Serves 8 to 10

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Strange as it may seem, the vast majority of existing strawberry cake recipes turn to strawberry Jell-O for flavor. Hoping to avoid this artificial solution, we preformed test after test to figure out the best way to season our cake with actual strawberries. Any strawberry solids wreaked havoc on the tender cake, but strained and reduced strawberry juices kept our cake light and packed a strawberry punch. Not to be left behind, the reserved strawberry solids made for the perfect studded addition to the frosting.

Makes 1 quart
Super-chilling part of the sorbet base before transferring it to the ice cream machine will keep ice crystals to a minimum. If using a canister-style ice cream machine, be sure to freeze the empty canister for at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours before churning. For self-refrigerating machines, prechill the canister by running the machine for five to 10 minutes before pouring in the sorbet mixture. Allow the sorbet to sit at room temperature for five minutes to soften before serving. Fresh or frozen berries may be used. If using frozen berries, thaw them before proceeding. Make certain that you use Sure-Jell engineered for low- or no-sugar recipes (packaged in a pink box) and not regular Sure-Jell (in a yellow box).

Serves 8 to 10
The microwaved apples should be pliable but not completely soft when cooked. To test for doneness, take one apple slice and try to bend it. If it snaps in half, it’s too firm; microwave it for an additional 30 seconds and test again. If Calvados is unavailable, 1 tablespoon of apple brandy or white rum can be substituted.

Makes 11/2 cups, enough to frost 12 cupcakes

Soften the cream cheese at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Do not soften in the microwave or the texture of the frosting will be runny.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We developed our Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting recipe to go with our Carrot Cupcakes recipe. The heavy cream cheese frosting we love with our carrot cake overpowered the delicate texture of our new, lighter cupcakes. We found that first combining the butter and confectioners’ sugar and then adding the cream cheese one piece at a time gave us more control of the frosting’s texture, ultimately producing a pleasing fluffy version.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
These Sugared Lemon Slices produce a lovely candied lemon garnish for cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, and drinks. (They’re also delicious on their own.) It is important to cut them to the recommended thickness: thin enough to be translucent, but not so thin as to fall apart during simmering.

Makes one cake

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To translate our favorite summer sipper into a playful pink cake, we started with our basic chiffon cake recipe. Adding lemon juice, lemon zest, and a few drops of red food coloring to the batter replicates the flavor and color of pink lemonade, and a tangy cream cheese frosting—also bolstered with citrus—tops it off. For a final touch, a ring of sugared lemon slices—pink, of course—circles the cake.

SERVES 12 TO 14

To save time, let the eggs, buttermilk, and butter come up to temperature while the browned butter and spice mixture cools. To prevent unsightly air holes in the finished cake, be sure to follow the instructions for removing air bubbles in the batter (see illustrations below). Leftover cake can be stored, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cake should be brought to room temperature before serving.

Makes 16 brownies

These brownies are moist and packed with chocolate flavor, but they won’t crumble when you cut them. In fact, they hold up well enough to pack in a child’s lunchbox or bring to a picnic or bake sale. They’re pretty good at home, too, with a tall glass of milk. Use either creamy or chunky peanut butter, but avoid old-fashioned brands with oil on top. To gild the lily, cover these brownies with chocolate frosting (see optional recipe below).

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
This peanut butter swirl brownie recipe is a novel—and delicious—new variation on the plain chocolate brownie. Adding baking powder to this peanut butter swirl brownie recipe lent them slightly cakey, very sturdy texture that didn’t crumble when sliced; unsweetened chocolate added the richest chocolate flavor. Swirl peanut butter into the batter just before sliding the pan into the oven. Finally, ensuring that a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan of brownies came out with some moist batter or crumbs attached indicated the brownies were baked perfectly; around the edges the toothpick should come out clean. We found that topping the peanut butter swirl brownies with chocolate frosting added an extra layer of decadence for special occasions.

SERVES 12 TO 16

While this recipe takes several hours from start to finish, the actual preparation is simple, and baking and cooling proceed practically unattended. The cheesecake can be made up to a day in advance; leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, although the crust will become soggy.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Pairing citrus with cream cheese for our best lemon cheesecake recipe required finding the perfect balance of juice, zest, and sugar so that the citrus flavor would be neither too fleeting nor too harsh. Lemon curd on top of the cake gave our lemon cheesecake recipe special pizzazz.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/cooking-science/2013/02/we-prove-it-the-best-way-to-store-lemons/

Serves 10 to 12

Baking the pastry on two stacked baking sheets prevents it from burning on the bottom. Be sure to cool the pastries completely before glazing. If the glaze is too thick to spread smoothly, whisk in an additional tablespoon of milk.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We found that we could streamline this two-dough pastry by making more pie dough than we needed and then turning half of it into the crust and cooking the other half and adding eggs to turn it into choux paste for the “puff” top. The pâte à choux needed lengthy baking to prevent collapse, but by the time it was finished cooking, the pie crust bottom was overbrowned. Stacking two sheet pans slowed browning on the bottom, buying time for the top to finish cooking without burning the bottom. To make this pastry live up to its name, we added an extra egg and some water to help it puff higher. Slitting the sides of the pastry to let the steam out after baking dried out the inside and prevented it from imploding.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2013/02/secrets-to-danish-puff-pastry/