Gourmand fragrances (ones that have an edible quality) are ditching their overly saccharine rep—and getting way more sophisticated (you can read more about this in our April issue, on newsstands now). So we asked top pastry chefs to whip up desserts inspired by the hottest new scent combinations. They taste every bit as good as they smell. The only question? Which one you'll make first.
Courtesy of Chef Christina Tosi
The fragrance: Sweet + Aquatic (like Maison Martin Margiela Replica Beach Walk,$125, sephora.com)
The recipe: Salt and Pepper Cookies
Developed by: Chef Christina Tosi of Milk Bar in New York City (check out her upcoming book, Milk Bar Life)
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1⁄4 tsp baking soda
1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream on high until hom*ogenous, about 3 minutes. (If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer.) Add egg, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
3. Add flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, and baking soda, mixing until just combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Portion 2 3⁄4-ounce scoops of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely on the pan.
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Courtesy of Chef Tiffany MacIsaac of Buttercream Bakeshop
The fragrance: Sweet + Woods or Herbs (like Lancôme La Vie Est Belle Eau De Parfum Spray, $62, lancome-usa.com)
The recipe: Pecan Praline Coffee Cake
Developed by: Tiffany MacIsaac of Buttercream Bakeshop in Washington, D.C.
14 Tbsp (2 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar, divided
2 Tbsp molasses
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
1 recipe Sage Crumble Topping (below)
1. Melt butter, and set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk to combine buttermilk, eggs, sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and molasses in a mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt in a separate bowl.
4. Add wet mixture and melted butter to dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth and fully combined.
5. Spray a 11" x 7" baking pan with cooking spray, and pour half the batter into the pan. Spread evenly. Sprinkle the pecans and reserved 3 Tbsp brown sugar evenly over the batter.
6. Pour the remaining batter on top of the pecans and spread to the edges. Top with sage crumble, and bake 55-65 minutes, rotating the pan after the first 30 minutes. The cake will be golden brown when it's done, and a small knife inserted in the center of the cake should comeout clean.
For the Sage Crumble Topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
5-6 sage leaves
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
1. Combine flour, sugar, and sage in a food processor, and process 45-60 seconds, or until the sage is no longer visible.
2. Add butter and salt while the machine is running, and mix to combine.
The fragrance: Sweet + Woods or Herbs (like Viktor & Rolf Bonbon, $115, saksfifthavenue.com)
The recipe: Amber Sandalwood Cookies Stuffed with Cedar Caramel and Dipped in White Chocolate
Developed by: Kate Jacoby of Vedge in Philadelphia
1 recipe Amber Sandalwood Cookies (below)
1 recipe Cedar Caramel (below)
1 recipe White Chocolate Coating (below)
1. Assemble by placing one cookie on a work surface, topping it with about 1 Tbsp of caramel buttercream, and then stacking another cookie on top.
2. Cover the stack in the white chocolate coating.
For the Amber Sandalwood Cookies:
1 stick sandal wood incense
8 Tbsp vegan butter, softened
1 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp tapioca flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp scotch
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1. Begin by incensing the butter: Carefully place an incense holder at one end of a large casserole dish, and place butter at the other end. Light incense, then blow out the flame and capture the smoke under a foil cover. Allow incense to fully burn inside covered casserole dish (about 10 minutes).Carefully remove incense stick and any ash. Transfer your incense butter to a medium mixing bowl.
2. Sift the cornstarch, flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a medium mixing bowl.
3. Beat sugar and vegan butter together until creamy. Continue beating while adding in olive oil, scotch, and vanilla extract.
4. Gradually add cornstarch-flour mixture to sugar-butter mixture, and combine until a firm dough ball comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. When you have 10 minutes remaining, heat oven to 350°F.
5. Roll out cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick, and use a cookie cutter to stamp out small circles (about 2 inches wide).
6. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined sheet pan, and bake for 12 minutes.Allow to cool completely.
For the Cedar Caramel:
1/2 cup cedar chips
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegan butter
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp vegan milk
2 cup powdered sugar
1. Heat brown sugar on medium until it dissolves and starts to caramelize, about 5 minutes.Reduce heat, and add butter and cedar chips. Simmer on low for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from heat, and stir in salt and vegan milk until combined. Allow to cool for five minutes.
3. Strain out thecedar chips, then allow to fully cool for about 30 minutes.
4. Cream powdered sugar into the caramel to create a thick buttercream.
For the White Chocolate Coating:
3/4 cup cocoa butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Melt cocoa butter in a small sauce pan.Remove from heat, and whisk in coconut oil, agave, and vanilla.
2. Allow to cool about 5 minutes before using.
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Courtesy of Chef Dana Cree of Blackbird in Chicago
The fragrance: Sweet + Liqueur (like Guerlain Elixir Charnel Gourmand Coquin Eau de Parfum, $260, nordstrom.com)
The recipe: Chocolate Rum Pudding with Toasted Cocoa Crepes, Cocoa Bean-Pistachio Crunch, and Rum Shaved Ice
Developed by: Chef Dana Cree of Blackbird in Chicago
1 recipe Chocolate Crepes (below)
Sanding sugar, to taste
1 recipe Candied Cocoa Bean and Pistachio Crunch
1 recipe Rum Shaved Ice
1 recipe Chocolate Rum Pudding
1. 10 minutes before serving, remove the covering from the chocolate crepes, and sprinkle the surface lightly with sugar crystals. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Heat the crepes for 5 minutes, then allow them to rest until they are cool enough to handle and the sugar starts to crisp, about 2 minutes.
3. Cover your serving bowl with a loose nest of the warm crispy crepes, fill with chocolate rum pudding,and sprinkle with candied cocoa bean and pistachio crunch. Just before serving, spoon rum shaved ice over the crepes.
For the Chocolate Crepes:
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 cups milk
1. Sift flour, buckwheat flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
2. Add the eggs, butter, and milk. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Pass through fine mesh strainer. Store in the refrigerator overnight, a crucial step that should not be skipped.
3. Cook each crepe in a nonstick pan, and brush generously with melted butter when finished.
4. Cut each crepe into half-inch ribbons, and lay them flat on a sheet pan. Keep the crepes covered until you are ready to bake them (this can be done up to 2 days ahead of time).
For the Chocolate Rum Pudding:
4 oz milk chocolate
2 oz dark chocolate
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp dark rum
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1. Place both chocolates in a medium metal bowl. Fill a medium sized pot with 2 inches water, and bring to a boil. Once the water has boiled, turn the heat to the lowest setting, and place the bowl of chocolate over the top of the steaming pot to melt.
2. Place cream, milk, and sugar in medium pot. Cook over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Whisk to dissolve the sugar. When the rum cream has boiled, add a small amount of the hot cream to the egg yolks, and whisk until even. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pot of hot cream, whisking to avoid curdling the eggs. Stir with a rubber spatula over low heat until the custard thickens and reaches 180°F and thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula. Immediately strain the hot custard through a fine mesh strainer.
3. Add 1/3 of the hot custard to the melted chocolate. Whisk until the custard is evenly incorporated. Add half the remaining custard to the chocolate, and whisk until even. Finally, add the remainder of the custard, and whisk until even. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl, and whisk one final time.
4. Divide the pudding between 8 shallow bowls, and chill in the refrigerator to set.
For the Candied Cocoa Bean and Pistachio Crunch:
1 cuppistachios, toasted
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
1. Place sugar and water in a small skillet.
2. When syrup reaches 230°F on a candy thermometer, remove from heat. Add pistachios, cocoa nibs, and salt. Stir until the syrup coats the nuts evenly. Continue stirring until the sugar recrystallizes, frosting the pistachios. (This can take a couple minutes.)
3. Transfer to a sheet pan, and allow to cool completely. Then chop until crumbly.
For the Rum Shaved Ice:
2 cups water
2 Tbsp dark rum
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1. Place 2 cups water, rum, and vanilla seeds and pod in a small pot, and bring to a boil. When the liquid comes to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to steep for 30 minutes.
2. Place sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small pot, and place over medium-high heat. Cook until the syrup starts to boil, stirring only once until the sugar is dissolved. Wash away any sugar crystals that cling to the sides of the pot with a moist pastry brush.
3. Continue cooking until the sugar reaches a medium amber color, then slowly add the reserved vanilla and rum water, whisking to combine.
4. When all the water has been added, strain the syrup, and place in shaved ice machine containers to freeze. If you do not have a shaved ice maker, the rum syrup can be frozen in a shallow casserole dish and scraped with a fork when frozen.
Courtesy of Chef Tammy Alana
The fragrance: Sweet + Citrus (like Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent, $65,esteelauder.com)
The recipe: Toasted Tonka Bean and Almond Custard with Vanilla Meringue Crisps and a Chilled Orange Jasmine Soup
Developed by: Chef Tammy Alana, Alize at the Top of the Palms inLas Vegas
1 recipe Almond Custard (below)
1 recipe Vanilla Meringue Crisps (below)
1. Place the custard in a piping bag, and using a ring mold, pipe the custard in the middle of the bowl.
2. Arrange the vanilla crisps around the custard, and pour in the chilled soup.
3. Garnish with fresh mint, berries, or a fresh jasmine flower. Serve immediately.
For the Almond Custard:
1 cup almond milk
4 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tonka beans
1 tspbutter
1/4 tsp salt
1. Grate tonka beans with a microplane, and lightly toast in the oven.
2. Steep almond milk with the toasted tonka beans. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg.
3. Pour into hot milk, and whisk until the custard thickens. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Strain custard, and chill.
For the Vanilla Meringue Crisps:
1 oz egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
1. Whip egg whites to a stiff peak, and slowly sprinkle in sugar.
2. When all is incorporated, add salt and vanilla. Continue to whisk until meringue becomes glossy.
3. Pipe out into desired shapes on parchment paper, and bake in the oven at a low 120°F until crisp, approximately 1 hour.
For the Orange Jasmine Soup:
8 oranges, zested and juiced (you'll be using both the zest and the juice)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp apple pectin
3 dried jasmine flowers
1. Stir together sugar and pectin in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the orange juice and zest in a small saucepan.
2. Bring juice to a simmer. When juice has thickened slightly, remove from heat, and add jasmine flowers.
3. Wait approximately 5 minutes, and then strain the soup and place in an ice bath until completely chilled.
Courtesy of Chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka
The fragrance: Sweet + Rich Florals (like Michael Kors White Eau De Parfum, $88, michaelkors.com)
The recipe: Haupia Sorbet
Developed by: Michelle Karr-Ueoka of MW Restaurant in Honolulu
1 recipe Panna Cotta
1 recipe Sorbet
1 recipe Haupia-Kaffir Lime Air
1 recipe Compressed Pineapple
1. Arrange all ingredients attractively on a serving platter.
For the Panna Cotta:
240 grams cream
80 grams milk
180 grams sugar
1 lemon, zested
5 sheets gelatin
1. Bring cream and milk to a boil, and add sugar and lemon zest.
2. Add gelatin, and strain.
3. Place into 1/2-inch dome molds, and put in refrigerator to set.
For the Sorbet:
300 grams sorbet syrup
170 grams water
360 grams coconut milk
1. Combine all ingredients, and spin in an ice cream machine till frozen.
For the Haupia-Kaffir Lime Air:
360 grams coconut milk
60 grams sugar
5 kaffir lime leaves
1. Bring coconut milk and sugar to a boil. Add kafir lime leaves, and let steep. Strain and chill.
2. Place in an ISI canister, charge with two cartridges, and place into a container and freeze. The end result should look like whipped cream.
For the Compressed Pineapple:
1 pineapple
30 grams sugar
1 piece ginger, peeled and sliced
1. Clean and core the pineapple.
2. Place pineapple, sugar, and ginger in a bag, and compress in an cryovac machine. Chill 24 hours.
3. Slice into thin ribbons.
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