Strawberry

If you can't find matzo cake meal, grind batches of regular matzo meal in a clean electric coffee/spice grinder until it has the consistency of flour.

This quick little pan roast really captures the spirit of Italian food culture although I've never seen anything quite like it in Italy. The balsamic-flavored zabaglione is a nod to the classic Modenese osteria dessert of raw strawberries with balsamic vinegar and black pepper.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

If you bake the shortbread cookies ahead, these lovely individual tarts, topped with fresh berries and glazed with jelly, can be ready in minutes. An empty eight-ounce can of crushed pineapple makes a convenient cutter for the cookies. Serve some lightly whipped cream on the side, if you like.

For the prettiest parfaits, look for the reddest rhubarb possible at the supermarket or farmers market.

Here's another old-fashioned dessert that's on the come back trail.

This luscious pound cake is not as rich as the traditional version. Note that the cake batter will come only half way up the sides of the pan.

Bake this at least one day ahead.

Perhaps the ultimate springtime dessert — classic strawberry shortcakes are spruced up with white chocolate mousse.

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 4 hr A wonderful welcome to spring, this butter- and oil-free torte gains its richness from pecans. If you want to keep the cake pareve, or if you intend to serve it several times, leave it unfrosted.

(Panna Cotta con Salsa di Fragole al Vin Santo) As tiramisù became the Italian restaurant dessert of the 1980s, so did panna cotta take over in the 1990s. The original recipe for "cooked cream" comes from Piedmont, but Tuscans have appropriated it. Their version of the eggless custard is often topped with honey and pine nuts, since the Tuscan city of Pisa is Europe's largest producer of pinoli. This recipe incorporates those ingredients into the custard, then tops it off with a delicious strawberry sauce laced with Vin Santo, the cherished dessert wine of the region. Begin making this one day ahead.

The Beranbaum family fell in love with this pie at a diner called Big Boy in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. We were addicted to this pie, consisting of a crisp crust filled only with fresh strawberries held together by a fruit juice glaze. We would drive fifty miles to Big Boy every weekend just to have it. When I tried to duplicate it in my kitchen, I discovered that a fruit glaze also works well with fresh raspberries or a mixture of raspberries and currants. The glaze preserves the freshness of the fruit for two days.

Spooned atop fresh goat cheese on crostini, these piquant preserves make a great hors d'oeuvre. They are also delicious with scones or muffins at teatime. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Making one large shortcake is impressive and lot of fun — especially when chocolate is added to the basic combination.

Here we take two of the best treats from days gone by and combine them in one dessert. The cookies are also superb on their own.