This icing is so rich and delicious that it is popular with our customers even as a “frosting shot”—straight icing eaten with a spoon. Try piping about 2 ounces into shot glasses or espresso cups and serving them (accompanied by demitasse spoons) as an unexpected cocktail party dessert. Or pull out a bowl of the icing on movie night and offer cookies and strawberries for dipping. Just as sour cream is much softer than butter, this icing is very soft, so it’s important to be flexible about the amount of sour cream you add; the amount will depend on the heat and humidity where and when you’re making it. You’ll add it 1/3 cup at a time at the end of the recipe, so stop adding it if the icing gets to the consistency of warm peanut butter. While not essential, for best results keep cakes and cupcakes iced with Chocolate Icing refrigerated until about 30 minutes before serving them. For a more exotic twist, 2 tablespoons of chili powder can add a smokey heat to the icing. Try that atop Devil’s Food Cake (page 98) cupcakes for a Cinco de Mayo party or other fiesta.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.
The silky French vanilla sauce that goes with everything.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
An extra-silky filling (no water bath needed!) and a smooth sour cream topping make this the ultimate cheesecake.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.