Spice things up

Autumn brings the (very welcome) cavalcade of pumpkin-flavored everything: cocktails, muffins, ice cream, you name it. Now, you can turn everyone’s favorite seasonal latte into a rich gingerbread-like cake, complete with a jolt of espresso powder both in the batter and dusted on top.

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with parchment; butter parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, instant espresso powder, pumpkin-pie spice and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs into pumpkin purée, then whisk in butter, sugars and milk. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

2. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely, about 2 hours.

3. Whisk cream with confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form; dollop on top of cake and dust with espresso powder. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin-spice-latte cake - serves 8 to 10

Nutritional analysis per serving, based on 8: 529 calories, 31 grams fat, 59 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 148 milligrams cholesterol, 303 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 52 percent of calories from fat.

You don’t need to be a kid to crave the salty sweetness of peanut butter and jelly. Embrace your love of a good PB&J with this take on the classic sandwich, served up in fine dessert form. Here, creamy cheesecake squares meet a Concord-grape glaze.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more, softened, for brushing

14 graham crackers (each 3-by-5 inches), broken into pieces

2/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds cream cheese (four 8-ounce bars), room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter, such as Jif or Skippy

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup Concord-grape jelly

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter.

2. Finely grind crackers in a food processor. Add melted butter, peanuts, brown sugar and  1/2 teaspoon salt; pulse until peanuts are chopped and texture of mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer to prepared baking dish; press firmly and evenly into bottom and three-quarters of the way up sides. Bake until set and slightly darkened, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

3. Reduce oven to 325 degrees. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and peanut butter on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla until smooth. Pour filling into cooked crust; smooth top with a small offset spatula. Bake until puffed and set along edges but still slightly wobbly in center, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely.

4. Whisk jelly in a saucepan over medium until melted. Pour evenly over cake, then tilt dish to spread jelly to edges in a thin, even layer. Refrigerate until jelly is firmly set, about 4 hours. Cut cake into squares, wiping knife between cuts for clean edges, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

Nutritional analysis per square: 349 calories, 25 grams fat, 26 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams protein, 55 milligrams cholesterol, 284 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 62 percent of calories from fat.