Food Processor

This classic sugar cookie and tart shell dough is also known as pâte sucrée. Like the Chocolate Sugar Dough, it is very versatile and works as tart shells or sugar cookies, or whenever you need a sweet, sturdy crust to hold delicacies like strawberries and cream or chocolate mousse. You can also mix all the ingredients in a food processor—just pulse until the ingredients come together.

Ganache is one of the great creations of the chocolate world. It is a very versatile emulsion of melted chocolate and cream. It can be poured as a glaze, whipped to make icing, piped to decorate cakes, shaped into truffles, thickened with butter, flavored with alcohol and herbal infusions, or blended with fruit. While you can certainly make ganache by hand with warm chocolate, warm cream, and a whisk, the food-processor method, below, is favored by many pastry chefs and chocolatiers. The rapid action of the machine’s blades creates a smooth texture and a very stable emulsion. Immersion blenders work well, too. If you envision a cake with thick icing layers and decorations, double this recipe.