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¼ cup good-quality bourbon

Put the butter, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, and bourbon in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture registers 160°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.

cream cheese–poppy seed cakes

MAKES 12 SMALL CAKES

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the molds

1½ cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for the molds

½ teaspoon coarse salt

11/3 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¾ cup whipped cream cheese, room temperature

3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter 12 3½-inch brioche molds or a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Whisk the flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Put the butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and yolks, one at a time. Add the vanilla and 1½ teaspoons water; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture; mix until just combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Spoon 1 cup batter into each mold.

3. Beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in the clean bowl of the electric mixer on low speed until creamy and combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto the batter in each mold; sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

génoise torte with chocolate and praline caramel mousses

SERVES 10

1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1¼ cups sugar

2¼ cups heavy cream

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

Almond Praline (recipe follows)

3 tablespoons cognac or brandy

½ cup Simple Syrup (Basics)

Génoise (12 × 16-inch cake; recipe follows), cut crosswise into 4 rectangles

¾ pound bittersweet chocolate, scraped with a large knife (about 1 cup)

1. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon gelatin over 2 tablespoons water in a heatproof bowl. Sprinkle the remaining ½ teaspoon gelatin over 1 tablespoon water in another heatproof bowl. Let soften about 3 minutes.

2. Bring the sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat; swirl the pan to dissolve the sugar. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Boil until the sugar turns dark amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Slowly add 1 cup cream and the butter, stirring until the butter has melted. Put 2/3 cup caramel into a medium bowl; set aside. Stir together the remaining caramel and the unsweetened chocolate in another medium bowl; set aside.

3. Set 1 bowl of softened gelatin over a pan of simmering water, and stir until the gelatin has melted. Repeat with the remaining bowl of gelatin. Pour the larger batch of gelatin into the plain caramel. Pour the smaller batch of gelatin into the chocolate caramel. Let both caramels cool completely, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes.

4. Whisk the remaining 1¼ cups cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the whipped cream into the plain caramel mixture; fold the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate-caramel mixture. Refrigerate the mousses until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Stir the almond praline into the plain caramel mousse.

5. Stir the cognac and simple syrup in a small bowl. Assemble the torte: Place 1 cake rectangle on a platter; brush with one-quarter of the cognac syrup. Spread with half the chocolate-caramel mousse. Top with another cake rectangle; brush with one-quarter of the syrup. Spread with praline-caramel mousse. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Top with another cake rectangle; brush with one-quarter of the syrup. Spread with the remaining chocolate-caramel mousse. Top with the remaining cake rectangle; brush with the remaining syrup.