Desserts from the Best New Pastry Chefs 2013

Popping Flan

Brown Sugar Flan This is a very classic flan recipe, except that it’s made with brown sugar, which gives it a deeper, molasses-like flavor.

Popping Candy “These are just like Pop Rocks!” Durant says. A drop of liquid makes them sizzle on the plate.

Celery Sorbet “I’m obsessed with celery,” says Durant. “Believe it or not, this entire dish started with the celery sorbet.”

Yuzu Foam Fresh yuzu is hard to find, so Durant often uses bottled juice. Her favorite brand is Yakami Orchard (amazon.com).

Plums with Cream Cheese & Buckwheat Ice Cream

Panna Cotta Dome Fresh plum gel coats a panna cotta made with Sierra Nevada Cheese Company’s fresh cream cheese (sierranevadacheese.com).

Buckwheat Sprouts “When we get these, I always have to share them with chef David Kinch.”

Buckwheat Crumbs Buckwheat graham crackers are the key to this crumble. Prida likes buckwheat flour from bobsredmill.com.

Plum Flowers Prida slices plums, then cuts a slit toward the center to shape them into flowers.

Pane Caramello

Caramelized Banana Truitt’s advice: “Always use a nonstick pan for caramelizing fruit.”

Banana-Brioche Ice Cream Truitt soaks brioche in milk to flavor ice cream. He says it tastes just like a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Passion Fruit “Mayo” Passion fruit blended with olive oil becomes a thick, mayonnaise-like cream. Truitt says, “Never cook fresh fruit juice. It totally changes the flavor.”

Licorice Syrup The black licorice syrup calls for more than eight ingredients, including molasses and orange peel.

Chocolate Crémeux with Candied Pretzels, Potato Chips & Beer Caramel

Chocolate Bark When the weather gets hot, Jordan has to find space in Boka’s chilly wine room to make chocolates.

Pretzel Croutons Jordan bakes pretzels, chops them andtoasts in butter and sugar. Any extradough becomes pretzel buns for burgers.

Potato Chips Jordan slices and brines potatoes before frying, so they don’t need extra seasoning. “They taste like salt-and-vinegar chips from a bag.”

Beer Caramel “I love to use sour beer for this,” says Jordan. Her favorite is Quebec’s Unibroue Éphémère, which is tart and fruity.

Violet Vacherin

Chocolate Crumbles These remind Glass of Carvel Cake Crunchies; she makes them with dehydrated flourless chocolate cake.

Candied Violets Though they can be made by hand, Glass buys these delicate candied flowers from lepicerie.com.

Coconut Cream For consistency and flavor, Glass swears by Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk for her Moscato-laced cream.

Violet Meringue The trick to shaping these crisp meringues: food-grade plastic pipes that Glass buys from everythingplastic.net.