A New Dessert Menu
The head pastry chef at one of the hotels is moving to sunnier climes so with the arrival of fresh young faces it’s time for a change in direction….
A new dessert menu is high on my list of priorities this week, I have left much of the previous dessert choices to my pastry chefs once I have had the confidence in their ability but now sees a return for yours truly and I’m looking forward to spending some time with all things sugar and spice!
I say sugar and spice because I want to explore the use of spice and herbs in desserts in greater depth, most pastry chefs overlook some wonderful ingredients becasue they associate them with savoury dishes and this is a shame. Herbs and spices are my great passion in food, they offer so many possibilities and points of interest it seems near criminal not to use them to greater effect.
We, in England are still waiting for our wonderful soft fruit to come to the fore, once here they make life very easy for the pastry chef. Simplicity is the key with blackberries, redcurrants and strawberries. Served at room temperature and as fresh as possible they are one of the highlights of the English culinary calendar so naturally these will feature heavily over the coming months.
So it’s going to be an interesting time, I’ve got ideas whirling around in my head, as usual they begin with individual flavours and then take root from there, here’s a few that keep hanging around, telling me I’ve got to put them into something sweet;
Black pepper, lemon verbena, thyme, rosewater, myrtle, chilli, sechuan pepper, salt, coriander, sumac, summer squash, beetroot, lime leaf, lemongrass, tea, meadowsweet, peanuts…..the list goes on. It’s just a matter of putting them into some kind of order!
Miles,
interesting post - I wonder, when you are planning a new dessert menu, how much attention do you pay to ‘helathy eating’ and the like.
Have you noticed any trends away from the traditional desserts to perhaps things slightly healthier and does decadence still win the day ?
It will be interesting to see som eof the finished dishes
Cheers
Rod
May 26, 2009 @ 7:50 am
Miles,
That’s a very exciting list you have there. My mind is spinning just thinking about how to incorporate the herbs and spices. Flavoured syrups, creams and biscuits….. the huge number of macaron fillings I’ve found often have surprising flavour combinations… I can see I shall have to experiment to keep up.
Bought my first jar of sumac today, it has a warm tangy sort of taste which is most unusual. If I find it gives a reddish dye then I’ll be all the more pleased… I’m always looking for natural food colours.
While we’re on the subject of sweet dishes, I found a packet of sweet olive oil tortas which were hand made in Seville. They are large, thin, light weight pastries individually wrapped in paper, flavoured with sesame and aniseseed, really delicious and presumably good for anyone wishing to avoid butter?
Wheel on the Collins dessert trolley, I can hardly wait!
Cid
May 26, 2009 @ 7:58 pm
Rod,
Most people aren’t too bothered about a healthy option to be honest, we’ve tried it before and it was pretty much a waste of time.
Pity really
Miles
May 26, 2009 @ 8:29 pm
Cid,
A great comment, sumac is great, I’m going to use it to flavour some tuille biscuits. A lot can change between now and final copy so be warned!!
Miles
May 26, 2009 @ 8:32 pm