BON APPETIT PLATES RECIPES

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, toast peppercorns in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, swirling often, until heated through and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to spice mill or mortar and pestle and let cool; reserve skillet.
• Cut guanciale into 1x½x¼" pieces. Arrange in reserved skillet and drizzle with a little oil. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden brown and starting to crisp, about 5 minutes (don’t let pieces get too crunchy). Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a small plate.
• Add about ½ cup hot water from pot to skillet, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon. Set skillet aside.
• Whisk egg yolks, egg, and about three-quarters each of Parmesan and Pecorino in a medium bowl. Coarsely crush peppercorns and add all but a pinch to egg mixture; set remaining pepper aside for serving.
• As soon as pot of water is at a boil, cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until very, very al dente, about 4 minutes less than package directions.
• Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer pasta to skillet with reserved guanciale liquid and set over medium heat (alternatively, scoop out about 2 cups pasta cooking liquid and drain pasta in a colander). Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until liquid is simmering (you’ll be able to tell because the pasta will be steaming), about 1 minute.
• Whisking constantly, add about 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to egg mixture to warm it up. Add egg mixture to pasta and cook, tossing constantly, keeping the mixture below a simmer, and adding more pasta cooking liquid by the ½-cupful if needed to adjust the consistency, until sauce thickens just enough to lightly coat pasta, about 5 minutes. Do not rush this step or you risk ending up with a pan of pasta and scrambled eggs. Remove skillet from heat if you want to slow the process down. As soon as you see wisps of steam rising from the egg mixture, that’s a good indication that the sauce is about to go from very liquidy to perfectly thickened. Remove from heat and toss in guanciale.
• Divide pasta among plates. Top with reserved Parmesan, Pecorino, and pepper.

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°. Butter a rimmed 18x13" baking sheet or lightly coat with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper; lightly butter or coat parchment and dust lightly with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together eggs, egg yolk, buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
• Mix granulated sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and 1¾ cups (219 g) flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture in 3 additions, beating on medium speed 30 seconds after each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat, scraping down sides of bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.
• Scrape batter into prepared baking sheet and rap on counter to level. Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20–25 minutes. Let cake cool 15 minutes, then run an offset spatula along edges to loosen. Set a wire rack upside down over baking sheet and flip over to release cake. Carefully peel away parchment paper and let cool completely.
• Transfer cake to a cutting board. Cut out 12 rounds with cookie cutter (leftover scraps are for snacking). Top 6 cake rounds with a 1 Tbsp. dollop of jam each; sandwich with remaining cake rounds. Place each cake sandwich on an 8" square of plastic wrap (lightly moistening the counter will help plastic stay flat).
• Just before serving, heat egg whites, granulated sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water), whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and an instant-read thermometer registers 120°, 5–7 minutes.
• Soften ice cream just enough to be able to scoop with a #8 ice cream scoop (or a heaping ½ cup). Arrange a scoop of ice cream, flat side down, on top of each cake sandwich. Pull plastic wrap up and around cake and ice cream and twist to seal tightly. Freeze until ice cream is very hard, at least 1 hour.
• Fit bowl onto stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, add vanilla extract, and beat on medium-high speed until meringue forms stiff, glossy peaks, about 5 minutes.
• Unwrap ice cream domes and place on individual heatproof plates. Working quickly, spread meringue over domes with a spoon or small offset spatula, making lots of decorative swirls and peaks all over. (You can also use a pastry bag fitted with a large fluted tip and pipe meringue over each dome.) Make sure all of the ice cream and cake is covered. Toast meringue with kitchen torch until golden. Do ahead: Ice cream domes can be assembled 3 days ahead. Keep frozen. Cover with meringue and toast just before serving.