This cake is delicious warm or at room temperature.

Since apple season and the pecan harvest coincide, combine the two ingredients in a cinnamon-accented crisp. It smells heavenly while it bakes.

If you want to get fancy, you can top the pears with ice cream, Devon cream, crème fraîche or mascarpone, but plain old heavy cream is awfully good, and has the virtue of simplicity. A scattering of toasted almonds would also be welcome.

This rich, satisfying pudding is lovely by itself, but the crème fraîche garnish adds a tangy smooth complement.

This cheesecake is a luxurious twist on the traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

This delicious twist on pumpkin pie will keep for two days at room temperature if wrapped tightly. You can also make it up to three weeks ahead: Wrap it first in plastic, then in foil, and freeze it; pull it out of the freezer four hours before serving.

I discovered just how astonishingly good pumpkin is when not obscured by cinnamon and ginger when I tasted a pumpkin mousse prepared by Jehanne Burch at the Castle Hill Inn & Resort in Newport, Rhode Island. Her mousse contained only pumpkin, sugar, heavy cream, and gelatin. It was a revelation. If you use an electric mixer, start by beating the cream cheese with the whisk attachment until it’s very smooth, and then add the cooked pumpkin mixture and the remaining ingredients.

My grandmother would add a tablespoon or so of bourbon to her pear crisp filling. She called the addition “a little flavoring.”

You can bake this autumn fruit crisp in individual ramekins or in one large baking dish.

There’s no tedious assembly of cake layers or finicky buttercreams required for this gorgeous make-ahead dessert. In fact, this cake is perfectly elegant with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or a simple glaze. It also makes a wonderful hostess gift.