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Oven-proof demitasse cups and spoons find their way to the dessert table filled with a single mixture that ingeniously separates into cake on the top and custard on the bottom during the baking process. It looks like a tiny soufflé and tastes like New Orleans famous Café Brûlot, laced with cognac, cinnamon, cloves, lemon and orange. It's simple and spectacular, a surprise for your guests.

After graduating from New Orleans’ Delgado Culinary Arts program, executive chef Robert Barker spent his first three years in an apprenticeship tour of the city’s most distinctive restaurants.

Delgado’s respected program is modeled after the European apprenticeship system. A student rotates through accredited restaurants and attends class on off-kitchen days. Three years of practical experience with pay and academics make it one of the country’s finest schools. Restaurants compete for these students.

Barker completed his apprenticeship at Arnaud’s, then joined Wolfgang Puck for what he called his MBA in cooking. He followed up as executive sous-chef under Emeril Legasse, and later earned his toque—although he wears a baseball cap—as an executive chef.

Barker relishes creating new ways of presenting New Orleans’ unique flavor combinations, and cooking is his passion. “Food,” he says, “is the centerpiece for me. Our family gets together for holidays and the continuous two or three-day food fest begins with visits to the farmer’s markets and ends with soups and gumbos from the leftovers. That’s what it is all about.”

Yield: 12 demitasse cups or six servings in custard cups

1 1/2 cup milk, scalded
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
pinch teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons cognac
4 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons strong espresso


Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
In a small saucepan, scald the milk. Set it aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, flour, salt, melted butter, lemon and orange peel, lemon and orange juice, and cognac. Stir together to blend. This is the base mixture.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks; add the scalded milk slowly, stirring constantly.
Whisk the egg mixture into the base mixture. In a perfectly clean bowl, beat or whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the base mixture.

Pour into 12 oven-proof demitasse cups, six buttered custard cups or one buttered 1-quart casserole. Arrange cups or casserole in a larger baking pan and carefully pour in about 1 inch of hot water. Bake demitasse cups for 25 to 30 minutes; custard cups for 35 minutes; a casserole dish for 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the demitasse to check if the cake is done and the custard firm. It should not jiggle. Garnish with an espresso stick or curl of orange or lemon peel and dust with cinnamon. Break the crust with a demitasse spoon and pour 1/2 teaspoon of cognac or an orange-flavored liqueur into the wound. It may be a nice gesture, but it might gild the lily.