Cake

This beautiful torte can be prepared three days before serving.

(Southern German and Alsatian Italian Plum Torte) This torte is served traditionally at the high holidays in early fall, when small blue Italian plums are in season. In southern Germany and Alsace the pie was made from zwetsche, a local variety of these plums. My aunt Lisl always used to make a murbeteig crust (a short-crust butter cookie dought) for this tart, and sliced each Italian plum into four crescent shapes. She lined the tart with breadcrumbs and then apricot preserves, which protected the dough during baking, leading to a crispy crust. She went light on the cinnamon, a spice she felt was overused in this country. (I agree with her.) My aunt's results, simple to prepare, were simply delicious.

This dense orange cake, drizzled with orange glaze, is always a favorite at the annual P-Patch harvest banquet.

The upside-down cake—so popular in the fifties and sixties—has been making a come-back lately. This version has a banana, walnut and maple topping, and tender cake.

Two layers of tender orange sponge cake are embellished with a rich orange and honey chocolate glaze. Any leftover chocolate glaze can be chilled, rolled into small rounds and kept refrigerated to serve as truffles with coffee or tea.

Dried cherries and apricots highlight this impressive version of a southern classic.

A real oldie, this recipe. I first learned to make this cheesecake when I was working for a now-defunct caterer to support my then-career—acting. My job was to make what seemed like hundreds of these cheesecakes, which we also sold retail. After I moved to Los Angeles, far from the catering kitchen (located in the basement of a rock 'n roll club!) I went for years without making another cheesecake. One day, while cleaning out files that had moved across the country many times, I came across my recipe written on the back of a paper towel. Cheesecake. It seemed so corny and so old-fashioned, and it is. It is also still so good.

We used waxed candy/muffin liners for these cupcakes, which kept them from sticking and helped them develop attractive domed tops. (Spraying your muffin tins will keep them from sticking but tends to result in flat-topped cupcakes.) The liners are available by mail order from Sweet Celebrations, (800) 328-6722. They are not always well labeled; ask for item #601524 (red) or #502332 (white with gold).

Bisquick got its start in the early thirties when Carl Smith, a salesman for General Mills, took a late-night train ride. He went to the dining car in hopes of finding something to eat, and was pleasantly surprised to be served freshly made biscuits. When he asked about them, the chef confessed that he kept a pre-mixed batch of ingredients for the dough in the freezer for late orders. Smith reported back to General Mills, suggesting that they market such a mix, and they did. But it’s not just for biscuits; Bisquick can be used to make pancakes and waffles, and this luscious coffee cake, too.

Capri, Italy This decadent flourless chocolate and almond cake originated on the island of Capri, where it's called torta Caprese.

Schwarzwälder Torte Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling meringues)

"My grandmother was a reporter in New York before she got married and moved to Montana to start a new life on a ranch," writes Joyce Litz of Albuquerque, New Mexico. "At the time she didn't know how to cook, and learning wasn't easy — the place didn't even have running water. Still, she appreciated good food, so she persevered and became a great cook. Later my grandmother taught me ranch-style cooking, a lot of which involved getting simple but flavorful, hearty meals ready in a hurry." Boost the payoff with a scoop of ice cream.

You can start baking this beautiful cake two days ahead: Make the cake layers and the raspberry curd a day before assembling; then the completed cake can be refrigerated a day before serving.