Stand Mixer

This dessert was inspired by “Tomato Tim” Stark of Eckerton Hill Farm at the Union Square farmers’ market in New York City. We were talking one morning and he gave me some tomatoes that were so sweet they tasted like berries. So I roasted them and paired them with super-ripe blackberries for an after-dinner fruit salad. Use a mix of tiny tomatoes for the best-looking and -tasting dessert.

I started making vacherins when I was in the south of France, at Pâtisserie Chéreau in Nice, and fell in love with this combination of meringue, creamy ice cream, fruit, sorbet, and whipped cream. We made big ones in France, but I like individual vacherins best. I use a stencil when I make these meringues in the restaurant, but I’ve adapted the recipe for a pastry bag here. The recipe makes more than you will need for the dessert, but it’s nearly impossible to whip any less egg white successfully. The meringues will keep for several days if you store them airtight, and they’re a great snack. Make as many of the composed desserts as you like. You will have enough sorbet and ice cream for up to 24.

Chef Alex Lee of Daniel taught me his way of starting to create recipes: taking an ingredient and then making a list of all the other flavors or ingredients that go well with it. He also prompted me to start thinking about the possibilities of pairing vegetables with sweets. In this dessert, I match the earthiness of chocolate with the earthiness of beets. When you make the candied beets, use a mixture of red, golden, and chiogga (the candy-striped ones) for the prettiest presentation. You’ll need separate batches of Simple Syrup for each type of beet to keep the colors intact. You’ll be roasting more beets than you need for the cake. Use the extra puree to make Raspberry-Beet Sauce.

I had never seen a key lime when I was growing up; I thought the juice was something that just came in bottles. Once I discovered the real fruit, though, I wanted to do something with it. So here’s a fresh, brightly flavored version of key lime pie, with a crisp graham cracker sablé standing in for the usual soggy crust. The sauce would also be great over sliced fresh apricots or nectarines. A scale is a must for making this dessert. And you’ll need ten 2 x 2-inch ring molds.

Il Fornaio bakery in Los Angeles made a recipe for almond cake that I fell in love with many years ago. I’ve changed their recipe a bit to create a different texture, but the pronounced almond flavor remains the same. It’s very important to cream the butter and almond paste until it becomes thoroughly smooth.

Imagine the best corn muffin you’ve ever tasted, but richer and sweeter. The rosemary adds a subtle flavor and aroma that is reminiscent of the holidays. It’s equally nice with a cup of tea or a glass of dessert wine. Balsamic syrup is mellow and intense with an almost chocolatey flavor that complements the rosemary.

Here’s the simple secret to winning a chocolate lover’s heart: we want chocolate, butter, and sugar . . . and make it fluffy, please.

This recipe works for chocolate tart crusts, chocolate sugar cookies, and as a cheesecake base. You can keep a batch in the freezer to be ready for any dessert challenge that arises. Although the method given below is safer in terms of overmixing, if you are in a rush, toss all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until you get a smooth dough.

This classic sugar cookie and tart shell dough is also known as pâte sucrée. Like the Chocolate Sugar Dough, it is very versatile and works as tart shells or sugar cookies, or whenever you need a sweet, sturdy crust to hold delicacies like strawberries and cream or chocolate mousse. You can also mix all the ingredients in a food processor—just pulse until the ingredients come together.

These cookies are familiarly fudgey like a good brownie, cute because of the crinkles or “faults” that cut through their warm sugary surfaces, and they travel well to picnics or friends’ houses. Pile them up in a mason jar and tie them with a bow.

Silicone baking pans bake evenly and won’t rust after you wash them. They are pricey, but as a special gift for your friend or yourself, splurge! I buy a nice silicon muffin pan, use fancy baking cup liners, load them with this milk chocolate mousse, then wrap the pan up tightly with plastic wrap, tie it with a big bow, and freeze it. When you are ready to gift it, you’ll give the satisfying sweetness of a softening mousse, the convenience of muffins, and a reusable piece of kitchenware. This is an all-purpose mousse that can also be served in a dish with cookies as a simple satisfying dessert. Note: Agar is a thickener available in health food stores. It is a substitute for gelatin and suitable for vegetarians.