Lori Longbotham

You’ve never had a cherry pie this good. With a flaky crust and fresh, tangy fruit, this is the homemade cherry pie of your dreams.

A little balsamic vinegar balances the sweetness of the cherries and enhances their flavor. Serve the cake with espresso or tea in the afternoon or with whipped cream or ice cream for dessert.

The sauce would also be wonderful with baked apples or drizzled over ice cream.

These buttery cookies would be fantastic with a cup of tea.

A mixture of maple syrup and brown sugar tames the tang of the cranberries.

The crunchy praline is a nice contrast to the smooth, rich custard.

In this delicious dessert, tender spice cake is layered with maple-sugar frosting, candied pecans, and a salty-sweet caramel sauce

Bacon and maple are a classic combination. Here, the dynamic flavor duo teams up in a sweet-and-salty maple sauce studded with caramelized bacon. The sauce is spooned over ice cream and sprinkled with toasted pecans to create the ultimate sundae. Serve any leftover sauce with pancakes or waffles.

Golden Delicious apples, which aren't too sweet and hold their shape when cooked, are a great choice for this pie.

Savor this sweet blueberry sauce on Greek yogurt, French toast, waffles, pancakes, and vanilla ice cream.

The sweet-tart pan sauce is a perfect partner for a rich fish like salmon.

This is the quintessential coconut cream pie—it has lots of coconut flavor and a very creamy texture. This is best served on the day it is made so the crust is still crisp, but you can make the pastry cream a day ahead, whisk in the whipped cream a couple of hours before serving, and then put it together at the last minute. Swirl the whipped cream decoratively on top, if you like.

I use a French orange flower water, Vallauris brand, that I brought back from Nice. If your orange flower water is from the Middle East (most often Lebanon) you will need to use more to taste; the Middle Eastern-style is not as strongly flavored as the French version. I also use Athens brand phyllo (it says "fillo" on the box), which comes in a 1-pound container with two separate packages inside. Make sure to use unsalted pistachios. This baklava is actually not at all difficult to make, but take care not to press down on the layers of pastry as you layer and then cut them.

I adore lychee juice, which tastes very much like the fresh fruit. You can buy aseptic packages of the juice in Asian markets, and I've seen them in many supermarkets. This sorbet is not only delicious, it's fun.

Brown butter gives depth of flavor to the berry filling.

Raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries are baked between a crisp pastry crust and a crumbly streusel topping.

This luxurious treat is somewhere between a trifle, a tiramisù, and a summer pudding. The lime gives it a wonderful brightness.

Baking the cake in one 12-inch round pan creates a dessert with presence. Assorted edible flowers make an easy, great-looking garnish.

The secret to great shortcakes is a very moist dough, so don’t be tempted to add more flour.