Pretty much every specialty dish, from “shrimp cocktail” coupes to Champagne flutes, can be used to serve something else. Take espresso cups: Use them to serve mini portions of soup, frozen desserts, or custards and mousse. For fun, make it espresso mousse.

We came across a similar concept some 20 years ago, at the famed French Laundry restaurant in St. Helena, California. Chef Thomas Keller, who was very tongue-in-cheek back then, served a dessert called Coffee & Doughnuts: coffee mousse with a foam “cappuccino” top and a side of beignets. We loved it!

In preparation for last night’s Academy Awards festivities, we got out the espresso cups and made espresso mousse (you can easily find recipes for chocolate-espresso mousse, like this one from Giada De Laurentiis).

Multitasking espresso cups hold espresso mousse. Photo courtesy Filicori Zecchini.

MOUSSE VERSUS POT DE CRÈME

Some people don’t like the airy texture of mousse, which incorporates whipped egg whites and whipped cream for ethereal lightness. Pot de crème (poe-duh-CREHM, plural pots de crème) is a more dense alternative, with a texture similar to chocolate pudding (mousse means foam in French, pot de crème means pot of cream, referring to the small ceramic lidded dishes in which they are traditionally served).

While we enjoyed the espresso mousse recipe below, for variety next time we’ll make espresso pots de crème.

ESPRESSO MOUSSE RECIPE

You can make the mousse up to one day in advance.

Ingredients

 
For Whipped Cream Garnish

Espresso powder doesn’t make a great cup of espresso, but it truly enhances baked goods and other recipes. Photo courtesy Medagla d’Oro.

Preparation

1. SPRINKLE gelatin over 2 tablespoons water in a cup or small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until the color turns pale (about 1 minute).

2. HEAT 1 cup of the cream in a saucepan; whisk in espresso powder. Gradually whisk the cream mixture into the bowl of egg mixture; then add the new mixture to the saucepan.

3. STIR constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens (about 8 minutes). Transfer to a clean bowl and whisk in gelatin mixture. Add in the optional coffee liqueur.

4. PRESS plastic wrap onto the surface of the mixture and let it cool completely on the counter for about 45 minutes. Do not refrigerate.

5. BEAT 1 cup of cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold it into the espresso mixture. Divide among eight espresso cups (or six 4-ounce dishes), leaving an inch at the top to anchor the garnish.

6. MAKE whipped cream. First chill the bowl, beaters and cream thoroughly. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream, vanilla, and sugar in the chilled bowl until soft peaks form (makes about 1 cup).

7. COVER and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. Top mousse with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder plus other optional garnishes, as desired.

USES FOR ESPRESSO POWDER

Like a pinch of salt, espresso powder enhances any chocolate recipe.

 
FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE DESSERT RECIPES.

Looking for that memorable treat to make your man for Valentine’s Day?

Here’s some inspiration from Ronaldo Linares, executive chef at Martino’s Cuban Restaurant in Somerville, New Jersey.

Chef Linares, like many men, loves his bacon. So he’s reinvented the classic chocolate soufflé in a way that even guys who don’t crave dessert will love. The secret ingredient: bacon.

Adding sautéed, crispy bacon to the traditional soufflé batter lends smoked, savory notes to a dessert that just may become your guy’s (or your bacon-loving girlfrend’s) favorite.

This recipe makes two servings.

CHOCOLATE BACON SOUFFLÉ RECIPE

Ingredients

The secret ingredient in this recipe: bacon! Photo courtesy HeavenlySouffle.com.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Place a baking pan filled halfway with water on the bottom of the oven and set the rack just above it.

2. PREHEAT a skillet, than add the diced bacon and cook on high for 3 minutes than turn stove to medium heat, sauté till bacon is crispy. Remove bacon from pan when finished and set aside; discard the bacon fat.

3. COAT an 8-ounce soufflé dish or ramekin with butter; then sprinkle in the sugar. Making sure all sides are coated well. Set aside.

Use a small cookie cutter as a template for a
cocoa or confectioners’ sugar heart. Photo
| Fotolia.

4. PLACE semi-sweet chocolate on the top of a double boiler over hot water. Be sure that the water is not boiling and does not touch the bottom of the top vessel where the chocolate is melting (it can burn the chocolate). This step takes a few minutes; stir gently as chocolate melts.

5. COMBINE flour, egg yolk, milk and rendered bacon in a medium bowl and whisk till mixture becomes smooth. Once the chocolate has melted add it to the mixture and whisk until it becomes one smooth delicious sauce.

6. ADD the egg whites to a clean bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula add half the egg whites to the chocolate sauce and fold in gently until there are no more white streaks. At this point add the rest of the beaten egg whites and fold once again until there are no more white streaks creating a smooth consistency.

7. POUR mixture into the soufflé dish or ramekin to about ½ inch from the top. Place in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes until firm to touch. Serve immediately.
 
HOW ABOUT SOME CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON CANDY?

Bavarian cream. Photo by Massimiliano
Pieraccini | IST.

November 27th is National Bavarian Cream Pie Day.

Bavarian cream is a 19th century creation that seems to have gone with the wind that closed out the 20th. We rarely see it on a menu or in a bake shop.

Invention of the cold molded, gelatin-based dessert—a custard, not a pie—is credited to the great chef Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833) in the first part of the 1800s. One of the first recipes in the U.S. appeared in the Boston Cooking School of 1884.

The connection with Bavaria is obscure; although Carême cooked for the rich and famous and it is conceivable that he may have created this dish for a guest of honor from Bavaria.

The original Bavarian cream, or crème bavarois, was created in a fluted mold, chilled, umolded and sliced. In these more informal days, the dessert can be scooped from the bowl like mousse.

Sometimes the mold is first coated with a fruit gelatin, which “glazed” the Bavarian cream. Sometimes it is flavored with chocolate, coffee, fruit or liqueur.

The mold can be first lined with ladyfingers first, creating a charlotte.

Individual servings can be garnished with whipped cream (Chantilly) or fruit purée. Here’s a recipe for Bavarian cream from Chef Michael Symon.

Bavarian cream is similar to pastry cream but lightened with whipped cream and thickened with gelatin instead of flour or cornstarch. Check out the different types of custard.

Now for the holiday:

For Bavarian Cream Pie, get a pie crust: Bavarian cream in a pie crust is simply a different type of custard pie.

So to celebrate, grab the nearest piece of custard pie, top it with whipped cream as an homage to the whipped cream that helps to distinguish a Bavarian cream, and enjoy the holiday.

See the different types of pies in our Pie Glossary.

Use frosted grapes to garnish. Photo of
vanilla bean cupcake with a center of
champagne whipped cream, frosted with
champagne butter cream and garnished with
a half a sugared grape, courtesy Yummy Cupcakes.

As the days grow cold, berries can be scarce—or costly.

Substitute a sugared grape. It‘s even more festive than a berry, and is easy to make (recipe below).

Sugared grapes can top any frosting or pudding, sorbet, ice cream or fruit salad. Or use them as a plate garnish with fish and poultry.

You can frost entire clusters of grapes and use them to garnish holiday platters and cheese plates.

HOW TO MAKE FROSTED SUGARED GRAPES

This easy recipe is adapted from Gale Gand’s Just A Bite, by Gale Gand and Julia Moskin.

You can use a half or whole grape for garnish.

Ingredients

Preparation

1. FREEZE. At least 3 hours and up to 7 days before serving, remove the grapes from their stems and place in the freezer. To frost an entire cluster, leave the grapes intact on the stems.

2. WHISK. When ready to serve, whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice in a large bowl until frothy. Put the sugar in another bowl.

3. COAT 1. Drop the grapes into the bowl of egg whites, then pour the contents of the bowl through a strainer to drain the liquid. Place the grapes on a paper towel and roll them around until most of the excess egg white has been absorbed.

4. COAT 2. Working in batches, add the grapes to the sugar and shake them around to coat. Shake off any excess. Use as garnish and serve.

COOKING WITH RAW EGGS

Raw eggs carry a slight risk of food-borne illness, including Salmonella. To reduce the risk, use only fresh, grade A or AA eggs. The eggs should be clean and properly refrigerated. Discard any eggs with cracked shells.

October 20th is National Brandied Fruit Day. Brandied fruit—fruit salad flavored with brandy or cognac—is a dish that has fallen out of fashion in the era of modern cuisine. But it is easy to make, delicious to eat and very healthful.

Brandied fruit can be enjoyed on its own; or with a topping of sour cream or yogurt (plain or vanilla), blended with a bit of brown sugar. Add a plate of small cookies and you’ve got a fine dessert.

You can also use brandied fruit as a topping for angel, pound or sponge cakes; and under or over a scoop of sorbet.

START WITH THE FRUIT SALAD

The best fruit salad is an appealing mix of colors, flavors an textures.

Mix brandy with fresh fruit salad for a sophisticated and healthful dessert. Photo © M. Studio | Fotolia.

Cut larger fruits into even pieces; seed the grapes and pit the cherries. If you’re using fruits that brown, sprinkle the cut fruit with lemon juice. Slice bananas just before serving, as they discolor most quickly.

SIMPLE BRANDIED FRUIT

The easiest version is simply to sprinkle brandy over a fruit salad; cover and refrigerate for an hour or more. We actually mix a tablespoon with the fruit juices from the salad; then toss to ensure that all pieces are coated.

You can also add some mint leaves to the marinade. Before serving, remove them and replace with fresh mint leaves.

COOKED BRANDIED FRUIT

You can also brandy a fruit compote, which is mixed stewed fruit. These should be the best seasonal fruits, full of natural sweetness and flavor.

Here’s the recipe for compote.

BRANDY OR COGNAC

As the saying goes, all cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac.

Cognac is grape brandy, a distillate of wine. It is specifically produced in the region surrounding the town of Cognac, in central France. It is double distilled using pot stills and then aged for at least two years. It must be made from a specific group of white grape varieties, as well.

Grape brandy can be made anywhere, from any grapes (brandy is also made from fruit and pomace), does not require double distillation or long aging.

Cognac is a better product. The double distilling and aging rounds out the spirit and produces more mellow flavors.

Añejo Tequila is delicious with chocolate.
Photo courtesy Partida Tequila.

Yesterday we suggested adding spirits to baked goods. Today, it’s a shot of Tequila with dessert. More specifically, enjoy a small snifter of añejo (aged)Tequila with your favorite dessert (the different types of tequila).

Añejo is not mixing Tequila; it’s sipping Tequila. Last night we enjoyed some añejo with an iced chocolate square and vanilla ice cream.

Wafting up from the snifter, the nose delivered light notes of almond, cherry, dried fruit and spice. The palate included banana, chocolate, honey and pear. Any wonder that this Tequila is so dessert-friendly?

Añejo Tequila is aged 1 year or longer, during which time it acquires complex aromas, intense flavors and coppery color from the oak barrels. Partida Añejo, one of the greatest Tequila brands, is aged in used Jack Daniels barrels for 18 months.

Enjoy a glass of añejo Tequila with apple pie, banana desserts, chocolate desserts (including churros), crème brûlée, ice cream, poached pears—try it with any dessert. If the pairing is a hit with you, get to work on these other dessert and alcohol pairings.

A simple but wonderful “dessert” is top-quality dark chocolate with a side of añejo.

You can also infuse dessert sauces with Tequila, such as this Tequila-custard sauce for fresh berries.

AGED TEQUILA: A BRIEF HISTORY

While Tequila has been distilled in Mexico since the arrival of the Conquistadors in the late 1520s, the aged Tequila styles, reposado and añejo, were developed in the early 1900s.

The move to aging happened when tequila producers thought to use the leftover brandy, rum and red wine casks that had been shipped from Spain to supply the Spanish aristocracy. This innovation changed the overall quality and taste of Tequila, which until then had been raw (unaged blanco/silver/white tequila) and without complexity.

More history of Tequila.

You can even enjoy añejo Tequila with simple shortbread or sugar cookies. Here, the rim of the glass is dipped into brown sugar. Photo courtesy Partida Tequila.

You can simplify this fancy Cherries &
Bourbon dessert and still enjoy the delicious combination of flavors. Photo courtesy Trace
Restaurant | Austin.

Adding spirits to baked goods—Bourbon, Grand Marnier, liqueur, rum—adds a subtle nuance. We serve spiked desserts with a shot or liqueur glass of the featured spirit. It‘s a lovely end to an evening. And it can be as simple as drizzling the spirit over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

September is Bourbon Heritage Month. Bourbon and cherries are a wonderful pairing, as demonstrated by this recipe from Janina O’Leary, executive pastry chef at Trace restaurant in the W Hotel in Austin, Texas.

Cherries and Bourbon features an airy cupcake dipped in tres leches milk and fried. Alternatively, you can bake the cake in a pan and serve it as squares.
The cake is then topped with cherry sorbet and Bourbon ice cream swirl with meringue and cherry pie filling.

If this sounds like a lot of work (it is!), try the simplified version. Don’t fry the cake. Don’t swirl the sorbet and ice cream together, but serve two separate, small scoops. Don’t have time to make the cherry sorbet? Just make the vanilla-Bourbon ice cream. Don’t have time to make the ice cream? Buy a pint of vanilla, soften it and stir in the Bourbon.

CHERRIES & BOURBON DESSERT RECIPE

Cupcake Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven; for cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

4. Fry at in shortening oil at 350°F. Serve warm

CHERRY SORBET RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

Mix all ingredients, strain and process in an ice cream machine.

 
MAKE YOUR OWN CHERRY PIE FILLING

You can substitute any fruit for the cherries. Whatever the fruit, this will be far better than most canned products.

Ingredients

No time to make your own vanilla Bourbon ice cream? Buy vanilla ice cream, soften and stir in the Bourbon. Photo by FunkyBG | Dreamstime.

Preparation

1. COMBINE. Add the ingredients to a medium sauce pan; stir to combine.

2. HEAT. Cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Raise heat and bring to a gentle boil; cook until desired consistency.

3. ADD. Stir in the final cup of cherries. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.
 

BOURBON ICE CREAM RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE. Combine the cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat.

2. WHISK. Put the egg yolks in bowl and whisk lightly.

3. COMBINE. When the cream mixture is starting to steam and tiny bubbles have formed along the edge of the pot, whisk a cup or so, ¼ cup at a time into the yolks, to temper the eggs.

4. WHISK. Once the eggs are tempered, whisk them into the cream mixture. Stirring constantly, cook over low heat or until the cream mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

5. ADD. Turn off heat and stir in the bourbon and vanilla extract. Process according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions

 
ASSEMBLE

1. Place cake in center of plate or bowl. Surround with spoonfuls of cherry pie topping.

2. Top cake with cherry sorbet and vanilla ice cream.

3. Garnish with bourbon whipped cream or cherry whipped cream. Chef O’Leary has also garnished with cherry powder and edible flowers.
 
MORE RECIPES WITH BOURBON

Drink your dessert. Photo courtesy
DiSaronno.

Dessert is an American tradition—sone sweetness to end the meal. But if you’re serving adults, before planning for cake, ice cream or other favorite, consider if you might rather have a dessert cocktail. Recipes often include ice cream and a liqueur.

This recipe, courtesy of DiSaronno, makers of amaretto (almond liqueur), evokes the tropics with piña colada mix and fresh banana.

Even if you don’t have access to a beach and swaying palm trees, close your eyes and imagine. Perhaps listen to Elvis’ Blue Hawaii CD.

BANANA COCONUT DESSERT COCKTAIL

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender with ice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.

2. Top with whipped cream and a banana slice. Serve with a straw and a spoon.

GODIVA BROWNIE COCKTAIL

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. With a squeeze bottle of chocolate syrup, make a design on the inside of the glass. Add brownie cubes.

2. Shake the remaining ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into into a Martini glass.

3. The cocktail softens the brownie into a bread pudding-like consistency. Serve with a spoon.

Pour a cream cocktail over cubed brownie bites. Photo courtesy Godiva.

MORE DESSERT COCKTAILS

Try this Grand Cookie Crumble recipe with Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur).

Or, use the recipes above as templates to combine your favorite ingredients. Let us know what you create!

Find more of our favorite dessert and cocktail recipes.

Here’s a tribute to aspic: a savory, gelatin-like food made from meat or fish stock. A classic French dish created centuries before the day of commercial gelatin* it was very difficult to prepare. In the beginning, cooks relied on the natural gelatin found in the meat to make the aspic set. In modern times, unflavored gelatin is used to ensure success.

*Gelatin was made in ancient times by boiling the bones; powdered gelatin was invented in 1682 by Denis Papin. The concept of cooking it with sugar to make dessert dates to 1845 and an inventor named Peter Cooper.

Recipes dating back to the Middle Ages show that clarified meat broths were turned into transparent, savory jellies. To make aspic, beef, fish, pork or poultry is cooked slowly to make a dense consommé, which is strained and clarified with egg white until it is clear. The clarified broth is then molded, can be served sliced or diced, served with a salad or as a garnish with meat and fish.

In the days before refrigeration, aspic covering boned meat or fish kept the proteins from spoiling: The gelatin keeps out air and bacteria.

Vegetables, herbs, slices of meat or fish, sliced hard-cooked eggs and pieces of cheese can be added. Like the pretty Jell-O fruit molds that came much later, aspic was an opportunity for the cook to show off his or her creative skills.

There are also vegetable aspics, the most popular of which is tomato aspic, made with tomato juice and gelatin. Unlike regular conventional aspics, tomato aspic is opaque.

Aspic became popular in the early 20th century. Wealthy people had cooks who could spend the time to create them. Aspics were de rigeur on a buffet table.

But with the wane of heavy French cuisine in the 1960s, in favor of California cuisine and International fare, savory aspics faded away.

Make A Savory Aspic Or A Sweet Gelatin Mold

You can find recipes and create a classic recipe, but most Americans prefer sweetened gelatin molds. Try this classic, made with orange juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, chopped oranges and shredded carrots—plus unflavored gelatin, sugar and salt. We like to add diced cucumber, celery and sliced radishes for crunch and reduce the sugar for more of a sweet-savory balance.

Gelatin molds are retro fun, and a cool dessert or snack in this hot weather. You can also serve it on the side with a green salad, or mound the salad on top of the sliced gelatin, as we showed in yesterday’s tip.

For classic savory aspics, take a look at:

UPDATE: Dang it! Two days after we published this post, the orange-carrot recipe was removed from circulation—can’t imagine why! Here’s a similar recipe:

No, this isn’t the cake, but one of the
creative appetizers at E&E Grill House:
smoky grilled bacon slabs on a salad of
Savoy cabbage dressed with aïoli and cider
vinegar. The cake is below. Photo courtesy
E&E Grill House.

We recently were a guest at a relatively new steakhouse in New York City’s Theatre District. E&E Grill House is a lovely change of pace, with a much more modern vibe than the typical steakhouse, including sleek white walls with occasional splashes of color (like a red wall dominated by a colorful Alexander Calder print). With all respect to classic steakhouse decor—dark paneling, damask and leather banquettes—we prefer E&E’s style.

Chef Eric Simeon’s menu has creative flourishes, such as Peekytoe Crab Fritters With Thai Basil-Chili Sauce; Smoked Baby Beets With Goat Cheese, Fennel and Pistachio; and Tuscan Kale Salad with shaved watermelon radishes, pecorino cheese and bread crumbs in a honey-and-whole-grain-mustard vinaigrette. For vegetarians, there’s Smoked & Grilled Tofu with grilled broccolini and yuzu-ginger sauce. Here’s a photo gallery of the food).

Your choice of beef cut can be garnished with one of eight sauces, including Benedict, Blue Cheese Brulee, Caramelized Shallots, Cultured Bone Marrow Butter, Bearnaise, Roasted Garlic-Mustard, Salt-Cured Foie Gras and Telicherry Peppercorn. The service is great.

AND THEN THERE’S THE CAKE

As much as we enjoyed our beef dishes, we left dreaming of a dessert called Birthday Cake: velvet chocolate cake (deep chocolate, not red velvet) with cream cheese frosting and a side of confetti ice cream—a ball of vanilla rolled in rainbow sprinkles.

It was so good, we couldn’t wait for our next trip to the neighborhood—just for the Birthday Cake.

Not your birthday? That’s OK: It’s your un-birthday. Or, as the Mad Hatter, March Hare and White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland so memorably sing:

“Now statistics prove that you’ve one birthday
Imagine, just one birthday every year
Ah, but there are 364 unbirthdays
Precisely why we’re gathered here to cheer.”

Want a weekend cooking project? Bake this cake! It may be just the thing to bake for Father’s Day, too.

Thanks to E&E pastry chef Christopher Peneiro for sharing his delectable Birthday Cake recipe with us.

E&E BIRTHDAY CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients

Our new favorite birthday cake—and unbirthday cake, too. Photo courtesy E&E Grill House.

Preparation: Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together melted butter, sugar, eggs, coffee, buttermilk, vanilla paste and olive oil. Slowly stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture, blending until smooth.

4. Pour batter into two 8-inch round cake pans. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING & CONFETTI ICE CREAM RECIPES

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Beat cold cream cheese with softened butter and vanilla until combined.

2. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar that has been sifted after measuring. Continue to add more sifted powdered sugar until you reach a consistency and sweetness that fits your taste. (Editor’s Note: We don’t add much additional sugar. The cake and ice cream are sweet enough for us without over-sweetening the frosting.)

3. Layer the cake with frosting and serve with a ball of confetti ice cream.

CONFETTI ICE CREAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Scoop round balls of ice cream and roll in sprinkles.

2. Return to freezer on a plate or tray until ready to serve, covered with plastic wrap or foil. You can do this the day before.
 
We hope you love this cake as much as we do.