Crème Brulee is one of my favorites. I love making it, serving it and eating it. So I should definitely share my recipe. Combine 2 cups of heavy cream, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, a vanilla bean (split with the small seeds scraped free) and a cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil and transfer to a measuring cup. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Lightly beat 5 egg yokes in a medium bowl placed with the bath. Slowly add the cream in a steady stream, whisking all the while. Cool the bowl for about 30 minutes. Fill 6 small 4-inch wide ramekin dishes with the custard, and place in a large pan. Fill the pan with warm water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes in a 300-degree oven. Remove, let cool and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Prior to serving combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Sprinkle one teaspoon of the sugar over each custard. Brown the tops with a kitchen blowtorch (my favorite part).

I wanted to create a visually dramatic dessert for a recent dinner party and the result was this multi-level treat. Using ready-made Pepperidge Farm puff pastry cut 2 pieces per person (3″ x 4″ each) and place on a buttered tray with wax paper on top. Bake in a 355 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Clean and dry one pound of fresh strawberries and cut in slices. Mix with the juice of one lemon and a quarter cup of sugar, and put in the fridge. For the sauce puree one pack of frozen strawberries with a quarter cup of sugar. Add a tablespoon of water as needed to give a smooth consistency. Put through a sieve to drain impurities. Finally take 1/3 cup whipping cream, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, and beat firmly. As in the photo, build with pastry, then berries, then cream, then repeat with the sauce on top. The height, color and texture give the dessert the requisite drama, and my guests said it tastes good, too.

This is an interesting and, according to my guests last weekend, delicious variation on Tiramisu. Crush a package of Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies into a powder and blend with 1 soupspoon of melted butter. Pour into a 15-inch round openable cake mold and tamp down. Then add 2 teaspoons of un-flavored gelatin to 2 tablespoons of cold water and let sit. In another dish combine 6¾ oz of light cream with 2½ oz of sugar, beat like eggs and add 4¼ oz of mascarpone. Mix well and keep on the side. Now put 3¼ oz of milk in a pan with a vanilla bean and add the gelatin mix. Bring to a boil and let cool. Take out the vanilla bean, slit to remove the grains and insert them back into the mix. Now add the vanilla mixture to the cream and pour over the crushed cookie powder. Put in fridge. Next warm 6¾ oz of light cream, add 2¼ oz of dark (70%) chocolate plus another gelatin/water mixture as above, blend until smooth and pour over the cream mixture. Keep in the fridge overnight. Delicately remove from mold and serve. The result is irresistible-or so I’ve been told on good authority!

Another great recipe from Decadent Desserts, by Countess Christina de Vogue, owner of  a spectacular chateau near Paris. This recipe was given to the Countess by the fashion designer Givenchy, who created stunning desserts as well as evening gowns. Melt 2 sticks and 2 tablespoons of butter and 9 ounces of 70% dark chocolate. When the mixture is smooth add 9 ounces of superfine sugar. In a separate bowl mix a tablespoon of flour with 4 eggs and beat as for an omelette. Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture. Then dress a deep cake pan with parchment paper. Pour in the mixture and cook for 45 minutes in a bain-marie. Take out the pan and serve cold with vanilla ice cream or melted chocolate. For best results make the cake the night before and store in the fridge. I served covered with colorful chocolate hearts and raspberries.

Marooned at home during a blizzard I tried a recipe from Decadent Desserts, a ravishing book by Countess Christina de Vogue, owner of the magnificent Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte.  The Spice Cake is easy and quick and received my husband’s seal of approval: Pour 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. ground aniseed (I substituted cinnamon) into a bowl and mix. Make a well. Pour 6 tbsps milk, one half stick butter, 6 tbsps. superfine sugar and one half cup honey into a saucepan and mix. Warm over a low heat for several minutes, stirring constantly. When mix is smooth and even add to the flour gradually, stirring constantly. When this mix is smooth pour into a greased cake pan. Allow to rise for an hour, then cook for 45 minutes in a 250 degree oven. Take out of the pan when cool. I served with strawberry jam and butter, which made for a sinful but comforting late afternoon tea as we watched the snowfall.

My Christmas dinner party this year was a largish affair for me, with close to 30 guests. As usual, I put in significant overtime on the desserts. In the photo the perennial Apple Tart is in the center. Upper right is the Sivabelle chocolate cake, an exceedingly moist concoction. Beneath are chocolate truffles, some rolled in cocoa and some in hazelnut. Lower left are the Orangettes, slivers of orange peel covered in chocolate. There is much to do to tenderize and flavor the peel, but the taste is very delicate. Upper left is a tray of three kinds of cookies—oatmeal chocolate, chocolate Saltines and French macaroons. Now that the holiday season is over, I don’t think I’m the only one who has rededicated to clean, fat free living for the foreseeable future. It’s either that or a new wardrobe, God forbid.

If you’ve read this blog before, you know I have a weakness for fruit tarts. Here’s the recipe for an apple version I made over Thanksgiving. Follow my pear tart recipe for the crust. Then take 5 Golden Delicious apples, peel and cut into small pieces. Heat over a low flame for 35-40 minutes, and put on the side. Cook the crust for 15 minutes with weights, as in the other recipes, and add a small number of chocolate chips, perhaps 25, to the base of the crust. Cook for about a minute, then take out and spread the melted chips. Now add a layer of the apple mixture. Finally cut 3 apples into slices and place on the top. Cook in a 375-degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown. By broiling for a few minutes at the end you can add to the browning process, but be careful not to burn.

As a child I was a very picky eater (how I wish I hadn’t lost this particular trait!), and my mother was always frustrated by my whims when it came to food. Sweets, of course, were never a problem. For my birthday she would spoil me with the most exquisite chocolate cake, which she called Syvabelle. I recently found her old recipe on a crumbling piece of paper, typed on an ancient typewriter. I made the cake for a friend’s birthday not long ago, and it was even better than I remembered. Here’s the recipe: mix 4 ¼ ounces of butter and 3 ½ ounces of sugar until white and fluffy. Add 3 egg yolks. Then melt one 8-ounce bar of good dark chocolate with 2 tablespoons of water. When cold add to the mix. Whip the 3 egg whites until stiff, and put into the mixture. This makes a wonderfully airy mouse. Now heat one cup of water with ¼ cup of sugar and 5/6 tablespoons of rum. Take 10 ½ ounces of ladyfinger cookies, dip into the sugar/rum mix and put them around the bottom and sides of a 9-inch charlotte dish. Add the chocolate mouse mixture, and then cover with another layer of the dipped ladyfingers. If the ladyfingers on the side are higher than the top of the dish, just bend them in. Put a plate and a heavy weight on top and refrigerate overnight. Next day, take out of the mold and cover with a layer of melted chocolate. I added raspberries for a dash of color. My friends asked if they could take the small amount that was remaining home with them after our birthday dinner, but my husband vetoed this. He demanded custody of the leftover cake. Definitely a testimonial!

Some desserts are so easy and quick to make that I’m almost embarrassed to share the recipes. Tiramisu is one of these. Start by separating 5 eggs. Mix the yolks and ½ cup sugar until the mixture is whitish, and then add 400 grams of mascarpone. Now mix the egg whites separately until firm and add delicately into the bowl with the yolks. Take a glass rectangular baking dish—12-14 inches by 9 inches by 4 inches deep. Put ladyfinger cookies in a layer on the bottom. Make a strong pot of coffee and take a large cup and pour onto the cookies. You should put enough coffee to moisten the cookies, not make them too soggy. You can add cognac or marsala wine to the coffee if you wish. Cover the cookies with the cream mixture and flatten nicely. That’s it. Best to do the night before and put in the fridge to cool. It looks spectacular and people will think it took hours.

For the gastronomically challenged, this recipe guarantees success with a minimum of time, energy or effort. Take 1½ cups of flour, a pinch of salt and sugar, two sticks of butter and one egg and pulse in a food processor until mixed. In a bowl take 2 cups of oatmeal with 1 cup of raisins and mix with the dough from the food processor (it’ better to mix by hand). Form the cookies with your hands to the size you’d like. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until brownish. Remove from baking sheet to cool. Now melt 4 ounces of chocolate (I prefer 60% cocoa), and when the cookies are cold dip one side into the melted chocolate. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate to harden the chocolate. In the summer I keep the cookies in the fridge to keep the chocolate from melting. The combination of oatmeal, raisons and chocolate is a bit out of the ordinary and very tasty, to the point where my husband is showing a slightly unhealthy obsession.