Whoever came up with the idea of using crushed chocolate cookies to simulate dirt on food is a complete genius. Nothing else so perfectly mimics dark, moist, peaty soil, and as a cake decorator, I've had a blast conceiving all sorts of kid's cakes with the stuff. Unfortunately, most chocolate dirt desserts are sort of trashy: layers of boxed instant chocolate pudding, Oreo cookie crumbs, Cool Whip non-dairy topping, all decorated with handfuls of squiggly neon gummy worms. I decided to challenge myself by making this mash-up with some good, wholesome ingredients and a fresh design with adult appeal. More

These brownies are not a mocha-macchiato-molten-center brownie, a death-by-triple-truffle brownie, or a cheesecake-chocolate-crack brownie. They're just a good 'ole basic brownie. No hoopla, nothing fancy, but soul satisfying good. More

This salted chocolate caramel tart has a strong pedigree. It was originally conceived by Claudia Fleming as a tartlette on the tasting menu at Gramercy Tavern, who passed it down to one of Marlow's pastry chefs, who put it on the menu and found that she couldn't take it off. More

Babka is a delicious bundt-shaped, yeast-risen coffee cake from Eastern Europe. Pronounced "bahb-ka", the word means "grandmother" in Polish, which is perfectly fitting for this plump and comforting sweet bread. Babka is typically filled with swirls of either cinnamon, nuts, or chocolate (my favorite of course). More

Unlike an office job, where a resume and an interview can be enough to get on the payroll, applying for a culinary position usually demands a "try out". You pack your knife roll (or your icing spatulas and pastry tips if you're a pastry chef like myself), and head into a strange kitchen to be handed your assignment. More

Sometimes you want pudding topped with whipped cream. Sometimes (make that most of the time, if you're like me) you'd rather have whipped cream topped with pudding. I imagine it was a like-minded home economist with a fondness for cream who came up with the recipe for "Pudding in a Cloud," a retro recipe consisting of chocolate Jell-O nestled in a cloud of Cool Whip. More

This double chocolate tart is reminiscent of a plated dessert that I would have created way back when, when my chocolate palate was one of no-holds-bar, pedal-to-the-metal, tastes. Forget a plain pastry crust to hold the chocolate filling. My crust would be chocolate. And how about a simple vanilla ice cream to cut the richness of the chocolate tart? No way. It was gonna be chocolate all the way. More

This is hands down one of my favorite cookies ever. Back in 1998, when I was still the pastry chef at The White Hart Inn in Salisbury, CT, I eyed a recipe for Triple Chocolate Cookies with Pistachios on the last page of my Gourmet magazine. A chocolate cookie studded with semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chunks, and pistachios. Um, yum! More

This cake is the perfect party cake. Dark, dewy, cocoa-espresso cake layers nest in heavy swathes of bittersweet chocolate frosting. Sitting tall and pretty, decked out in creamy swirls of chocolate, this cake dares you to resist. But you won't. More

Chocolate for breakfast? Pancakes for dessert? I say: why not! I've never subscribed to the notion of attaching specific foods to specific meals. I'll eat anything, any time of the day. I used to completely appall my grandmother when she stayed at my house when I was growing up. She would stand there in shock as she watched me toss a few slices of cold and congealed, pepperoni pizza into the toaster oven for breakfast. More