Time to use my favorite fruit, the strawberry. I re-interpreted the Strawberry Parfait in the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook by turning it into an individual dessert.

The cake is an Olive Oil Cake. The middle layer consists of a ring of halved strawberries and a creme moussoline, which is a rich filling that combines pastry cream and Italian buttercream. After another layer of cake, I finished piped little flourishes of creme fraiche.

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This classic breakfast cake gets a little twist with a cocoa layer in the middle. That little bit of chocolate flavor is just right and would complement any cup of coffee or hot cocoa. And of course a coffee cake is not complete without the signature crumble on the top. Here an almond streusel is used.

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These are dangerous little chocolate cakes. They are small so you think, okay it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple but when that becomes six, that’s half the batch. This happens to me quite often when things are bite size (tricky Halloween candy). So yes based on my extreme serving size, this is another great recipe to bookmark and simple to make.

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Financiers are bite-size cakes once made for bankers to eat on the go without getting crumbs all over their suits. The traditional rectangular bar mold resembles gold bars. I have yet to invest in the mold so I used a mini muffin pan to make little cakes so tempting to pop in my mouth one after the other.

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The madeleine’s adorable shell shape somehow lures me to take a bite every time I see the petite French cake, only to be disappointed by it’s dryness. The one version I do like comes from Ble Sucre in Paris but there is a ton of butter and it’s coated in a glaze. Traditionally the cake’s only addition, if any is a dusting of powdered sugar. I’ve experimented with a couple madeleine recipes in the past but after my attempt this week, I will definitely be making them much more.

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