Mascarpone

Easy, sophisticated, and make-ahead friendly, this is just the cake for your Memorial Day gathering.

Here's a great recipe for a large group, as it can be made in quantity without much fuss. This berry tiramisù has become one of my favorite ways to show off the fresh berries of the season. If you wish, serve sliced strawberries or a compote of blueberries and raspberries on the side.

Shaving the side edge of the coconut pieces with a vegetable peeler is the best way to get strips of uniform width for garnishing the cake.

This is a soup that really benefits from homemade stock.

Though Treviso is recognized as the birthplace of tiramisù, the precise origins of this phenomenally popular dessert are shrouded in mystery. Imagine my excitement, then, when my friend Celeste Tonon, proprietor of Ristorante da Celeste, passed on to me the original procedures for making this luscious assemblage of ladyfingers (savoiardi) and Mascarpone cream, which Celeste learned from his mentor Speranza Garatti, the true mother of tiramisù, he claims. Her creation was made and served in individual portions, in a goblet or coppa, which I suspect gave rise to its name, which means "pick me up" in the Venetian dialect. One of the delights of making tiramisù is its versatility. This recipe makes a family-style dessert in a large dish, but you can easily compose single servings in dessert glasses, wine goblets, or even elegant teacups for a more impressive presentation, in the style of Signora Garatti's original "coppa imperiale." And while the conventional version of tiramisù calls for espresso-soaked savoiardi, I've found that other flavors can be incorporated into the dessert with great success. Here, the brightness of fresh lemons and limoncello liqueur lace the cream and soaking syrup to make for a tiramisù that is refreshing and irresistible.

Rillettes—a spread made from meat or fish that's traditionally cooked in fat—is a fitting way to kick off Christmas dinner. This lighter take still feels indulgent but comes together quickly.

Put on your winter whites for this elegant dessert featuring spiced, wine-poached pears, ladyfingers, and a white chocolate–mascarpone mousse.

This is a dessert to remember: chocolaty cookie crust, creamy mascarpone filling, and a glistening cranberry topping.

Mascarpone lightens up the filling of this classic pumpkin pie.

Over-the-top delicious.

A semifreddo is a frozen, molded mousse. Here, we combine it with a walnut-shortbread crust for a tart that celebrates the coming of spring fruit.

Great with orange or Romanesco cauliflower. Serve with a green salad.

This big-deal cake can be made a day ahead.

The spices in Indian chai tea flavor this creamy cheesecake.

Versatile store-bought polenta, turned cheesy with mascarpone and Parmigiano, is the simplest way we know to make cornmeal mush sexy.

A layer cake with a simple, modern look.