Mascarpone

Sprinkling this creamy custard with powdered sugar and then placing the dessert under the broiler gives it a delicate crust. Serve with crisp gingersnap cookies.

Creamy mascarpone cheese and pureed roasted pumpkin are blended with just a delicious touch of cinnamon to make an interesting sauce for the fettuccine starter. Uncork a Dolcetto.

Celery root gives the potatoes an intriguing new taste; mascarpone cheese provides the ultimate in creaminess.

Mascarpone gives a tangy contrast to the sweetness of pears that have been poached in vanilla-scented white wine.

Ultra-rich mascarpone in the batter produces an extraordinarily creamy cheesecake. The cheesecake must be chilled at least six hours before serving.

"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.

These parfaits (or budini — Italian for "puddings") of ultra-creamy mascarpone layered with Marsala-soaked strawberries perfectly illustrate the way of dessert in Italy: utterly simple, not too sweet, and delicious.

This lovely dessert must be chilled at least two hours (or up to one day) before serving.

An easy substitute for the mascarpone, a soft Italian cream cheese, is 12 ounces cream cheese blended with six tablespoons whipping cream and 1/4 cup sour cream.

Pears are eaten widely in this part of the country, and Campari-based aperitivi begin many meals. Here the herb-based drink shows up after supper, adding its festive color and distinctive flavor to an easy-to-make pear dessert topped with a sauce incorporating Italy's famous mascarpone cheese. The pears are even better when accompanied by glasses of the Italian dessert wine Malvasia delle Lipari.

Dulce de leche is a soft milk-caramel confection that is yet again one of the year's top flavors. If you don't have time to make the sauce, look for it with the ice cream toppings at the market. Note that the baked cheesecake must be chilled overnight before serving.

Coeur à la Crème is an old French concoction that is both earthy and elegant, rustic and dressy — appropriate for any occasion. It's a wonderful complement to whatever summer berries are in season. This dessert is served at The Inn to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. It can be made in less than five minutes and never fails to knock em' out — even more so than an elaborate cake that took two days to execute. One large (16-ounce) or four individual (4-ounce) perforated heart-shaped ceramic molds lined with cheesecloth will be needed to create this dessert. The perforated molds allow the excess liquid, or whey, to drip through the cheesecloth, leaving the delicious "heart" of the cream. Coeur à la crème molds are usually available at kitchen supply stores.

Made with heavy cream and gelatin instead of eggs, this no-bake cheesecake has the silky texture of panna cotta. Begin preparing it at least one day ahead.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

You'll need a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip to create the decorative rosettes. Begin making this cake two days before you plan to serve it.