The essential Chocolate Cake is dark and fudgy, meltingly moist and soft, and swathed in thick, chocolatey buttercream frosting.

Coconut Cream Pie is sweet, cool, and ultra creamy. This one has a Nilla wafer crust and even more vanilla in the filling for extra tropical flavor.

A base of marinara-drenched rigatoni takes the place of crust in this pasta dish that thinks it’s a pizza, draped with oozing cheese and topped with crusty bits of hamburger and charred slivers of red onion.

Chocolate Cherry Cake is an old family favorite that’s been given a makeover. This new version, made from scratch, is packed with juicy cherries and draped with a thick layer of shiny dark chocolate glaze.

This incredibly easy appetizer is surprisingly sophisticated, and will tease your tongue with its contrasts, from crunchy chips to creamy sauce to velvety-soft smoked salmon.

Cream of Broccoli soup is thick and warming with florets of fresh broccoli floating in a rich broth flavored with fresh herbs and warm spices.

I’ve updated my husband’s childhood favorite no-bake cheesecake with an extra creamy filling, and a syrupy, almond-scented blueberry topping.

Thick and juicy, brightened with lemon and warmed by cinnamon and nutmeg, Blueberry Topping transforms anything it touches into something special.

Lemon curd is thick, glossy, sweet/tart and intensely lemony. It’s a great building block for making simple, improvised desserts, and on the breakfast table it’s an unexpected and elegant step above the usual fruit preserves.

Extra thick, slightly spicy, and brightened with basil, Tomato Basil Soup is a grilled cheese’s perfect partner.