Cream Cheese

Mashed banana gives this dessert extra moistness.

Root vegetables were often used to lend sweetness to eighteenth-century cakes and puddings. The carrot cake layers in this recipe are sandwiched with marmalade and iced with a cream cheese frosting.

A perfect accompaniment for cocktails. Most of the prep work here can be done ahead.

Make the cake a day ahead so that it has plenty of time to chill.

The hors d¸oeuvres may be made 1-1/2 hours in advance and kept covered loosely and chilled.

Delicious on crackers or as a filling for small tea sandwiches.

To bake these puffs all at once, you will need 6 mini-muffin pans, each containing twelve 1 3/4- by 1-inch cups. However, you could also make them in batches using fewer pans.

This dip is especially attractive served in a hollowed-out head of Castelfranco radicchio, a white radicchio with loose, pink-streaked leaves that readily open to form a bowl.

A super-creamy dessert that will have cheesecake lovers begging for seconds.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

"I'm a music teacher, and baking is the extracurricular activity I like most," says Sue Reddin Ellison of Edgewater, Colorado. "This cheesecake is a family favorite as well as an impressive do-ahead dessert for entertaining. I make a similar version with pecans instead of hazelnuts; either way, everyone loves the smooth filling and the nutty crust." Begin preparing this a day before serving.