Desserts

Marshmallow-like seven-minute frosting forms billows of topping over this beautiful strawberry-filled layer cake. Orange juice and peel in the cake and frosting provide a lovely complement to the strawberries. Once frosted, the cake is best served that day, but the cake layers can be baked a day ahead.

This crust is made with a delicate, buttery, pecan cookie-style dough that melts in your mouth. For ease in working with the dough, chill it well before handling it, and roll it out between sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper. Don’t worry if the dough cracks or breaks when placed in the pan; simply press it back together with your fingertips. If you don’t have a rectangular tart pan, a 10-inch round tart pan can be substituted.

Strawberries and mascarpone cheese team up to create a simply luscious spring tart.

This four-layer cake, dressed with orange-accented whipped cream and whole strawberries, makes an impressive dessert for any occasion.

Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb, an already heavenly combination, become even more tempting when topped with a crunchy cornmeal mixture.

Ginger adds a pleasing, spicy dimension to the classic combination of strawberries and rhubarb.

Springtime strawberries and rhubarb get extra zip from a generous dose of crystallized ginger.

This luscious strawberry dessert combines the best qualities of an English trifle, with its sponge cake and fresh fruit, and an Italian tiramisu, using mascarpone and liqueur to soak the cake.

 An upside-down cake is the perfect way to showcase the season’s first strawberries and rhubarb.

Like fine wine, these cookies get better as they age. “The longer they stay in the fridge, the more the flavors develop,” says life member Lori Theriault. She makes big batches just before Thanksgiving and serves them right through the New Year’s Eve parties. They can be tweaked with different fruits, nuts or seasonings, and they travel well, Lori says. For presentation, she likes to roll them in either raw sugar or cocoa, or wrap them individually in parchment paper, twisting the ends like little bonbons.