5 Ingredients or Fewer

When I was a young cook, every restaurant I worked in used a tuile to present ice cream. The tuiles kept the ice cream from sliding around on the plate; but while they were pretty, they didn’t impart any flavor. So I started making crumbles and streusels to set underneath ice creams. They have the added bonus of reinforcing flavors and adding texture. I lay quenelles of ice cream on a pile of these intense chocolate crumbs, but you could easily sprinkle the crumble over a scoop of ice cream.

This riff on Crispy Almond Phyllo (page 211)—caramelized with confectioners’ sugar and with peanuts as the nut flavor—is a great example of how versatile this technique of layering phyllo and nuts is. These crisps have a great nutty flavor and crunchy texture to pair with something soft or creamy.

I love the texture that shatteringly crisp phyllo—brushed with butter and sprinkled with almond flour—adds to desserts. You can easily manipulate the flavors by using different nut flours or even instant espresso powder or dried coconut between the layers.

So much of recipe development is taking an ingredient and manipulating its texture without diluting the flavor. This is a good example. I have always liked the texture of puffed-rice cakes but not the flavor, which seems bland to me. So I’ve developed a cracker that highlights the nutty flavor of rice.

Try making this sweet, delicate cookie with any nut. It’s a terrific garnish for ice creams or chocolate desserts.

I love the flavor of graham crackers, but I have always thought the crackers are too thick. So I grind them, rebind them, and make them thin and very crisp.

One of the most important things I learned from Thomas Haas when I worked with him at Daniel was the significance of texture in desserts. I also learned this recipe from him. This tuile is super-crispy. The sesame seeds toast as the tuile bakes, which brings out their nuttiness, and the sugar caramelizes, bringing in a slightly bitter edge.

This is the most visual of all my tuiles, shimmering and translucent. The sugars lend texture as well as carry the delicate flavor of the flax seeds.

The high fat content in this dough makes for very rich cookies. It’s great when you want to add crunch to a creamy dessert like panna cotta. Or you might break the cookies into pieces and make a parfait with fruit and whipped cream. I make these as round cookies, too, brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with sugar and coarse salt before baking. Follow the method below, using a round cutter; don’t weight round cookies with a Silpat.

Graham cracker crusts are never crispy enough for me, and I’m not a fan of soggy crusts. I developed this crunchy cookie to serve as a bed for my Key Lime Parfait (page 26). It will garnish any ice cream, and it could be the start of a terrific s’more. Because it’s not overly sweet, you could also serve it with cheese.

This cookie, called sablé Breton, is a classic French recipe from Brittany. I’ve learned many versions, and this is my favorite. I love the sandy texture, something between a crisp cookie and a sponge. The dough is also a great foil for different spices and salts.

This bread is a staple in the pastry kitchen and it has many uses—from French toast to croutons. The direct mixing method and overnight rise is a technique I picked up over the years. Brioche freezes beautifully.

Use this technique to make infused oils with any soft herbs, such as tarragon, basil, and mint. I use herb oil as a garnish whenever I want an intense, concentrated herb flavor in a dessert. Think about serving strawberries and ice cream with a drizzle of black peppermint oil. Or drizzle some tarragon oil on a salad of tender lettuce and shrimp.

I’m not giving quantities here, since you can make as much as you like. Crystallized herbs bring a bright, sweet herb flavor to the plate when you use them as a garnish. You can follow the same procedure with rose petals, too; just make sure they are unsprayed, or pesticide-free.

I make this garnish with the vanilla pods I have left in the restaurant from other desserts. I’m not giving quantities here, since it will all depend on how many vanilla pods you have on hand. (The photograph is page 178.)

This is an important building block in so many dessert recipes. Since the sugar has been dissolved, you can add sweetness to delicate fruits such as berries or citrus without heating them, thus keeping their flavors fresh and pure. This keeps practically forever in the refrigerator.

When sucrose—which is table sugar—is treated with an enzyme or acid, it breaks down into its component parts: fructose and glucose. When invert sugar is made commercially, the enzyme used is invertase, but you can easily make invert sugar at home, using lemon juice. Like simple syrup, it lasts for months in the refrigerator. I use invert sugar in ice creams, sorbets, and other frozen desserts for two main reasons: It creates a smoother texture and softer mouth-feel, and it prevents water from crystallizing, so the ice creams won’t crystallize or be dense and rock hard.

The tang of crème fraîche works as a balancing agent in this vanilla-speckled cream, making it a great contrast to sweet things like fruit.

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

Because this pastry is good at maintaining its shape and withstanding humidity, it’s the dough I turn to for blind-baking. It’s ideal for tarts with custard or light pastry cream fillings—or even Chocolate Crème Chiboust (see page 263). Sometimes I roll this pastry out flat, bake it until crisp, and then process it to use as a crumble under ice cream.