Cake Flour

Cakes resembling Yule logs are very popular at Christmastime in Canada and the United States. Though you'll see them in bakery windows elaborately decorated with marzipan woodland animals and meringue mushrooms, we went with a simpler but more elegant look. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr (includes making buttercream and brittle)

A few tips: At several points in the recipe, components need to be chilled for a while before you can proceed, so plan accordingly. In our test kitchen, Philadelphia-brand cream cheese gave consistently good results. Note, too, that the cake can be completely assembled, then frozen for up to one week.

Crunchy hazelnut praline adds a touch of sophistication to this rich cheesecake. Begin preparing the cake a day before serving.

Cake-making equipment and ingredients can be found at cake and candy supply stores. Be sure to use cake flour, not all purpose flour, and begin preparing the cake two days ahead. Buy one 1-ounce bottle of gel base color in the shade called Bakers Rose to tint both the frosting and the fondant a pale pink. Plastic drinking straws are used to support the middle and top tiers. Buy the straight—not bendable—kind.

To prevent the caramelized peaches from sticking to the parchment paper, unmold these flavorful little cakes while they're still warm. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

If time is short, omit the streusel topping.

To many people living in the middle of the country, celebration cakes must be chocolate cakes — especially German chocolate cakes. This one embellishes the tradition, using unsweetened chocolate instead of sweet chocolate, a luscious caramel-coconut filling between the layers and lots of creamy chocolate frosting. (By the way, German chocolate cakes have nothing to do with the immigrants who settled in the heartland; the name actually comes from the fact that the cakes were first made with Baker's brand German's sweet baking chocolate.)

For years, pumpkins were planted in central-state cornfields to help the corn's roots cool in the summer. This pretty roll cake is an impressive alternative to classic pumpkin pie.

Here's a recipe to have some fun with. Shortcakes are typically small and individually sized, but this is an impressive large cake filled with sweetened fresh fruit and whipped mascarpone. And unlike most shortcakes, this one is assembled ahead of time.

An old-fashioned cake gets a new treatment: Some of the trimmed cake crumbs are mixed with chocolate-cookie crumbs and pressed onto the frosting. Fresh raspberries are the colorful crowning touch.

This free-form apple pie is shaped and cooked on a baking sheet—eliminating the need for a pie dish. Using milk instead of water in the crust makes it tender.

Pumpkin and apricot are a winning combination in this cake; it's topped with a spiced cream cheese frosting. For decoration, place several dried apricots between sheets of plastic wrap, and using a rolling pin, roll to flatten. With scissors, cut out leaf shapes from the apricots, and arrange them on top of the cake.

This recipe yields an extra cake layer that can be reserved for another time. Wrap it tightly in foil, and freeze it for up to a month. Keeping the cake wrapped, defrost it at room temperature; then serve it with berries and whipped cream or ice cream.

Angel food cake gets its ethereal fluffiness from whipped egg whites, which also keep it friendly to the waistline and healthy for the heart. The unused egg yolks may be saved for making such real indulgences as Crème Anglaise, custards, or lemon curd.