The Best Recipes You’ve Never Heard of

Rice Pudding with Caramel Cream and Almond Praline

Riz au lait, or rice pudding, is the signature dessert at L’Ami Jean, a Parisian bistro known for its innovative takes on robust French fare. Rice pudding typically is heavy, but chef Stéphane Jégo lightens his with whipped cream and pairs it with a m

By Rose HattabaughMay 22, 2025

Danish Dream Cake

This fluffy vanilla "dream cake" (drømmekage), gets its dreaminess from a light crumb and a gooey, glossy, caramelized coating.

Spanish Garlic and Bread Soup

Taught to us by chef José Andrés, this “end of month” recipe transforms simple odds and ends.

By Christopher Kimball & Matthew CardNovember 11, 2022

Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings in Tomato Sauce (Palline al Verde)

At Trattoria Antico Falcone in Rome, palline al verde—which translates as “green balls”—were small dumpling-like orbs of ricotta, Parmesan and an abundance of spinach. Since the only binder was egg, their texture was delicate and creamy, and their fla

By Rose HattabaughApril 5, 2024

Stovetop Chocolate Cake

This no-oven chocolate cake comes together in a pan—steamed, rather than baked, resulting in a moist, tender cake every time. OR This no-oven-needed chocolate cake is "steamed" for about 20 minutes in a Dutch oven—a method which results in an unimagin

By Yvonne RupertiJanuary 22, 2024

Broken Phyllo Cake with Orange and Bay

The soaking syrup we use in this pudding-like citrus cake is infused with warm spices for added dimensions of flavor and fragrance.

By Rose HattabaughJanuary 5, 2022

Easy-Stretch Yogurt Pizza Dough

Is it heretical to use yogurt in pizza dough? Traditionalists would say yes. But there’s no arguing that the yogurt in this high-hydration formula yields a dough that is easy to shape into rounds because it does not recoil when stretched. It also adds

By Christopher KimballSeptember 19, 2024

Rigatoni with Roman Broccoli Sauce

Romans use the leaves that grow around heads of broccoli to make a flavorful sauce for pasta. In the U.S., most of the leaves are stripped off before broccoli is sold. Our recipe instead uses the stems, which are equally flavorful and produce a silky

1-2-3-4 Yogurt Cake

In France, gâteau au yaourt is a cake that uses an entire container of yogurt then cleverly employs the empty container as the measuring cup for the flour, sugar and oil. It’s easy to throw together and a perfect recipe to make with children. If you’v

By Milk StreetOctober 5, 2023

Pasta with “Fake” Sauce

In Italy, we learned about Tuscan sugo finto, or “fake sauce,” so called because the vegetables—onion, carrot and celery—are minced, then gently cooked in fat to the point where they resemble, in both appearance and texture, bits of long-simmered meat

By Rose HattabaughOctober 4, 2024

Romanian Crème Fraîche Cake (Lichiu)

During a trip to Transylvania, we tasted lichiu, a sweet yeasted dough spread with a creamy, lemony, semolina filling and a custard upper layer made with crème fraîche and egg yolks. The semolina and custard fuse during baking, resulting in a deliciou

By Hisham Ali HassanSeptember 5, 2024

Invisible Apple Cake (Gâteau Invisible)

“Cake” is somewhat of a misnomer for this elegant dessert. Instead of open, airy and crumby, the texture is rich and dense, with slices of sweet-tart apples set in an egg-rich batter. During its long bake in the oven, the fruit slices and custard-like

By Hisham Ali HassanAugust 16, 2024

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

This old-fashioned recipe is everything you wish angel food cake would be—light, but tender and flavorful, rather than vanishing and cotton-candy sweet.

By Milk StreetOctober 28, 2022

Chili Crisp Chicken and Corn Soup

James Ooi—founder of Little Bao Boy, an Asian street food business based in Leeds, England—inspired us with his go-to soup for a quick weeknight dinner. Chicken breast, soy sauce, and canned corn. We were intrigued. Based on his description, we develo

By Hisham Ali HassanSeptember 2, 2025

Sherry-Soaked French Toast (Torrijas)

Torrijas, Spain’s answer to French toast, are warmly-spiced and citrus-tinted, custardy on the inside and delicately crisped.

Spaghetti with Lemon Pesto

This zesty, lightly perfumed lemon pesto is inspired by the world-famous lemons of Amalfi, Italy.

By Courtney HillDecember 14, 2020

Agrodolce Red Onions

Italian sweet and sour onions—called cipolline agrodolce—typically are small whole onions simmered with sugar and vinegar. But Ristorante Barbieri in Calabria uses sliced tropea onions, a variety that is a specialty of the region. We apply their techn

By Kevin ClarkAugust 16, 2024

Amalfi-Style Lemon Cake

"I married her just for the lemon cake," a sixth-generation Amalfi lemon farmer told us.

By Rose HattabaughOctober 22, 2021

Pour-in-the-Pan Pizza with Tomatoes and Mozzarella

This focaccia-pizza hybrid represents the culmination of Chris Kimball’s lifelong quest for the perfect pizza dough.

By Diane Unger & Christopher KimballApril 16, 2020

Meringue-Topped Cake with Cherries

Romanian prăjitură cu rubarbă is a simple, rustic rhubarb-studded cake that is covered with a snowy cloud of meringue after baking, then slid back into the oven. A few minutes later, the two-layer treat emerges with a crown of golden swirls and peaks—

By Rose HattabaughJune 27, 2024

Swedish “Sticky” Chocolate Cake

Sweden's popular "sticky cake," or kladdkaka, is for the diehard chocolate lover.

By Rose HattabaughAugust 10, 2020

Moroccan Semolina Flatbreads (Harcha)

For years, Chris Kimball reminisced about a Moroccan breakfast at which he was served harcha—like a “particularly delicate variety of cornbread married to an English muffin.”

Caramel Oranges

Fresh orange slices bathed in caramel sauce — simple, bright, and bold. Similar desserts were all the rage on London dessert carts during the ’80s. Known as “aranci caramellizzati” in Italy, it was first introduced by food writer Elizabeth David in he

By Matthew CardOctober 4, 2016