Recipes with sugar

Fruit sponge whips gelatin-set sour milk with crushed fruit and beaten egg white into a light, mousse-like vintage dessert. Old-fashioned chilled treat with cloud-soft texture.

Fresh fruit tart with kiwi, strawberries, and bananas on a whole wheat crust with orange juice glaze. A lighter dessert with no cream filling and a rustic free-form pastry base.

Mocha dream pie with a crisp phyllo crust and a no-bake ricotta filling flavored with cocoa, instant coffee, and a hint of cinnamon. A lighter, lower-fat mocha pie that hits coffee shop notes without the heavy cream cheese.

Lemon-pecan torte made with ground pecans and matzoh meal instead of flour, topped with a lemon curd glaze. A naturally flourless cake perfect for Passover.

Shrimp and scallops marinated in sherry, then wok-tossed with asparagus, baby corn, and water chestnuts in a glossy sesame-garlic sauce. Quick Chinese-style seafood in 30 minutes.

Drop sugar cookies with a soft, crumbly bite from a mix of margarine and oil, two kinds of sugar, and a touch of cream of tartar. No chilling, no rolling, just scoop and bake.

A sweet-tart blender dressing made with maraschino cherries, lemon juice, and a touch of sugar. Ready in 10 minutes, it turns any green salad into something special.

Southern chocolate pecan pie loaded with sweet chocolate, corn syrup, pecans, and a hit of coffee in both filling and topping. Classic Southern pecan pie crossed with a mocha mousse finish.

Spiced cocoa doughnuts: cake-style chocolate rings fried until light, then dusted warm with cinnamon-spiked powdered sugar. Mace and cinnamon in the dough add a soft, bakery-style aroma.

A two-layer cocoa cake with a cooked fudge frosting made the old-fashioned way, heated to soft-ball stage and beaten until thick. Cake flour keeps the crumb feathery light against that dense, candy-like frosting.

Impossible coconut pie: a self-crusting blender pie that magically separates into a crust on the bottom, custard in the middle, and toasted coconut on top. No pastry, no rolling, just pour and bake.

These banana fritters stay crispy thanks to a flour-dusted coating under a light egg-and-milk batter. Deep-fried golden in minutes and served hot for a crunchy, sweet snack or dessert.

Sausage and spinach lasagna layered with ricotta, mozzarella, Italian sausage, and Parmesan in a classic spaghetti sauce. A hearty, three-cheese baked pasta for family dinners.

A classic Italian-American family biscotti recipe with anisette liqueur and chopped nuts, twice-baked until golden and crunchy. Keeps for 6 weeks or freezes beautifully.

Neptune Gazpacho blends tomato and clam juice with cucumber, avocado, and fresh dill, topped with shrimp for a chilled no-cook seafood soup.

Seared skirt steak smothered in a smoky chipotle-tomatillo salsa with 15 cloves of roasted garlic and caramelized onions. Bold, beefy Mexican-inspired comfort on one plate.