Fruit Dessert

Among favorite desserts of the decade were waffles, served with ice cream and syrup, as well as this easy cake's ancestor. The treat reached its maximum popularity with the increasing availability of canned pineapple and the marketing efforts of the Dole Company. Today's widely available fresh fruit-spiked with ginger, macadamia nuts and orange zest-gives a great result.

Greece On many Greek islands, figs are usually poached in a locally produced dessert wine. The combination of red wine, citrus, and spices used here yields equally sweet results. The honey-yogurt cream is similar to an Italian panna cotta.

Using purchased mixed dried-fruit bits for the filling makes this comforting dessert a snap to prepare.

Yellow or white peaches work equally well.

Dried cherries from Michigan add their bright sweetness to winter baking.

Minus the ice cream, this delicate pudding makes a wonderfully indulgent breakfast.

Apples are traditional, but peaches are divine.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A simple and festive way to serve fresh bananas for dessert. Pipe extra meringue onto foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 250°F. until dry for some low-fat cookies.

Before grilling the pineapple, be sure to preheat your grill rack and then clean it with a metal brush to remove any bits of previously grilled food, which can give an off flavor to the pineapple. This recipe makes great use of the Börner V-slicer*. Other adjustable-blade slicers also work well, but if you don't have one, you can use a sharp 10-inch chef's knife. The smooth-sided tart in our photo was made in a springform pan, but since the crust is very delicate, it's much easier and less likely to break when made in a round tart pan with a removable bottom as called for in the recipe below. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr