Credit for inventing crêpes Suzette is claimed by French restaurateur Henri Charpentier, who in 1894, at age 14, while an assistant waiter, accidentally set a sauce aflame when serving dessert to the Prince of Wales.

Creme Brulee This is our adaptation of a recipe developed many years ago by Dieter Schorner, then pastry chef at New York City’s Le Cirque. See the recipe for Creme Brulee »

Baked Alaska first made its way into print in Fannie Farmer’s 1896_ Boston Cooking-School Cook Book,_ but the idea of baking ice cream inside cake and meringue had been around for much of the century. The way was paved in the early 1800s by that genius of thermodynamics Benjamin Thompson, with his work on the resistance of egg whites to heat.

This simple raspberry dish can also be made with tayberries or blackberries.

Cherries Jubilee is typically flambéed tableside, both for presentation and to ensure the sauce is piping hot when poured over vanilla ice cream.

Crème Brûlée

Butter and brandy makes this classic pâté rich and creamy.

This boozy, buttery concoction of caramelized bananas flambéed in rum sauce is a dining-out classic invented at legendary New Orleans restaurant, Brennan’s.

This decadent take on an iconic dessert, from Mat & Naddie’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, gilds the lily, pan-frying white chocolate-enriched bread pudding, and plating it with satiny caramel and sweet bananas.

Grapefruit juice and cinnamon-infused syrup bring bright, spicy balance to the wallop of navy-strength gin, a variety with an extra-high alcohol content. See the recipe for The Big Red »

Named for the New Jersey birthplace of Laird’s Apple Brandy, this toddy gets bittersweet complexity from cardoon-flavored amaro. Blow out the burning bourbon that floats atop the drink, then stir it in. Get the recipe for Colts Neck Toddy »

The flavors of ruby port and cognac grow even more profound when fired up in this orange juice-laced drink.

This twist on Jerry Thomas’s original uses overproof rum, a spirit with a high sugar content that, when burned, lends caramel depth to the drink.

The acidity of feta cheese helps the shrimp retain moisture in this summery Macedonian specialty. See the recipe for Shrimp with Feta »