TWO`S COMPANY: BUILDING LAYERS OF FLAVORS

The best desserts start with a theme and build layers of delicious flavors until you can no longer say that one part is the best. Instead, you get intense pleasure from every mouthful.

Believe it or not, orchestrating this feast of sugar takes some restraint. Add too much richness and you disguise the other flavors; not enough and you may as well be eating buttered toast.

After considerable experimentation, I found just the right balance of ingredients for a luscious fall dessert: Ice Cream Shortcake With Maple-Pecan Biscuits. The theme is maple and pecan flavors, subtly sweet and buttery tasting.

The recipe begins with maple-pecan biscuits. This combination of baking powder biscuit and shortcake is sweetened with maple sugar and flecked with pecans. You`ll see that these flavors are repeated as the dessert is assembled.

The filling is the best-quality maple or butter-pecan ice cream you can buy. If you like the flavor of whipped cream on an old-fashioned shortcake, you`ll love the taste of ice cream on this biscuit. If you stop layering at this point, you`ll have a satisfying ice cream sandwich.

One more touch -- a drizzle of hot fudge sauce -- takes this from a simple to a sensational dessert.

ICE CREAM SHORTCAKE WITH MAPLE-PECAN BISCUITS

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons granulated maple sugar (see Note)

1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup maple-pecan or butter pecan ice cream

Hot Fudge Sauce (recipe follows)

In bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder and maple sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in milk to make dough that sticks together. Stir in nuts and gently knead dough 10 times.

Place dough on lightly floured board. Pat 1 inch thick. Cut into 2-inch circles with cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees until biscuits are golden and high, about 15 minutes. Remove. Place 2 biscuits on each of 2 plates. Split in half. Add 3 tablespoons ice cream to bottom halves of each biscuit. Replace top halves. Spoon Hot Fudge Sauce over top. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Note: Recipe makes 8 biscuits. Remainder can be frozen. Thaw and reheat in oven at 325 degrees 5 minutes.

Maple sugar is available in many natural or gourmet food stores. If unavailable, substitute brown sugar.

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

1 (3- to 4-ounce) bar bittersweet chocolate

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons half and half

2 teaspoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In small saucepan, melt chocolate and corn syrup over low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat. Add half and half, butter and vanilla, stirring to melt butter. Makes 3/4 cup.

(Bev Bennett is the author of four cookbooks including the award-winning ``Dinner for Two,`` Barron`s.)

(c) 2000, Bev Bennett. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Bev Bennett