A chocolaty twist on the classic dessert.

Serves 12

You will need 1 tablespoon of melted butter for brushing the pan. For neat, professional-looking pieces of cake, clean the knife thoroughly between slices (see photo).

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: To prevent our chocolate swirl from getting grainy, we combined it with some cream. This kept the swirl smooth and alleviated any potential grittiness. Dipping our knife in water between slices made sure every piece was as clean and pretty as the one before it.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/11/secrets-to-marble-cheesecake/

This recipe can compete with any classic version, pound for pound.

Makes one 8-inch loaf

This recipe will also make four miniature pound cakes; use four 2-cup mini loaf pans and reduce the baking time to 40 minutes.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: After some extensive testing, we found the answers to a fussy batter: hot, melted (rather than softened) butter and the food processor. The fast-moving blade of the processor plus the hot butter emulsifies the liquid ingredients quickly before they have a chance to curdle.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/09/secrets-to-perfect-pound-cake/

SERVES 4 TO 6

If you can’t find ciabatta, a similar crusty, rustic loaf of bread can be substituted. A quarter cup of Egg Beaters may be substituted for the egg yolks. Since anchovy fillets vary in size, more than 6 fillets may be necessary to yield 1 tablespoon of minced anchovies. The easiest way to turn garlic cloves into a paste is to grate them on a rasp-style grater.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
A combination of extra-virgin olive oil and canola oil gave our Caesar Salad dressing a neutral base. We used a rasp-style grater to turn garlic into pulp, then steeped it in lemon juice. To get all of our recipe’s ingredients to emulsify, we beat the yolks, anchovies, and Worcestershire sauce into the lemon juice and garlic, then slowly whisked in the oil and half of the cheese. For our Caesar salad’s croutons, we used ciabatta. Sprinkling the bread cubes with a little water and salt preserved their moistness and ensured they were perfectly tender at the center and browned around the edges after we toasted them.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/cooking-science/2013/01/we-prove-it-steeping-garlic-in-acid-tempers-its-bite/

SERVES 4

We like this sauce with strip or rib-eye steaks, but it will work with any type of pan-seared steak.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our Pan-Seared Steaks with Herb Sauce recipe’s Easy Demi-Glace uses mushrooms, ground beef, and tomato paste for meatiness, and powdered gelatin for glossiness. A combination of chives, parsley, and tarragon gives our herb sauce grassiness and spice, and a dash of white wine vinegar brightens up the dish.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/cooking-science/2013/01/does-searing-meat-really-seal-in-its-juices/

Rich and buttery, with the optimal crumbly, evenly browned texture.

Makes 16 wedges

Do not substitute granulated sugar for the confectioners’ sugar in the dough or the cookies will be tough; granulated sugar, however, is the best choice for sprinkling on the shortbread just before it goes into the oven. Although baking the shortbread on a double layer of parchment isn’t necessary, we found it helps absorb some of the grease the dough gives off during baking and cooling.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Our approachable shortbread recipe relies on two ingredients—confectioners’ sugar and lots of butter—to give us the ultimate version of the sandy, sweet, buttery cookie. The small grains of the confectioners’ sugar melt easily into the dough, resulting in a finer texture than those recipes made with granulated sugar.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/12/secrets-to-shortbread-cookies/

Serves 18 to 20

We prefer an 18 by 13-inch nonstick baking sheet for this pie. If using a conventional baking sheet, coat it lightly with cooking spray. You will need 4 ounces of animal crackers.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Unlike a traditional apple pie, a slab pie is prepared in a baking sheet and can feed up to 20 people. Its filling is thickened to ensure neat slicing, and it’s topped with a sugary glaze. But rolling out the dough to cover both the bottom and top of this mammoth pie proved problematic, as was making the filling thick enough to hold up to slicing. To avoid these challenges, we used store-bought crusts for our Apple Slab Pie recipe, which proved sturdier than homemade. Gluing two crusts together with water and then rolling the dough into a large rectangle allowed us to get the crust into the large pan without a tear. To improve the bland flavor of the pie crust, we rolled it in crushed animal crackers, which contributed a sweet and buttery flavor to the crust of our Apple Slab Pie. Flour helped thicken our apple filling, but the result was too pasty. Cornstarch made the filling slimy, but tapioca thickened it well without making it starchy.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2013/01/secrets-to-apple-slab-pie/

Serves 6

We prefer the flavor of white sandwich bread here, but you can use whole-wheat sandwich bread if desired. Avoid overmixing the chickpea mixture in step 3 or the cakes will have a mealy texture. Serve with a salad.

A cooling sauce tempers the warm spices and subtle heat in these flavorful, filling chickpea cakes.

Our tasters’ favorite was McCormick Gourmet Collection Garam Masala for its ability to assimilate into dishes and also round out their acidic and sweet notes. Widely available in supermarkets, McCormick won praise from tasters for adding a mellow, well-balanced aroma to most dishes.

PER SERVING
Cal 240; Fat 12g; Sat Fat 2.5g; Chol 75mg; Carb 23g; Protein 12g; Fiber 5g; Sodium 570mg

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipes/chickpea-cakes-with-cucumber-yogurt-sauce/

Serves 8

The filling may look wet when you remove the quiche from the oven, but the water will disappear as the quiche cools.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
By using the thicker texture (but lower fat and calories) of buttermilk to replace the cream traditionally used in quiche, we were able to significantly reduce the fat and calories. A press-in-the-pan crust that used bacon fat and a little Parmesan cheese added great flavor.

Traditional quiche Lorraine contains 460 calories, 42 grams of fat, and 20 grams of saturated fat. Our Reduced-Fat Quiche Lorraine contains 290 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 5 grams of saturated fat.

Serves 4

You will need 4 sturdy, uncolored toothpicks for this recipe. We prefer the taste and texture of homemade bread crumbs (simply tear 1 slice of white sandwich bread into pieces, grind in a food processor, and toast in a dry skillet until golden), but store-bought bread crumbs are acceptable here.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For the stuffing in our Greek-Style Grilled Stuffed Chicken Breasts, herb purees made with garlic and olive oil packed the most flavor and came together quickly, but oozed out of the chicken when cooked. We found that binding the herb puree with creamy and strong-flavored cheeses like fontina, pepper Jack, and feta worked better, especially when combined with just a few tablespoons of bread crumbs (or crushed corn chips).

To stuff, we sliced a pocket into the thickest part of the breast, spooned the filling into the pocket, and sealed the breast back up with a toothpick. Because of the added bulk from the stuffing, these chicken breasts needed extra time on the grill, so gently grilling the chicken with indirect heat worked better. A soak in oil, lemon juice, and garlic gave the chicken added protection against drying out on the grill, plus an extra boost of flavor to complement the stuffing.

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

Mellow greens, such as leaf lettuces, as well as spinach, pair nicely with this vinaigrette. Olives, shredded carrots, and golden raisins are good garnish options. Use about 2 tablespoons of this dressing per quart of greens, serving two.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We built our salad dressing recipes around ingredients not regularly used in dressings, including apples, raisins, carrot juice, and ruby port. We balanced these ingredients with fats such as cream, buttermilk, mayonnaise, nut oils, and yogurt and punctuated the dressings with condiments such as chili paste and orange marmalade. To give our dressing recipes more depth and intensity of flavor, we turned to the stovetop to reduce wine and juices and toast spices and sesame seeds.