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.

You might need to buy:
  • Filling:
  • frozen strawberries
  • lemon juice
  • water
  • unflavored gelatin
  • sugar
  • salt
  • Topping:
  • sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • heavy cream

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).

You might need to buy:
  • table salt
  • sugar
  • cold water

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.

You might need to buy:
  • Caramel:
  • granulated sugar
  • water
  • corn syrup
  • lemon juice
  • Custard:
  • whole milk
  • light cream
  • large eggs
  • large egg yolks
  • granulated sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • table salt

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.

You might need to buy:
  • CRUST
  • grated lemon zest
  • CURD
  • large egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • sugar
  • salt
  • lemon juice
  • unsalted butter
  • heavy cream
  • FILLING
  • lemon juice from 2 lemons
  • sugar
  • salt
Belongs to 226-2tone Pumpkin Pie 

Makes one 9-inch pie

If candied yams are unavailable, regular canned yams can be substituted. The best way to judge doneness is with an instant-read thermometer. The center 2 inches of the pie should look firm but jiggle slightly. The pie finishes cooking with residual heat; to ensure that the filling sets, cool it at room temperature and not in the refrigerator. To ensure accurate cooking times and a crisp crust, the filling should be added to the prebaked crust when both the crust and filling are warm. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream. Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor; do not substitute.

You might need to buy:
  • CRUST:
  • table salt
  • sugar
  • cold water
  • FILLING:
  • heavy cream
  • whole milk
  • large eggs plus 2 large yolks
  • vanilla extract
  • sugar
  • maple syrup
  • grated fresh ginger
  • ground cinnamon
  • ground nutmeg
  • table salt

Makes 3½ cups

For the best flavor, we prefer bittersweet chocolate here. Whipping the chilled filling will stiffen it up so it is easier to spread over the cake, but be careful not to overwhip it or it will turn grainy.

You might need to buy:
  • heavy cream
  • vanilla extract
  • salt
Belongs to 226-2tone Fruit Filling 

Makes 3½ cups

We like to use brightly colored dried fruit, such as dried apricots, peaches, cherries, and cranberries. It’s important to match the flavor of the jam to that of the dried fruit; if you can’t find matching jam, use a complementary flavor and color. Add a few drops of food coloring, if desired, to brighten the filling’s color.

You might need to buy:
  • orange juice
  • water
  • unflavored gelatin

Makes 3½ cups

This filling works great with almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or hazelnuts. Don’t let this filling get too soft before using (it should be much stiffer than the buttercream you use for frosting) or it will begin to leak out of the layers as you assemble the cake.

You might need to buy:
  • large egg yolks
  • light corn syrup
  • vanilla extract
  • almond extract
  • salt

Makes one 6-inch, 9-inch, and 12-inch cake layer

You might need to buy:
  • vanilla extract
  • baking powder
  • salt
Belongs to 226-2tone Buttercream 

Makes 6 cups

(1 1/2 cups makes enough for 12 cupcakes)

You might need to buy:
  • water
  • vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt