Even opinionated Bostonians approve.

Serves 8 to 10

Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites or they will not combine well with the batter. Try to use a 9-inch sponge cake for this recipe; if using an 8-inch cake, the layer of pastry cream will be on the thick side. Before serving, be sure to refrigerate the finished cake until the glaze has set (this will take at least 2 hours), but do not refrigerate the cake for more than 24 hours or it will turn soggy.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We needed a tender, flavorful base for our Boston Cream Pie, so we opted for a hot-milk sponge cake. Unlike other sponge cakes, this kind includes some melted butter and warm milk, which makes for a cake with a tender, moist crumb.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/09/the-secret-to-boston-cream-pie/

This French pastry is impressively elegant and deceivingly simple.

Makes 6 Napoleons

You will need two large rimmed baking sheets of the same size to make this recipe. If the dough becomes too warm and sticky to work with, cover it with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator until firm. You can substitute a 1-pound box of store-bought frozen puff pastry for the homemade puff pastry if desired. If using store-bought puff pastry, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, then unwrap both pieces of dough, stack one on top of the other, and roll into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle between two sheets of parchment paper, proceeding with the recipe as directed.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: In order to prevent the puff pastry from puffing up during baking, we weighted it down with a rimmed baking sheet and an ovenproof dish. For the Napoleons’ traditional decorative swirl, we used the tip of a small knife to drag the vanilla glaze over the chocolate glaze.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/09/secrets-to-french-napoleons/

Serves 12

For this recipe, we recommend using light or mild molasses so it won’t overpower the subtle bourbon flavor.

MAKES 30 COOKIES

The hazelnuts will continue to toast while the biscotti bake, so toast the nuts only until they are just fragrant.

SERVES 8 TO 10

Chill the assembled cake for at least 3 hours to make it easy to cut and serve.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

We like these cookies dipped in melted chocolate (heat 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 cup heavy cream until smooth; stir in rum reserved from plumping cherries).

Serves 8

In step 1, it is imperative that the cooked strawberry mixture measures 2 cups; any more and the filling will be loose. If your fresh berries aren’t fully ripe, you may want to add extra sugar to taste in step 2. Use your favorite pie dough or use our recipe. Chill the heavy cream in step 4 to help it whip more quickly.

For one 9-inch Single-Crust Pie

Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie doughs and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup).

Serves 8

Though you can make one large creme caramel, we find that custards baked in individual ramekins cook faster, are more evenly textured, and unmold more easily. You can vary the amount of sugar in the custard to suit your taste. Most tasters preferred the full two-thirds cup, but you can reduce that amount to as little as one-half cup to create a greater contrast between the custard and the sweetness of the caramel. Cook the caramel in a pan with a light-colored interior, since a dark surface makes it difficult to judge the color of the syrup. Caramel can leave a real mess in a pan, but it is easy to clean. Simply boil lots of water in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes to loosen the hardened caramel. Espresso beans ground in a coffee grinder will be too fine and impart too strong a coffee flavor to the custard. Instead, crush the beans lightly with the bottom of a heavy saucepan.

Serves 12 to 16
Let the dissolved gelatin mixture cool down for a few minutes, or the gelatin will seize when combined with the filling. We tested our cheesecake with several store brands of lemon sandwich cookies; all worked well.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
In a baked cheesecake, tart lemon juice is mellowed by the heat of the oven. For our Lemon Icebox Cheesecake, we needed to dial back the lemon juice to compensate. Lemon curd, a rich, tangy spread made from eggs, butter, cream, sugar, and lemon juice, added crisp lemon flavor without the undesirable “chew" of zest or the processed flavor of lemon extract. Using lemon cookies instead of graham crackers for the crust created an additional layer of lemon flavor.