Cake Flour

Unlike most scones, these have an unusually light, cakelike texture.

The trick to a successful pastry dough is to handle it as little as possible and to keep it cool. For 2 pies, you will need to make 2 batches of pastry dough (do not double the recipe).

The key to this crisp, flaky pastry is to handle the dough as little as possible and to keep it cool.

The coffee foam attains its consistency with the help of a charged siphon. If you don't own one, don't worry—the coffee mixture can also be served, chilled but unfoamed, as a sauce. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

Dried cherries from Michigan add their bright sweetness to winter baking.

This dessert can be made one day ahead and stored in the freezer, making it ideal for entertaining. You can create the decorative meringue swirls and peaks with a rubber spatula, table knife, or spoon, but an offset spatula works best.

The milk chocolate frosting provides a subtle and delicious contrast to the dark chocolate cake. Either imported or domestic milk chocolate works well.

Tortelli di Zucca con Mandorle Don't be fooled by the broth — this is not a soup recipe. Only a very small amount of broth is poured over the tortelli before serving. To grate the cheese, use the ragged-edged holes of a box grater (not the teardrop-shaped holes we recommend in our Recipe Tips). That way, you'll have the correct texture for the filling. Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 6 1/4 hr (includes making stock)

A slice of this spiced cake with buttermilk-cinnamon glaze feels like a warm hug, and the best part is, it takes less than an hour to make.

Calling all project bakers: Here’s a recipe for building a beautiful dome cake, just like the ones you’ve seen all over the internet. 

If there’s only one cake you ever learn to make, let it be this: a classic with soft, colorful vanilla cake layers and a rich chocolate-sour cream frosting.

Extremely plush, fine-crumbed, and dare-we-say moist, this is like the best wedding cake—and you mix it entirely by hand.

Angel food cake is so simple, but the specific ingredients and equipment matter.

The nostalgic yellow cake flavor in cupcake form. If using a darker muffin tin, keep an eye on the edges—those pans encourage more browning, and you might end up removing these from the oven a few minutes earlier. Get the recipe for vanilla cream cheese frosting here. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

Cake flour gives these classic white cupcakes a very fine, tender crumb, and the high ratio of egg whites to yolks ensures a snowy hue. Get the recipe for vanilla cream cheese frosting here.

Non-Dutch-process cocoa powder is sometimes labeled “natural,” and since all of the chocolate flavor depends on what kind you use, quality matters for these devil's food cupcakes. Get the recipe for vanilla cream cheese frosting here.