Baking

Terrific with cappuccino or ice-cold milk.

This needs to chill overnight, so plan accordingly.

Bake some of these for the holidays, too.

We always had this coffeecake for birthday breakfasts and other special occasions. Even when we lived far away from Maine, the smell brought us back to Bar Harbor.

Here's a variation on the classic raspberry-jam-filled Viennese specialty, Linzertorte. Show off these cookies in a box that's lined with lace or a linen napkin, and trimmed with wire ribbon.

These splendidly rich tarts are my version of French onion galettes. Buttery, flaky pastry crusts are filled with deeply caramelized onions that are generously laced with sage. The steps to prepare these tarts may seem familiar, but if you take extra care with them, you'll be amazed by the results. Handle the pastry with precision so that it bakes tender, flaky, and shatteringly crisp; spend the time to slowly and thoroughly caramelize the onions until they melt into a golden marmalade; and give the tarts their final baking as close to serving time as possible. You'll notice the onions are caramelized in a deep saucepan instead of a wide skillet. It makes them easier to stir without flying out of the pan and gives them a chance to soften and stew in their own liquid before it boils away. Once the liquid evaporates, the onions will concentrate and brown, and the balsamic vinegar works to balance the sweetness of the onions and deepen their color. For the best flavor, the whole process should take at least half an hour. Be sure to use regular yellow onions, not Walla Walla, Vidalia, or other sweeter summer onions—they have too much water and do not caramelize well. Serve the tarts as an hors d'oeuvre at any elegant occasion, or as an accompaniment to a seasonal salad for a light lunch or supper.

To make this bread easier to prepare, shape the dough into two loaves after the second rising instead of forming braided loaves, as is traditional. Place each loaf in a buttered 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and continue as per recipe.

To get a neater slice, chill the bars first.

The honey makes these delicate cookies light and crisp. Offer them with Vin Santo (an Italian dessert wine made from dried Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes), cream Sherry, Port or Sauternes.

A new look for Australia's favorite dessert -- this recipe from Martin Webb, chef at Georges in Melbourne can be prepared a day or two ahead, leaving only the brief final assembly to be done before serving.

Pear and Dried Cherry Frangipane Cake Recipe

In this pie, dried cherries, cherry preserves and fragrant spices accent crisp green apples.

This cake is a southern tradition for festive occasions. It can be completely assembled and chilled one day before serving.

We like to serve these with href=">Lemon Curd for dipping.

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have for breakfast at home. For small children it is a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee, the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's years. It is often accompanied by some store-bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's family. She lives on her father's farm outside Venice with her husband and small boy, and for her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte and takes another piece to school to eat for merenda, recess. I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia makes when there is no more summer fruit on the farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds a banana she buys in town. The proportions of one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia says they always do, but nothing much can go wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken, engagingly fresh taste.

Bake this at least one day ahead.