Almond cake may be a simple and humble Italian dessert, but it’s also remarkably versatile and a natural make-ahead dessert.

Do not substitute low-fat or nonfat milk for the whole milk. Blanched almonds are almonds without their skin. Be careful not to overtoast the almonds or the cake will have a dry, crumbly texture. You can substitute 3 cups whole blanched almonds for the slivered; increase their oven toasting time to 11 minutes and their processing time to 30 seconds in step 2.

This recipe was published in our cookbook The Best Make-Ahead Recipe.

These rich, cakelike brownies, made with applesauce instead of oil will make you scream, “I can’t believe I’m on a diet”.
POINTS® Value: 3
Level of Difficulty: Easy

The heavy cream must be ice cold; if not, it won’t hold stiff peaks, no matter how long or hard you beat it. Soften the cream cheese at room temperature; the microwave will cause the cheese to separate.

Chocolaty brownies topped with crunchy rice cereal are a winning combination. Spice them up by adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or 1 to 2 teaspoons of powdered coffee, to the batter.
POINTS® Value: 3
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Most of the big snack companies sell some variation on a cream-filled, chocolate-covered cupcake. We love the concept, just not the artificial, bland flavors. Could we make cream-filled cupcakes from scratch at home? Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Use the reverse creaming method, which means cutting the butter into the dry ingredients (as with biscuit dough), to achieve a tender, close-crumbed cupcake. A more traditional large-crumbed cake wasn’t sturdy enough to hold the cream and support the thick frosting.
• To fill the cupcake, cut a cone-shaped hole in the top of the cupcake, remove a portion of the interior, and fill the hole with cream. The frosting will cover any evidence of the hole.
• Add light corn syrup to the glaze so that it clings tightly to the cupcake and has a glossy texture.

Bake the cupcakes in a greased and floured muffin tin rather than paper cupcake liners so the chocolate glaze can run down the sides of the cooled cakes.