Name: Soufflé of Puff Pastry with Orange-Scented Pastry Cream, Candied Pecans, and Caramel Butter Sauce
Yield: Makes 10 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (120 g/4.2 oz) heavy cream; Pastry Cream; Finely grated zest of 1 orange; 1 1/2 Tbsp (12 g/0.42 oz) cornstarch; 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp (500 g/17.6 oz) water; 1 cup (225 g/8 oz) firmly packed light brown sugar; 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped; 2 Tbsp (30 g/1 oz) unsalted butter; Pinch of salt; 1 Tbsp (15 g/0.5 oz) Myers's dark rum; 1 1/4 cups (125 g/4.4 oz) pecan halves; 1/4 cup (60 g/2.1 oz) water; 1/4 cup (50 g/1.76 oz) granulated sugar; Puff Pastry; Confectioners' sugar, for dusting; medium, plain tip (Ateco #6); 3-inch round pastry cutter

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Soufflé of Puff Pastry with Orange-Scented Pastry Cream, Candied Pecans, and Caramel Butter SauceRogerio Voltan

Daniel Boulud always had a preference for classic French desserts, so I developed this recipe for the lunch menu when I was pastry chef at Daniel. The dessert itself is very simple: We bake an undocked, thick round of puff pastry, letting it puff up high, and serve it hot, filled with Orange-Scented Pastry Cream and topped with a buttery caramel sauce and a few Candied Pecans. The puff pastry rounds should be baked à la minute, never ahead of time, though the dough can be rolled out and cut in advance, and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a day. Sometimes the best desserts are the simplest.

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