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.

This lovely finale is from Dwayne Fortier of La Reserve in Houston. Begin preparing it well before serving, as the mousse needs to freeze for at least six hours.

It's important to use an imported chocolate, such as Lindt or Callebaut, for this recipe. The high cocoa-butter content of the imported type produces chocolate eggs that are more flexible and easier to remove from the molds. You can make all the eggs out of white chocolate, all out of bitter-sweet chocolate or a few from each.

Pack the candy in decorative holiday tins (antique ones, if you can find them).

"During parents' weekend at Bowdoin College here in Brunswick, a group of us went to Rachel's Wood Grill, a restaurant in nearby Portland," says Jennifer Buechner of Brunswick, Maine. "Dinner was great, but the tiramisù we had for dessert was out of this world. I'd love to serve it for a graduation dinner." A perfect do-ahead dessert for a party.