Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Inspired by Easter and Spring

It always takes a lot out of me when creating a dessert that has so many "pastel" colors and feminine/floral flavors but hey, its Easter / Spring. And every now and then I have to make a dessert that pleases our feminine customers..


Lemongrass Custard
rhubarb / hibiscus / pomelo / chrysanthemum sorbet



Getting ready for spring...


 


Ricotta Cloud
apricot / orange blossom / anise hyssop / chamomile





Red Velvet Cake


Having fun making a red velvet cake. The cake has multiple layers and I have been working on a technique of frosting a cake using acetate which gives the cake an almost flawlessly smooth frosting. The process has proved to give me very nice results and I hope to be able to work on it in the future.

Playing with plating.

Here are some various shots of my chocolate-banana dessert. 

Chocolate
roasted banana / shiso / green tea

I have been working on this dish for quite some time now and you can see how a dish evolves over time. The inspiration behind this dish is the fried banana dessert with green tea ice cream and chocolate sauce that we have seen on various "sushi" restaurant menus. No matter what it somehow always ends up on our table when we order sushi. Chocolate and banana is an obvious pairing. And the herbal and earthy matcha green tea compliment the dark Valhrona 69% Otucan chocolate very well while the herbal/ anise qualities of the shiso bring complexity to the dish. The roasting of the banana makes them sweet like that of a super ripe banana but it gives them a faint anise/ acidic flavor. I like to highlight the "green" components of the dish and make the dish appear very natural, with components that replicate; rocks, branches, moss, leaves etc. It is also surprising for any diner to receive a dessert that has so many green components yet is a very rich chocolate dessert. This desserts starts off with a roasted banana cremeux and it is served with chocolate mousse "rocks", matcha green tea-chcolate cake, a shiso puree, micro shiso, fried banana tuiles brushed with otucan chocolate, chocolate vines, and an aerated green tea ice cream.