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After a friend recommended the movie “Paris Can Wait,” with Diane Lane, I simply had to indulge her and her husband with a Chocolate Creme Brulee at our weekly dinner. This recipe is from Chocolate Epiphany by Chef Francois Payard (with delectable photography by Rogerio Voltan). We were only 4 persons, and I only had 4-ounce (not 6-ounce) ramekins, so I halved Chef Payard’s ingredients. You might try reducing the sugar just a bit further.
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So many recipes are designed for a large family or small dinner party. As the nest empties – or before it grows – here is an easy recipe for Chocolate Pot de Crème for two adapted from Paris: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World from the Williams Sonoma collection.
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This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark’s Ambrosia Cake published in the New York Times on April 7, 2017 just before Easter and the recipe for Chocolate Glaze in Larousse on Pastry. The search for a dessert for Easter dinner began with a desire for something frosted in white, garnished with coconut and strewn with edible flowers. Melissa’s cake seemed perfectly adaptable. I would use whipped cream instead of the marshmallow frosting, and edible flowers in lieu of strawberries.
When I couldn’t find edible flowers in any of our local South Florida grocers, the dried edible rose petals I had on hand seemed like a good substitute – at first. But neither the coconut nor the clementines seemed palatable with dried rose petals; and, quite simply, I began to crave chocolate to compensate for not being able to realize my vision.
At first, I thought I would use a clementine-flavored chocolate ganache and clementine sections as the filling.
But the bulk of the clementine sections would have made the cake appear lumpy once a second layer was placed on top.
So, the bottom layer became the top layer and the entire cake was enveloped in chocolate.
Delicious! It helps to use fresh coconut, but it’s not a must. The clementines must be sweet.
Melissa Clark crafted a lovely flavor combination in the cake. Enveloped in chocolate, garnished with clementine sections and edged in flaked fresh coconut, the layers of flavor will make you stop and savor the moment.
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Quintessentially French and festive, a Buche de Noel is the bakers’ holy grail of Christmas creations. For me, it once seemed unattainable. Not any more. With the right pan, a pastry brush, an attractive rectangular plate to serve it in, and the wisdom to bake, wrap, and refrigerate (or freeze) the unfrosted cake up to two days in advance, I am now on a buche de noel roll (pun intended), creating variations on a theme to bring to friends and family leading up to the holiday season. All credit goes to David Lebovitz’ My Paris Kitchen and a 12″x 18″ jelly roll pan (which I bought a few years ago when experimenting with Collette’s Birthday Cakes by Collette Peters) and a boars’ bristle pastry brush from William Sonoma received as a Christmas gift last year. But mostly, credit goes to David Lebovitz and his photographer Ed Anderson. Their description, instructions and illustrations made the project approachable and a wonderful excuse to begin the holiday baking season!
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Simple and quick to prepare, these individual chocolate souffles, adapted from Irma Rombauer’s classic Joy of Cooking, are certain to delight. See the notes in the variation for tips on a recipe for two.
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