Cake

This satisfying, old-fashioned cake has a delicious ripple of brown sugar and walnuts running through it.

This dessert looks like a cobbler or pie, but it has the texture of a cake. Top it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

France's classic flourless chocolate cake is a perennial favorite on dessert lists. Ours has a trendy tropical garnish of mango and crystallized ginger and is served warm.

Old-fashioned upside-down cake was everywhere last year, modernized with a variety of fruit and spice combinations.

Carrot cakes have been a part of American baking for years, and they remain a favorite dessert in the heartland. This version has a hint of orange from the juice and peel and lots of the rich cream cheese frosting that everyone expects (and loves). Thin orange peel strips make a pretty garnish.

Bright ribbons of cranberry puree swirled through a creamy white cheesecake create a pretty contrast. Begin the cake a day ahead.

This simple white cake has a lemon curd filling and glaze. Big cakes like this are typical special-occasion desserts in the South.

This treat is topped with slices of bright oranges. The slices must be cooked very slowly, or the pulp will fall away. Begin preparing the cheesecake one day before you plan to serve it.

Ginger's peppery flavor is the perfect foil for white chocolate. Here, the ginger is used in several forms, each contributing its own nuance: Crystallized ginger provides texture and a warm bite to the filling, gingersnaps are used for the crust, and ground ginger enhances both crust and filling. Begin making this dessert a day ahead.

From Goldie's by the Bridge, North Tarrytown, New York.

Intense chocolate flavor accented with orange highlights this lovely layer cake.

This fluffy Lady Baltimore cake is layered with toasted pecans, dried figs, raisins, and frosted in a thick, luscious Swiss meringue.

From the White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island.