Stand Mixer

This moist, simple cake has a tender golden crumb and a subtle citrus flavor. I love a thin slice—okay, a thick slice—in the middle of the afternoon with coffee, but it's also well matched with summer berries and stone fruits. My husband enjoys it for breakfast. Accompany the cake and fruit with a dollop of the Yogurt Cream, if you like. In winter, pair the cake with a citrus compote or poached quince. This recipe is adapted from one given to me by Bill Corbett, executive pastry chef for the Absinthe Group in San Francisco, who uses yogurt frequently in his desserts. The cake stays moist for a week if stored in a lidded plastic cake container.

Also excellent on popcorn or in place of brown sugar in barbecue dry rub recipes.

Brownies can go two ways—fudgy or cakey—and these rich, decadent squares decidedly fall into the fudgy category.

A classic combination in an adorable little package. The cupcakes, which are reminiscent of banana bread, would be a great breakfast treat (with or without the frosting).

We like this textured, molasses-tinged loaf with a mix of seeds, but you can simplify by using a larger amount of just a couple of them.

Our mom makes this cake every year for Dad's birthday. The tradition is that she always makes a mistake and that the cake is never perfect. Though she always messes up, it always tastes good and this is a great recipe. You'll need a 9-inch angel food cake pan for this cake.

Baking pro Alice Medrich's gluten-free oat sponge cake, from her book Flavor Flours, makes a wonderful base for apples caramelized with brown sugar and cinnamon, along with a dollop of pure whipped cream.

Inspired by Alice Medrich's gluten-free corn chiffon cake recipe in her book Flavor Flours, the Epicurious Test Kitchen created this new take on shortcake. The naturally sweet flavor of corn really shines through in the delicate and spongy cake, which forms a wonderful base for blackberries and cream.

Yes, the dough is buttery, but replacing the brown sugar with pureed dates is a nutritional game-changer.

For perfectly browned tops, cook one pan at a time on the topmost oven rack.

This not-too-sweet loaf would also make amazing French toast.

Baked in cast-iron skillets, these loaves are dense, soft, and subtly sweet.

These sausage-studded cheese puffs are a Cajun take on a classic French appetizer.

Baking a batch of these classic Austrian sandwich cookies is a project—but totally worth it.

This is what I'd call the quintessential American pizza dough, inspired by New York-style pizza: medium thin, satisfyingly chewy, and the ideal companion to mozzarella, tomato sauce, and the pizza toppings Americans love best, from pepperoni and sausage to olives, mushrooms, and other vegetables. It's the dough I teach first to new students, and the one I recommend experimenting with because it's so versatile and user-friendly.

One of my favorite post-shift hangouts was Painkiller NYC, where my buddy Richie Boccato made a mean Dark and Stormy at his tiki cocktail haven. Sadly, the bar is long gone; I raise my glass to Richie and the best Dark and Stormy anywhere. It is a favorite cocktail of mine, so I thought the combination of rum, lime, and lots of ginger would be really refreshing in a frozen dessert. This is a great summertime treat-light and airy but with a nice boozy kick. What really makes this is the fresh ginger juice. Grate peeled fresh ginger into a small fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Once you have a fair amount of pulp, squeeze the juice out of it. You'll need a fairly large piece of fresh ginger, about 12 ounces (335 grams) to get enough juice.

When you go to Europe, virtually every bakery has at least ten types of dried meringues. American bakeries don't have them, and I don't know why. Crispy, chewy, crunchy meringues are satisfying on their own and can also be used in countless ways: You can sandwich jams or icings between them, top them with whipped cream and fruit, or crumble them over finished desserts to add great texture. This is a simple French meringue with confectioners' sugar folded in to fortify it and make the cookies even lighter and crunchier. You can form these into any shape you want using a piping bag, spoon, or spatula.

Plain sugar cookies, no matter how well they are made, are a bit boring to me. You may think I have gone off the rails by adding curry powder to cookies, but along with the ground and candied ginger, the combo really wakes up a classic American cookie. Give these a shot!