Baking

This super-easy pie from the Harvest Market is loaded with maple flavor.

"Aunt Gert always made the best strudel," writes Leslie Berman of Skokie, Illinois. "I've adapted her recipe over time, and I get rave reviews when I make this version with dried cherries and chocolate." Serve with hot coffee or tea for an excellent afternoon snack.

(Schiacciata) Originally cooked in the ashes of the hearth, schiacciata, which means "squashed," is usually about an inch thick. Variations of the bread are made throughout Italy; Tuscans simply brush it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt. Sometimes they add herbs or make a sweet version with grapes and sugar. Remember that bread doughs can have different consistencies depending on the climate: This one should be soft, but not too sticky. Add more flour if it feels too wet.

"I love cooking with the new recipes every month when Bon Appétit arrives," writes Gabriella Hughes of Windham, Maine. "One dish I'd really like to make is the gingerbread with lemon icing from Standard Baking Co. in Portland, Maine. Could you request it?" Serve these tender gingerbread muffins with whipped cream for teatime or dessert.

Cool the apples thoroughly before filling the crust (warm apples could soften the lattice).

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling)

These soufflés may be made several hours in advance and kept in a refrigerator until just before baking. If refrigerated, bake an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Alternatively, the soufflés may rest at room temperature for up to 1/2 hour before baking with no effect on cooking time.

"My husband and I recently went to Chez Mimi in nearby Santa Monica," writes Randi Fine of Sherman Oaks, California. "We shared a luscious dessert called caramel chomeur, a cake baked atop caramel sauce and served with vanilla ice cream. I've searched my cookbooks, but I can't find a recipe close to it." Chef Mimi Hebert tells us that this dessert from the Great Depression era was called chomeur (from the French word for "unemployed") because it was inexpensive to make.

"A friend gave me this great cookie recipe from the Netherlands," writes Marie Rizzio of Traverse City, Michigan. "The dough can be made ahead and frozen."

Just a few short years ago, crème brûlée was found only in four-star French retaurants. Now almost everybody makes one using a favorite and often exotic flavoring. This ice-cold custard with the crackling sugar top is the most popular dessert at my restaurant. So much so that I sometimes think it is the only dessert I should make. Perhaps it is the ease of preparation that makes me think so!

Whether you use store-bought applesauce or make your own, this lovely, moist cake will make it hard to stop after one piece. It's very important to beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick, as this, along with the baking powder, is what gets the cake to rise nicely. This cake makes a great gift — it can be made ahead, cooled, glazed, then frozen.

This recipe originally accompanied epi:recipeLink="101888"Plum Pine-Nut Tart</epi:recipeLink>.

This recipe was created to prepare <epi:recipeLink ="14262">Chocolate Walnut Biscotti with Chocolate Custard Swirls</epi:recipeLink>.

"The strawberry cream cake recipe from "A Swedish Midsummer Party" in your June 1997 issue reminded me of a dessert my grandmother, who was of Swedish descent, used to make," says Jill M. Kuhn of Sherman Oaks, California. An electric carving knife makes slicing this dessert a breeze.