Berry

This is as close to a traditional scone as BabyCakes NYC comes. I 86’ed the butter, obviously, and played up the sweet, all without abandoning the light-yet-satisfying texture. I find that raspberries, more delicate than currants or other popular berries used in scones, have a tanginess that’s a perfect accompaniment to morning tea.

Rich, flaky shortcake is a perfect showcase for luscious strawberries.

Is there anything better than having older sisters? When Kathy and Suzi left for college in Northern California, we younger sisters were shipped off for monthlong summer visits. With Kathy, days were spent ripping around in her Honda sedan, blasting Prince, popping doughnut holes by the bucketful, and making emergency stops at Contempo Casual. After we blew our babysitting money on stretch pants, we’d head over to Suzi’s and rehab our sugar hangovers by getting back to nature. We’d raft down to the grocery store (seriously) and take leisurely bike rides. Suzi’s pantry was stuffed with strange cereals (where were the neon-purple pieces?), whole-wheat pancake mix, and blueberry muffins. Bridget immediately went on a hunger strike, while I snuck snacks in the laundry room, discovering this new world of health-minded food. I quickly fell for the blueberry muffin, and it’s been a close friend ever since. What follows is my version—it’s light and sweet and I think you’ll find it perfect for nearly every occasion.

When you tame the slight acidity of raspberries with the natural sweetness of beets, you come up with a flavor profile like none other. In addition to serving this sauce with Chocolate-Beet Cake (page 29), you could use it as the start of a trifle. Try one with crumbled Chocolate Meringues (page 209) and fresh berries and unsweetened whipped cream, maybe with a layer of Strawberry Sorbet (page 236). You could also serve this sauce with yogurt and granola.

Sure you can spoon this sauce over ice cream, but you can also make it to serve with waffles or pancakes. Or even as a dip for toasted Brioche (page 194).

This brightly flavored jelly would make a delicious layer in a birthday cake. Pour it into the cake pan you’re using for the cake and let it set.

This compote is a perfect balance of opposite flavors: sweet, soft strawberries and bitter, astringent rhubarb. It fills the mochi on page 23, but it would also be very nice with Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta (page 37), mixed into thick plain yogurt, or as a bed for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (page 220) and fresh berries.

This simple technique yields amazing results, intensifying the flavor of the strawberries so that each one explodes on your palate. The strawberries I use are small, local, day-neutral or “ever-bearing” varieties like Tristar, which come from local farmers. You can roast larger berries, but they will take longer and they won’t be as sweet.

I love sangria in the summertime and always thought about turning it into a slushy. Here, I’ve taken it one step further and made granité. The acid from the raspberries both brightens and enhances the flavors of the wines.

Dessert wines are usually too sweet for me, so I introduce the natural acids of fresh fruit or berries for balance, as in this granité. Serve this over berries or add it to a margarita.

The goal when making any sorbet is to capture the purity of ripe fruit while making the smoothest texture possible. This sorbet does that beautifully for ripe summer strawberries.

My issue with fruit ice creams is not being able to taste the fruit, so to keep that flavor foremost, I cook the ice cream base on its own and then add fresh fruit. Less fat—no eggs in the ice cream base—allows the berry flavor to stand out.

I’ve always wanted to create some interesting chocolate texture to pair with strawberries, and one night during a brainstorming session, Michal Shelkowitz—one of my cooks—suggested spaetzle. After much manipulation, we figured out how to make it something great and new and a cool contrast to the berries.

The technique here is traditional and French. The fresh and dried cranberries and the star anise are modern and provide bright hits of flavor in every bite. You’ll need two 6-cavity Flexipan savarin molds (the 2 3/4-inch size) if you want to match the shape of the dessert in the photograph. But you could also freeze the nougat in a baking sheet and cut pieces to serve.

Beets and raspberries complement each other perfectly, covering sweet and acidic, earthy and bright flavors. The chocolate in this dessert is the secondary flavor, reinforcing the earthiness of the beets and bringing two additional textures to the plate.

Here, I’ve created my version of sweet potato pie, but it’s not as heavy and not as sweet. The cranberry foam gives a nice added pop of acidity.

Chef Alex Lee used to serve a tomato mosaic at Daniel, and when I got two super-ripe watermelons, one yellow and one red, I mimicked the appearance of his savory dish on my dessert menu. The cheese and granité add depth of flavor. I’m not giving you a yield here, since this is more of a combination of flavors than anything, and you can make as many as you like.

These ingredients all strike floral notes and to my mind are a natural combination. Raspberries contribute sweetness; champagne, acidity; rose water, depth of flavor; and the apricots, texture.

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.

The flavor combinations here—particularly the strawberry and coconut—remind me of some Caribbean cocktail, the kind with an umbrella in it.