10,000 icing recipes

New Year's Eve chocolate clock cake stacks three layers of egg-white sponge with stovetop chocolate cream filling and Hungarian chocolate frosting, then iced with a clock face for the midnight countdown.

Low-sugar cranberry orange punch with frozen OJ concentrate and sugar substitute, topped with club soda. A refreshing diabetic-friendly party punch served over crushed ice.

Carrot cake bread: a tender carrot quickbread baked in two 9-inch pans, made with olive oil, cinnamon, grated carrots, and chopped pecans. Better the next day, optional orange-butter icing.

Low-fat pie crust made with a blend of unbleached and whole wheat pastry flour and margarine. A lighter, flaky shell for savory pies and quiches with a simple blind-bake option for fruit fillings.

French-style lemon tart with bright citrus filling, candied lemon slices on top, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Puckeringly tart, silky smooth, and a showstopper on any dessert table.

Fresh fall vegetables: broccoli, fennel and leeks. Or you can use cauliflower, cheesy flavor in the delicate crust with a nice tang from the olive tapenade.

An intensely dark chocolate sheet cake made with strong black coffee and buttermilk, topped with a rich "Hundred Dollar Frosting" of melted chocolate, butter, walnuts, and a surprising touch of lemon juice.

Just 3 ingredients: dried California figs simmered in pure Vermont maple syrup until thick and luscious. Spoon it over ice cream, pancakes, waffles, or warm biscuits.

Pumpkin squares blend canned pumpkin with mincemeat, nutmeg, and allspice in a tender bar cookie, then frost with cream cheese icing. A holiday cookie tray showstopper.

Chilled broccoli soup pureed with potato and chicken stock, served ice cold with paper-thin raw porcini mushroom slices, chives, and ricotta toasts. A refined, restaurant-quality cold soup for summer.

Classic Black Russian cocktail with vodka and coffee brandy poured over ice in an old-fashioned glass. Two ingredients, smooth and strong.

Seedless raspberry puree (coulis) with superfine sugar and kirsch. Sieved smooth for drizzling over desserts, cheesecakes, ice cream, and plated sweets.

Cherry chocolate baked Alaska stacks devil's food cake with frozen cherry yogurt filling under a flash-baked cocoa meringue. Retro dessert drama with hot meringue and ice-cold center.

Baked maple bananas with butter and cinnamon, served warm over ice cream. A 4-ingredient, 15-minute dessert that caramelizes bananas in pure maple syrup.

Easy doughnuts recipe for a big crowd: a baking-powder cake doughnut dough rolled, cut, deep-fried golden, and tumbled in icing sugar. Warm nutmeg in every bite.

Two-ingredient cranberry apple sorbet made with Golden Delicious apples simmered in cranberry juice. No ice cream maker needed. Fat-free, dairy-free, and naturally refreshing.