Before you start

Gather your ingredients.

Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.

A few useful notes.

Two small custards are a serving suggestion for this batch.

Use smooth pistachio paste rather than chopped nuts. Sweetened pistachio spreads can change the sweetness and texture.

Keep the custards refrigerated. Add the sugar crust shortly before serving.

The cooking plan

How to make Small-Batch Pistachio Crème Brûlée.

1. Heat the oven to 250°F. Set two ovenproof ramekins of about 150 ml capacity in a deep roasting pan. Heat water separately for the water bath.

2. Warm the cream in a small saucepan until steaming, without boiling. Meanwhile, stir the weighed yolks and 9 g sugar until smooth. Blend in the honey and pistachio paste.

3. Slowly pour the warm cream into the yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Scrape the bowl thoroughly, then pass the mixture through a fine sieve. Divide between the ramekins and skim off surface bubbles.

4. Put the pan on the oven rack and carefully add hot water around the ramekins to about halfway up their sides. Keep water out of the custards. Bake, starting to check at about 40 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers tremble gently rather than slosh. Check with a food thermometer that the centers reach at least 160°F; continue baking as needed.

5. Lift the ramekins out of the hot water carefully. Let the initial heat subside, then refrigerate within 2 hours of baking. Chill until fully cold and set, allowing at least 4 hours.

6. Just before serving, blot any condensation from the cold custard tops. Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon sugar in a thin even layer. On a heatproof surface, use a kitchen torch according to its instructions to melt and caramelize the sugar. Let the crust harden briefly, then serve.

Before you start

Gather your ingredients.

Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.

A few useful notes.

This is the topping component; choux pastry is prepared separately.

Disc count depends on thickness and cutter size.

The cooking plan

How to make Craquelin Topping for Cream Puffs.

1. Mix sugar and flour in a bowl. Work in softened butter until a smooth dough forms.

2. Cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Roll between two parchment sheets into a thin, even layer, about 2 mm thick.

3. Freeze flat until firm, using about 2 hours as a guide. Cut discs sized to sit on the piped choux buns you intend to bake.

4. Keep the discs frozen until needed. Place them on piped choux before baking and follow the complete choux recipe until the pastries are fully baked.

Before you start

Gather your ingredients.

Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.

A few useful notes.

The base batch uses 500 g milk.

This is a thick pastry filling rather than a pourable sauce.

Contains pistachio, dairy, egg and wheat.

The cooking plan

How to make Pistachio Pastry Cream.

1. Reserve 100 g of the milk for the base batch. Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan until steaming.

2. Whisk yolks, sugar, cornstarch, flour and the reserved cold milk in a heatproof bowl until smooth.

3. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until thick and bubbling.

4. Continue whisking at a gentle boil for about 1 minute to cook the starches. Remove from heat and stir in butter and pistachio paste until smooth.

5. Transfer to a shallow heatproof container, cover the surface and cool promptly. Refrigerate within 2 hours and keep at 40°F or colder. Stir smooth before using as a chilled filling.

Before you start

Gather your ingredients.

Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.

A few useful notes.

The control represents one small batch; cake count depends on mold size.

Butter is weighed after browning, because cooking removes water.

The cooking plan

How to make Brown Butter Almond Financiers.

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter small financier molds or mini muffin wells.

2. Whisk almond flour, sugar, all-purpose flour and salt together. Add egg whites and vanilla and mix until smooth.

3. Stir in the measured browned butter until evenly incorporated. Divide among the prepared small molds, leaving room for the cakes to rise.

4. Bake, starting the check at about 12 minutes, until golden at the edges and set in the center. Baking time depends on the size and depth of the molds.

5. Let firm briefly in the molds, then unmold onto a rack to cool.