Coconut Sugar Banana Sheet Cake with Caramelized Coconut Sugar Frosting

             —Must I Sift?—

             Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie

             Maple Chocolate Cake

             Cinnamon-Sugared Blueberry Bundt

             —Turbinado: The Hero—

             Chocolate Chip and Cherry Date Cake

             Spiced, Brûléed Maple Pumpkin Pie

             Orange-Scented Vanilla Bean and Turbinado Pound Cake

             Rummy Roasted Pineapple Pudding Cake

             —Jazzing Up Treats with Natural Food Colorings—

             All-Purpose Cupcakes

             Moravian Sugar Cake

             Four-Spice Pear, Apple, and Blackberry Crisp

             Everything Autumn Muffins

             —An Ode to Whole Wheat Pastry Flour—

HAVING GROWN UP IN THE MIDWEST, I’m a sucker for comfort foods that serve a crowd, especially desserts. We are a people who believe in hospitality via a 9 × 13-inch baking dish. It’s a beautiful thing. When I think of all the reasons that we invest time in home baking, having a solid handful of go-to recipes that can easily travel along to a picnic or potluck is up there with holiday cookies. It’s the stuff of community and tradition, the kinds of goodies that draw people to a buffet table and get them talking. And nothing gets people talking quite like learning that a dessert is made without white granulated sugar. These might be my most favorite recipes of all.