in the kitchen x peaches n' cream

More pre-dessert than dessert, this is my spin on peaches and cream using a variety of stone fruits. It is a chilled peach and elderflower soup with dollops of tangy sour cream and fresh apricots and plums from the market. Simple and refreshing for the hot and humid weather we're currently experiencing. I find myself craving fresh fruits and vegetables in the summer, and really embracing the less is more approach on cooking and eating. I love nothing more than a cold piece of fruit to end a meal. This is a slightly more elevated approach to this simple pleasure. 

in the kitchen x summer macarons

Summers are slow in the kitchen, especially in NYC. When the warm weather hits you, you're on vacation mode too. Shown are two macarons, salted pistachio and a carrot cream cheese variety. I love playing with textures, and I find regular macarons to be lacking in crunch. For the pistachio flavor, I roll them in crushed, salted and roasted pistachios. It emphasizes the flavor of pistachio and is delicious. For the carrot cream cheese, I used a cream cheese buttercream for the filling and added a sugared and dehydrated carrot chip for texture and flavor. For a cold treat, I love eating these guys straight out of the freezer, a mini ice cream sandwich!

in the kitchen x mango, pineapple, & chocolate

It's hot hot hot outside! Hot and humid weather makes me crave something tropical to survive this heat. This dessert is a mango pineapple chocolate milk chocolate mousse cake with a caramel glaze, mango sauce, dehydrated pineapple chip, and cocoa cake crumble. It's a pretty straightforward dessert considering I had to plate a LOT of these at one time. I love combining tropical fruits with milk chocolate, just because the acidity enhances all the caramel and sweet, floral notes of the chocolate, namely Valrhona Caramelia 36% chocolate. I love caramel paired with chocolate so I couldn't resist adding it as the glaze for the cake. For texture, I used a cocoa cake crumble (an irresistible snack on its own..) and a candied dehydrated pineapple chip.

in the kitchen x green tea, lime, & pineapple

I didn't start out with this dessert in mind. Actually, a lot of my desserts never end up being what I originally imagined. I had thought of a lime white chocolate hazelnut cake and wondering what other vanilla, buttery flavor I could pair with it. As I worked more and more on the dish, I was drawn to stronger flavors, such as green tea and different acidic notes, like yogurt and pineapple. In this dish is a hazelnut cake, topped with a lime white chocolate mousse. I paired it with a green tea lime crumble, made with almond flour, for a depth of flavor. Pineapple chips would add a great texture and would complement the lime. Of course, there is green tea and yogurt ice cream to finish it all up. It's refreshing and light for the summer days ahead. I think this is why I am always excited when thinking of new and different desserts. No matter what you start out with, the end product is always a bit of a surprise. I always wonder what the end result will be, or even if there is a kind of end result to a dish. Even when I revisit a previous dessert, it never ends up exactly the way I made it the first time. There are always new tweaks or something different to be done. That's what makes it exciting. Food should never be stagnant, there should always be something different. Because the ingredients we use come from nature, and nature is never a carbon copy, it evolves.

in the kitchen x pine nut caramel, rosemary cream, & red wine

My next dessert is Italian-inspired. I'm planning my trip to Italy, so let's just say Italy is on the brain. I love rosemary in dessert more than I do savory dishes, it pairs so beautifully with sugar. It is such a strong flavor profile that it can get a bit tricky to balance. Shown is a pine nut salted caramel tart, red wine sauce, blueberry compote, rosemary cream, & crumble. The caramel tart is chewy, crunchy & gooey. I love the rich & buttery taste of pine nuts paired with salted caramel. Honestly the filling is addictive. The red wine sauce adds acidity to cut all the richness. The blueberries are lightly poached, until the outside is cooked but the fruit is still firm. It adds a burst of freshness. The rosemary cream adds an edge to the dish, one that makes it interesting and memorable.