One of the first gourmet food trucks to arrive in New York came courtesy of lawyer-turned-pastry chef Jerome Chang and his business partner, Chris Chen. As roommates, the two kicked around ideas about a food truck they should open, yet “the idea of gourmet desserts never really came around,” explains Jerome. It wasn’t until Jerome improved upon Chris’s spreading Nutella on toast—by adding caramelized bananas and salt, a dish that would later appear on the opening menu—that the DessertTruck began to take form one day in October of 2006. But it did take a year to get everything together before they finally hit the road on October 30, 2007. “I had to do a lot of legwork,” said Jerome, “it was really difficult to get information,” mainly due to the lack of food trucks at the time. After clearing the common major obstacles out of the way, they were driving back from picking up their finished truck from a fitter in New Jersey, excited to finally get their show on the road, when the truck broke down right at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. “That was sort of our first introduction to operating a truck in the city.”
Despite the unwelcome introduction, they did luck out timing-wise. Since they were one of the first food trucks in New York City, their opening garnered much attention from the New York and national press. Within twenty-four hours of being open, the menu was highlighted on the famous site Eater.com, with reviews coming in from tipsters. They chose a quiet spot right outside New York University’s Weinstein Hall with enough foot traffic to spread the word. “What was cool was whoever did come by and stop, was absolutely floored by it.” Jerome’s desserts showcased the skills he had gained from the French Culinary Institute, New Jersey’s Copeland Restaurant, and in the kitchen at high-end Le Cirque. Bloggers and journalists focused on the creamy, custardy chocolate bread pudding that came with vanilla or bacon crème anglaise, or the decadent molten chocolate cake, or the bomboloni: fried balls of Italian brioche dough pumped full of Nutella or vanilla crème. Everything was truly a world-class gourmet dessert, off of a truck, for $5. The New York Times and Food & Wine featured articles on them, and around their one-year anniversary, they taped an episode of a new TV show with chef Bobby Flay. One customer even proposed to his girlfriend in front of the truck (she said yes).
“He said, ‘Wow, this is great. This would be great for a truck, for street food.’ And that’s where the idea came from.”
Everything appeared to be coming up roses. But running a truck proved to be harder than it looked. In hindsight, Jerome relays, “It was almost a constant battle.” The beginning of 2009 came with vendor permit issues that ultimately took the truck off the road for almost a year. The guys realized they could “make it a little easier on themselves” by having a storefront. They found one, named DT Works, on Clinton Street on the Lower East Side, a few doors down from the brunch hotspot Clinton St. Baking Company. Once the truck was back in service, they claimed their old spot rotation, only to find out one was illegal. With the streets proving hard, Jerome focuses his time on the store. If he were to head out again, he’d definitely “want a smaller truck.” “I wish there were more chefs opening up trucks,” he says. If the quality were the same as the fantastic desserts from DessertTruck, so do we.
Adapted from Jerome Chang’s recipe
This dish quickly became one of the fancier treats available off of the DessertTruck. Make the caramel the night before to allow all of the savory rosemary flavor to infuse into the caramel, a great compliment to the tangy goat cheese cake.
cup granulated sugar
2½ cups light corn syrup
2 sprigs rosemary
cup warm water
Salt, to taste
2¼ silver grade gelatin sheets
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whipping cream
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
teaspoon salt
16 ounces fresh goat cheese
Juice of 1½ lemons
3 egg whites
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
Salt, to taste
cup all-purpose flour, sifted
8 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Blackberries
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from the heat. Add the rosemary, cover, and let infuse overnight. The next day, reheat the syrup and cook until it reaches a medium-amber color. Whisk in the warm water and remove from the heat. Whisk in salt. Let cool and reserve at room temperature.
Place parchment or wax paper rounds on the bottom of the ramekins. Place the gelatin sheets in 1½ cups water to hydrate (bloom) them. In a medium pot, bring the cream, milk, sugar, and salt to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Add the goat cheese to the mixture. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Take the gelatin out of the water, carefully squeezing any excess, and add to the goat cheese mixture while continuing to blend. Stir in the lemon juice. Transfer 1½ cups of the goat cheese mixture into each of the ramekins. Transfer the ramekins uncovered to the freezer for 6 hours, or until solid.
Prepare a double boiler over high heat. In the top bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, and salt. Whisk the sugar and egg whites until the mixture is lukewarm to the touch. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on slow speed while gradually adding the melted butter until fully combined. Place in a covered bowl and chill.
Preheat an oven to 300°F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats. Spoon about a half tablespoon of chilled batter onto a sheet, and spread the batter into a very thin shape resembling a comet with the back of the spoon. Repeat until the sheets are filled. Put in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature. Reserve in an airtight container.
Approximately 30 minutes before serving, remove the goat cheesecakes from the freezer and allow to thaw slightly in the refrigerator. Slip the finished cakes out of the ramekins by flipping them upside down into a bowl. If they get stuck, take a butter knife and cut around the edges to loosen. Drizzle with the caramel. Top each cheesecake with blackberries and a tuile.
Adapted from Jerome Chang’s recipe
cup lukewarm water (100 to 110°F)
1 tablespoon plus
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups bread flour
cup granulated sugar plus 2 cups for coating
5 large eggs, divided
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, cool but not cold straight from the fridge
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
1 container (750 grams) of Nutella (you will need a plastic piping bag)
Pour the lukewarm water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the dry yeast and stir with a spatula until the yeast is completely suspended or until it looks completely dissolved.
To the yeast and water mixture, add approximately half of the either bread or all purpose flour along with about 
cup of the granulated sugar. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for about 1 hour. It should begin to produce lots of bubbles.
On low speed and with the dough hook attachment, begin mixing the remaining flour and sugar into the sponge. Once most of the flour has been incorporated, add 2 eggs and allow them to begin incorporating with the rest of the dough. Add the remaining eggs and all of the salt and turn the mixer speed up to medium. Continue kneading the dough with your machine on medium until the dough begins to come together into a bowl and stops sticking to the sides of the bowl. Depending on the speed and power of your machine, this may take 10 to 15 minutes.
Once the dough has come away from the sides of the bowl, gradually add the cubes of butter. Keep mixing until the dough is uniform and smooth. Keep in mind that this dough will be slightly sticky and very soft.
Place the dough in a lightly greased container approximately 3 times the volume of the dough, cover, and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. The dough will at least double in size.
Prepare a well-greased 18 x 12–inch baking sheet and set aside.
Punch down on your dough to remove the excess air. Take the dough out of its container and place it directly on a lightly floured counter. Sprinkle and spread a light dusting of flour on top of the dough. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle. The length and width of this rectangle do not matter, as long as it is at least 2¼ inches wide. Continuously sprinkle and spread flour on top of your dough while rolling out. Be sure to periodically flip it over, as well. Roll out your dough until it is ¾ inch thick. Using a chef’s knife and a ruler, make small indentations to mark off 2¼-inch segments along two sides of the dough, one being the width and the other being the length. Using the chef’s knife, cut out 2¼-inch squares of dough. Place the squares of dough on your baking sheet, making sure that there is approximately ¾ inch between squares and loosely cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap or a moist towel. Any dough scraps can be rolled into balls and allowed to rise as well.
Allow the dough to rise in a part of your kitchen that is no warmer than 100°F. Depending on how warm it is, the dough may take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours to rise. They are properly proofed when you gently press the top of the dough with a finger and the resulting indentation very slowly rises back up.
Preheat your fryer or a pot with the vegetable oil to 330°F. Prepare a container or baking sheet lined with paper towels. This will hold your finished product. Once the fryer is heated, place your doughnut squares in it. Let them fry on one side for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown, then, using tongs or a spider, flip them over to fry the other side for another 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Then using your tool of choice, remove your doughnuts and place them on the paper towels.
Line a flat pan with the 2 cups of sugar.
Fill a plastic piping bag with as much Nutella as it will fit. Cut a very small hole across the tip of the bag, approximately ½ inch in diameter or smaller.
Using a wooden skewer, stab each doughnut and whittle out a little space for the filling in the center of each doughnut. Squeeze Nutella into each doughnut until it just begins to fill up. Then coat each doughnut in sugar by dredging it in the pan of sugar.
Enjoy immediately or within one day. No refrigeration necessary.
