Chocolate

You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, reheat, stirring frequently, until melted.

The richness of this dark, not-too-sweet sorbet belies the simplicity of its ingredients and ease of preparation. Serve it as a lovely dessert, or use it as a pick-me-up on a hot afternoon. The refreshing iciness and the chocolate-coffee flavor are especially good after Mexican food.

A protein-rich, almost instant, smooth, deep chocolate dessert. Nice garnished with red raspberries or strawberries.

Two surprises set this cookie apart: The first is that the filling is made with a chocolate ganache as opposed to just a frosting. The cream and the chocolate melt together perfectly, yielding a satisfyingly smooth texture to the filling itself. In contrast to the creaminess is the second surprise: the cocoa nibs, little pieces of roasted cacao beans. These bits add a crunchy texture that is wholly and delightfully unexpected.

I’m all for mindful eating—scanning each and every nutritional label, chewing each bite of food twenty times before swallowing—but we all know there comes a time when we want to slide into a pair of elastic-waisted pants and go to town. When that urge arises, I, for one, succumb. Composed of three of the bakery’s most popular items—frosting, brownies, and cookies—this extraordinary layered cake is an indulgence that would make even the lovely Paula Deen blush. Right with you, Ms. Deen!

You could double this recipe and have extra caramel on hand to spoon over cheesecake or ice cream. I like to chop nuts before roasting them, since chopping exposes more surface area. The more area that gets toasted, the more flavor. So coarsely chop the hazelnuts or pound them with the end of a rolling pin in a deep container to break them up.

Here you’ll find instructions for two versions of chocolate decorations for your dessert plate. In the restaurant, we call the swirls “Scooby-doos.” The name dates back to when I first worked with François Payard. He could never remember the word swirl, and so would make a swirling gesture with his index finger and say, “You know, like Scooby-doo.” I use the squares as the top layer for the Strawberry Gelée dessert on page 49. I always use tempered chocolate for décor. You can certainly use plain melted chocolate, but you will need to refrigerate it for the chocolate to set. And it just won’t shine.

This light, rich mousse literally melts in your mouth. It is a component of the Chocolate-Pear Cake (page 98), but you can serve it on its own.

This sorbet is very smooth and not too sweet. Keep some in the freezer for a quick chocolate fix.

This very rich ice cream, with the lush mouthfeel of white chocolate, may be one of my sweetest recipes. Try serving it with ripe peaches and a drizzle of tarragon oil or basil oil (see page 187). You should be aware that this ice cream can take a long time to freeze in a home ice cream maker, and that it will need to cure in the freezer overnight before serving.

This cake forms the base for the Chocolate-Pear Cake on page 98. You could also use it as the start of a birthday cake. Or cut it into cubes and skewer it with fruit and berries for a dessert kebab.

Keep this on hand to glaze birthday cakes and for plate decoration. Warmed, it makes a nice hot fudge sauce.

I’ve always liked the classic combination of chocolate and coffee and have been searching for a unique way to pair the two. In this dessert, the custard is dense and rich, so I wanted the coffee to be light. By using lecithin, I can turn coffee into a cloud.

I’ve always wanted to create some interesting chocolate texture to pair with strawberries, and one night during a brainstorming session, Michal Shelkowitz—one of my cooks—suggested spaetzle. After much manipulation, we figured out how to make it something great and new and a cool contrast to the berries.

Industrial technology is making its way more and more into the pastry kitchen and allowing us to create new textures. Here, the “doughnuts” are made with a creamy ganache. The alginate and lactate work to maintain the shape of the doughnuts, and the Methocel prevents the ganache from running while they fry. The result is a warm creamy ganache encased in a super-crisp panko coating. Having a scale is essential for this recipe.

I’ve been exploring new ways to make chocolate soups. In particular, I wanted to find a way to remove the fat and keep a full, deep chocolate flavor, and I thought it would be interesting to contrast cold white chocolate with warm dark chocolate. I’ve succeeded in this recipe, which is a play on temperatures, textures, and techniques. A scale is essential for this recipe. You will also need a hotel pan and a perforated hotel pan, both half size. You can get these online from BigTray. The technique of clarifying the soup base by freezing and slow defrosting comes from Wylie Dufresne of wd-50 in Manhattan and Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck in England.

François Payard, with whom I worked at Daniel and at his own pastry shop, believes in signature desserts. His banana tartlet is one of those signatures, with crunchy cashews and creamy white chocolate mousse paired with rum-sautéed bananas. In this tribute to his dessert, I borrowed the structure and changed the flavors to creamy milk chocolate paired with a salty hazelnut caramel.

These little desserts are all about contrast. Picture a spongy soufflé with a creamy center, sitting in a crisp pastry shell. Then there’s the sensation of the two different kinds of chocolate playing off the bright, acidic taste of the passion fruit. Experiment with the flavors of the soufflé if you want, but keep it acidic. Try it with a puree of red currant, black currant, or raspberry.

Growing up, the one thing I wanted when I went to the movies was a box of Whoppers, those malted milk balls. When I was looking around for a flavor to add to a chocolate rice pudding, I remembered that taste.

Working in a restaurant affords me the opportunity to learn the food cultures of many of my colleagues, who often bring home cooking to share for lunch. When that home cooking is Mexican, the dishes are sometimes flavored with chipotles or another chile, and I’ve come to crave that little kiss of heat, even in dessert. The gentle kick in the chocolate soup is tamed by the soothing chocolate-coconut foam.