For dessert a dariole (or a cylinder) of chocolate with espresso cream got our vote.

Grease the insides of four dariole moulds with butter.

Place one pastry 'lid' on top of each dariole mould and press the edges together to seal using your fingers.

Cut out circles of greaseproof paper and place one into the bottom of each dariole mould.

Muffin tins can replace the special baba or dariole molds.

Spoon some of the banana mixture into each of the prepared dariole moulds until half full.

Grease four small dariole moulds and line with a layer of heatproof cling film.

Grease and line 6 small dariole moulds.

Cover each dariole mould with aluminium foil.

Half-fill the prepared dariole moulds with the half of the crabmeat mixture, pressing down well.

Place pancakes on lightly greased dariole moulds (shallow dishes).

Pour the mixture into dariole moulds.

When the braised oxtail is tender and the sauce has reduced, fill each of the prepared dariole moulds with the stew.

Place four dariole moulds or ramekins onto a baking tray and pour in the panna cotta mixture.

Roll out the reserved pieces of pastry onto a lightly floured work surface until they are just bigger than the diameter of the dariole moulds.

Carefully line each dariole mould with one piece of pastry, allowing any excess pastry to hang over the edges of the mould.

Porcelain ramekins or custard cups, heatproof glass bowls or tiny nonstick muffin or dariole molds can be used.

The best example is creme caramel, where the dariole moulds are placed straight into the oven set at 85 C, and a perfect product results without any fear of honeycombing.

As a preparatory step, Mr. Raye completely redecorated an old bistro, formerly La Dariole, in a tasteful post-modern style with salmon-colored walls, pastel blue and salmon upholstery, waist-high cherry paneling and black metal wall lamps.

His cloud-like dariole of foie gras surrounded with mounds of the tiniest fresh wild morel mushrooms, his rustic braised oxtail and his straightforward treatments of fish and shellfish reveal a cooking style that's short on pretension and long on flavor.