I was unfamiliar with this cake when I saw it come up in the book. Is it supposed to taste like a madeleine? I wondered. The cake is prepared in a quarter sheet pan and then cut into bars. If frozen, it can be cut into other shapes as is the case for the Lemon Meringue Tarts. The madeleine cake is a secret layer in the middle to separate the lemon curd and meringue top. It is rather versatile.

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To add to the list of interpretations of the classics-Better Nutter (Nutter Butter) and Oreo (TKO), Thomas Keller has a recipe for an Oh Oh, his version of the chocolate Swiss roll or Hostess’ Ho Ho. The technique is similar to making a jelly roll or buche de noel in that you make a flat sponge cake, spread a layer of filling and roll it up. For the Oh Oh, the rolls get a chocolate coating finish.

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The gold disk or palet d’or is a rich chocolate dessert made up of alternating layers of cake and chocolate cream, covered in a chocolate glaze. So yes, A LOT of chocolate. Traditionally a few flecks of gold leaf are placed on top, hence the d’or part of the name. It was the first recipe out of the Bouchon Bakery cookbook where I felt like the challenge was more in the execution and presentation rather than the technique.

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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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