue Napoleons with Lime Ice Cream and Blackberries .