Cake

Pear and Dried Cherry Frangipane Cake Recipe

This cake is a southern tradition for festive occasions. It can be completely assembled and chilled one day before serving.

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have for breakfast at home. For small children it is a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee, the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's years. It is often accompanied by some store-bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's family. She lives on her father's farm outside Venice with her husband and small boy, and for her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte and takes another piece to school to eat for merenda, recess. I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia makes when there is no more summer fruit on the farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds a banana she buys in town. The proportions of one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia says they always do, but nothing much can go wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken, engagingly fresh taste.

(Apricot Almond Cake) Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Many of the cake's components can be made a head, and once the tiers are filled and decorated, they can be refrigerated up to two days or frozen up to two weeks before the wedding. The rich, lemony cake has a dense texture like that of a pound cake. To prevent discoloration of the filling, use a saucepan with a nonreactive interior, such as enamel or stainless steel. (The lemon juice acid will adversely affect the filling if it's made in an unlined iron or aluminum saucepan.)

If you can't find fresh Key limes in your area, you can substitute bottled Key lime juice. We've tried several different kinds in our test kitchen, and the only one we like so far is Manhattan brand*.

In winter Kay Simon sandwiches this cake with wine jelly, in summer substituting a simple purée of fresh raspberries. Wine for Cooking and to Drink Merlot is important in the Yakima Valley, and perfect for this cake.

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

Start this at least one day before serving.

A standard at health food restaurants across the country, carrot cake was ubiquitous in the seventies. Grated carrots made it a nutritious choice, or so the thinking went. This ultra-moist version is updated with a maple icing.

This traditional spongecake is rippled with cinnamon-sprinkled apples.

A French flourless nut cake, topped with poached pears, is lovely for Hanukkah.

A favorite recipe of Duncan Hines from Still Cookin' After All These Years.

Buttermilk and walnuts make the difference in this delectable layer cake.

If you are using salted pistachios, omit the 1/4 teaspoon salt in the ingredient list.

Giving a nod to tropical fruit, this irresistible treat combines rich ice cream with a nut crust and thick fudge sauce.