Dessert at the Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental’s M Bar has intrigued me for some time. Its posh hotel setting and swanky décor suggest a certain restricted luxury, while its street-facing window/wall – enabling occupants and passersby to observe one another – hints at a curious openness. So, I found myself on the inside of the wall this past Friday. My good experience was not limited to delicious drinks and an enviable window perch; the bar had a very tempting dessert menu! Take a look at the treats (with interloping cocktails) below.

The dessert on the left is a creatively-executed apple crisp. I usually prefer tight, well-packed fruit desserts, but M Bar’s deconstructed version was remarkable. To start, the apples were cut in cube-like chunks rather than the usual slices. The conventional-tasting fruit (Golden Delicious?) was tossed in a thin cinnamon-caramel sauce, and the resultant mixture made me think of an especially chunky fruit soup. The crumbles covering the apples were large and cereal-like; I admired their remaining crunchy amidst their moist surroundings. Typical crumble flavors (cinnamon, butter, brown sugar) were assertive in the granola-y medium. I really appreciated the generous application of this topping! The remaining dessert components were unconventional and unanticipated. I finally tasted molecular gastronomy in action, enjoying a caramel foam that covered the crisp. The foam was every bit as flavorful as a standard caramel drizzle, but with a predictably lighter mouthfeel. The tiny, pale-cream bubbles stayed intact as I made my way through the dessert. Next up was a dollop of Calvados-flavored ice cream. The alcohol was barely noticeable, but the sharp apple and brandy notes were strong. The ice cream melted quickly and added a perky flavor to the chunky “soup” below. Lastly, three paper-thin apple chips were poised in the ice cream. Brightly-flavored and crisp, I enjoyed eating them dipped in the caramel foam. So, both the individual components and the dessert as a whole were great!

A “bento box” of three flavored crèmes brulees plus chocolate sorbet is on the right. The ginger crème had a sweeter ginger flavor, which was disappointingly diluted – if any dessert medium could benefit from a helping of bold flavor, it would be the already-sweet and milky crème brulee! The hazelnut version tasted average, though its pale-brown color was rather pretty. The orange was by far the best of the three, with a fresh citrus zing that cut through the creaminess. The dark chocolate sorbet was a tasty, if fairly common, palate cleanser.

M Bar’s menu had many other interesting desserts that may require sampling – for example, I had a hard time choosing between the apple crisp and their orange cheesecake. If you’re looking for a fancy night out at a bar with good drinks and sweet treats, put this place on your list!

Portsmouth Pleasures

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Portsmouth, NH two weekends in a row! I love this seaside town for its cheerful downtown, seaside park, cute and eclectic shops, and fun food. Of course, two of my favorite food vendors are dessert shops.

Annabelle’s Ice Cream is served in a cheerful basement off a waterfront side street. Their all-natural ice cream has a certain creamy, thick solidity that really packs a punch in a small volume. Because of its density, I find that it tastes best after being out of the freezer for a few minutes. Flavors are fairly common mixed creations that are made unique by the foundation ice cream’s quality.

• Peanut Butter Fantasy – sweet peanut butter ice cream is swirled with fudge and small chunks of peanut butter cups. The base ice cream is rather like sweet cream ice cream with peanut butter mixed in; I prefer this approach to the more extreme scoop of frozen peanut butter. Thick ribbons of fudge are mixed throughout this flavor, but there are rather few candy chunks.
• Mocha Mud Pie – chocolate chips and crumbled Oreos are mixed into a robust mocha ice cream. The signature Annabelle’s creaminess is great in this base flavor, as it really approximates a frozen version of my favorite espresso beverage. As with the Peanut Butter Fantasy, I wish there had been more mixers, but all in all this is a solid flavor that I would order again.

Our party enjoyed certain bolder flavors as well, like Ginger Fruit (sweet cream and crystallized ginger). I hear it was pungent yet refreshing!

Byrne & Carlson Chocolatier and Confectioner, a relatively recent find, has a one-room, antique-looking shop in a Portsmouth brownstone. The high ceilings, cream walls, dark wood cabinetry filled with candies, and clean, old-fashioned label type make me feel as though I have stepped into a treat shop of yore – a very fine one, mind you. Truffles and dark chocolate bars are their specialty, though in my two visits I sampled a range of their product.

• Chocolate-covered sea salt caramels – a nearly one-inch-square cube of stiff, sugary caramel is enrobed in a thin layer of dark chocolate and dusted with large crystals of fleur de sel. The salt lingered in my mouth after the chocolate coating had melted, so it blended nicely with the sweet caramel. I would have preferred a thicker layer of chocolate, or even a milder variety that would have been less distinct from the caramel; I would have guessed the percent cacao was around 70.
• Chipotle sea salt bar – I was intrigued by the variety of flavors in this bar, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I think the 75% cacao content is too much bitterness for a bar with two savory components. The fleur de sel was robust and slightly smoky, and the chipotle pepper asserted itself with a spicy burn that lasted long after the chocolate had melted. The chocolate, as with all their offerings, was even and silky, and I may have been able to enjoy it as a pure chocolate bar, but I really needed something sweet to counter the salt and pepper! Lovers of intense dark chocolate, this bar is probably exactly what you need.
• Malted milk balls – I couldn’t get enough of these, they were so delicious! (Please keep in mind, this is coming from the girl who pouted if some unsuspecting neighbor gave out boxes of Whoppers for Halloween – so, praise indeed.) B&C’s Ultimate MMB has a small malted-milk center, followed by layers of dark, milk, and white chocolate. A speckled tan candy shell coats the treat. There were so many delicious chocolates in each bite, arranged in an ideal flavor progression, and the rough malted milk was surprisingly sweet and texturally satisfying against the smooth, bitter dark chocolate neighboring it.
• Truffle eggs – yes, eggs; we couldn’t ignore the corner of Easter remainders. Each miniature truffle egg has a sweet, slightly tangy truffle filling enrobed in creamy milk chocolate. The eggs instantly softened in my mouth, and melted into a buttercream-like chocolate paste that was pure decadence but not nearly enough volume. These treats lasted too briefly! I’ll seriously have to consider supplementing next year’s Fannie May Easter candy with a haul from Byrne & Carlson.

I have already decided that whenever I’m next in town, I will have to sample more milk chocolate, a different type of malted milk ball (there were several!), and maybe even a truffle. Care to join me?

Treats in Transit

Why transport desserts in boring Tupperware or foil containers when you could use a lively cupcake-printed tin? I found this adorable vessel at Borders the other day, and just had to bring it home. It’s the perfect size for a pan’s worth of brownies and would probably hold an equivalent batch of cookies. I can’t wait to bring the tin – filled with my beloved Epic Brownies, of course – to this afternoon’s Marathon Monday party!

Easter Treats

I love Easter candy. In a way, this love is less about its taste and more about its appearance. The Easter palette and decorative motifs – gentle creamy colors, shimmering pastel foil wrappers, flowers, spring – are all so lovely, and are particulary welcome after harsh winters and muddy March deluges. (If I could embellish my life with pale metallic purple accessories, I just might; I already own some [but not enough!] floral-printed/inspired clothing and jewelry.) However, this year’s Easter treats introduced me to some new tastes worthy of appreciation, as well as whisked me back to childhood with a few nostalgic basket fillers.

My family purchased this nest to be the centerpiece of our Easter table; the nest’s advertized purpose, as a home for hazelnut truffle eggs, was purely incidental. Still, the speckled eggs looked just perfect in the nest, and they tasted good too! The pale blue candy coating with darker blue speckles was pleasantly sweet, and it softened in my mouth to produce the faintest crackle at my tongue’s pressure. The coating’s slight roughness was evocative of an actual eggshell. A sweet, smooth layer of white chocolate was immediately under the candy coating, which eventually gave way to the hazelnut filling. The filling had a grainy texture, though I could not identify actual fragments of nuts. I ascribe this more to the use of a powdery, nonassertive milk chocolate, but regardless the centermost part of this treat was pleasantly earthy and substantial. I do wish the milk chocolate had somewhat mitigated the hazelnut flavor, but its nuttiness was tamed by the egg’s sweeter outer layers.

Our official Easter desserts were these petits fours, ordered from California’s Divine Delights bakery. The tiny treats were enrobed in the prettiest icing, which was surprisingly resilient but still smooth. Each petit four involved a rich, buttery cake and a variety of creams or fillings. The purple eggs were a base of dense chocolate cake topped with a mound of thick vanilla buttercream, while the light-green duckling squares were vanilla cake with a central layer of almond paste. Lemon cream and raspberry jam added flavor to other petits fours. Yet the bunnies stole the show by containing vanilla cake, chocolate ganache, and a heap of strawberry buttercream. The cutest treat had to be the nest, which sheltered several chocolate-covered sunflower seed eggs.

And lastly, my Easter basket was filled with the sweet treasures of my suburban-Chicago upbringing. When we lived there, my family enjoyed Fannie May candy at special times. The lack of Fannie May stores in the Northeast caused concern whenever the first holiday rolled around after our move to New Hampshire, but my parents kept the tradition alive through mail order. Each Easter, I look forward to the treats I have known since I was a little girl. Sure, pretty much any candy shop can sell you pretty foil-wrapped eggs, jellybeans, and a solid (yes, solid) chocolate bunny. Some may even have milk chocolate eggs filled with vanilla buttercream, or coconut-cream-coated chocolate buttercream eggs. But only the Fannie May versions of those confections taste “right.” To me, they’re the best-tasting candies ever, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy belated Easter!

A Restaurant Week Write-Up

Another Restaurant Week session has come and gone, and I have three new desserts to share with you!

My first meal occurred at ArtBar, in Cambridge's Royal Sonesta hotel. The restaurant's location, in a corner of the hotel's lobby, and innocuous "art" did not impress, but the food was definitely memorable. I enjoyed a rather creamy lobster bisque, well-populated with lobster chunks and garnished with truffle creme fraiche, as my appetizer, and a medium-rare petite filet mignon served with lobster risotto and red wine reduction as my main course. According to the menu, my dessert was simply a key lime ricotta cheesecake with fresh berries, but said dessert was more complex than the description suggests. The plate was drizzled with a sweet peach glaze, and a square of vanilla genoise cake was in the center. A dome of sweet, whipped ricotta cheesecake with a faint key lime flavor sat on the cake, and a dimple at the dome's crown held a reservoir of thick, tart key lime syrup that also flowed down the ricotta. The intense citrus flavor was tempered by sweet, creamy white chocolate, which fully enrobed the cheesecake dome. The smooth white dome was further embellished with a limey white chocolate drizzle, and two wafers of pale green chocolate. Plump, juicy berries dotted the rest of the plate. I was very impressed by this innovative execution of a common cheesecake variety - the counterpoint of sweet, smooth ricotta and tart, tangy citrus syrup was delicious. I also appreciated the use of complementary yet offsetting fruit flavors as garnishes. The berries and peach glaze occupied the flavor range between the cheesecake's extremes. I was happily smacking my lips and hoping for more at the conclusion of this dessert!

I next dined at Davis Square's Gargoyles on the Square. This hip newcomer's simple decor - the minimalist dining room is accented with a small number of dark, heavy drapes and classic film posters - was an ideal setting for for the restaurant's classic dishes with an uncommon twist. My appetizer was a hearty salmon cake served over white bean and ham soup, which was followed by moules frites served in lobster bisque. I ended my meal with the salted caramel cheesecake with blackberries and creme fraiche, which was the star of this particular dinner. This dessert was a very dense New York-style cream cheese cake evenly imparted with a subtle caramel flavor. Even more subtle was its saltiness, which I'm guessing was reached by adding a mere pinch of salt to the cake mixture. The cake's thick milkiness plus caramel sweetness reminded me of dulce de leche. It was hard to fit the substantial slice in after a filling meal, but I couldn't let this unexpectedly complex twist on an old standby go to waste. I did, however, push the berries and creme fraiche to the side - the dessert really didn't need sour dairy in its flavor palette, and the berries were far too seedy with hardly any juice.

My last Restaurant Week dinner was at Grotto, a warm, intimate cave of a restaurant in the basement of a Beacon Hill brownstone. Their Italian kitchen brought me a fresh salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and pecorino cheese tossed in olive oil, as well as crab ravioli bursting with lumps of meat and topped with asparagus and almonds. Their dessert menu did not excite me at first - being neither a panna cotta nor bread pudding fan, I settled on the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake - but as soon as I bit into the cake, I knew I was in for a treat. Unlike the typical MCC, which I would characterize as a thin, burnt-brownie-like outer shell filled with grainy, somewhat-coagulated chocolate sauce, Grotto's was a quality, fudgy cake that evenly transitioned to a rich molten center. I enjoyed the subtle textural differences throughout the cake, and the rich bittersweet chocolate really popped against the French vanilla ice cream that accompanied it. I could really sink my teeth into this one!

I have no idea if this was intentional or not, but I couldn't help but notice a trend of simple or common desserts being kicked up a few notches. Did you try any exceptional restaurants, or similar desserts, this Restaurant Week? I always appreciate suggestions on where to go next. :-)

How It All Began

Many people have stories about how they became interested in their hobbies. My baking story is rather simple, but why not share?

The first Christmas after my college graduation, my Aunt Janet gave all her nieces a red heart-shaped NordicWare Bundt pan. My only prior bakeware had been a 13x9" metal pan, used regularly for brownies and box cakes - so, the arrival of a new format, generally associated with baking from scratch, inspired excitement and no small amount of apprehension. Could I succeed? I was also amused by the pan's segmentation, which is not how one would normally interpret an affectionate heart. In fact, I was reminded more of bicoid expression gradients from my developmental biology classes than the international symbol of love. Nerd alert!

Aunt Janet included a recipe for her Death by Chocolate cake in the pan. With a new pan and a recipe to go along, what choice did I have but to use the pan to bake the recipe? Somehow, a baker was made alongside the dessert. The rest is history, much of which is chronicled in this blog.

I bring this up now since my beloved heart Bundt was used two times in the past two weeks - first, to make this apple spice cake for a dinner party...
...and then to make the Death by Chocolate cake for Valentine's Day. I'm going to keep the DbC recipe a secret, so if you want to experience this dessert beyond this post I guess I'll have to bake it for you! However, here is a slice topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled in Milat Winery's port chocolate wine sauce.

Death by Chocolate incorporates three expressions of chocolate - cake, pudding, and individual chips. The end result is very moist and fudgy at the center - thank you, pudding! - and slightly drier but still soft and chewy at the perimeter. Semisweet chocolate chips are scattered throughout the cake, and have incorporated well with their surrounding batter while maintaining their integrity. The edge of each chip softens from the cake's moisture, but a pleasing crunch remains as you chew the smooth baked chocolate. This treat is best at room temperature or slightly heated, and I usually top it with ice cream (vanilla or mint) and hot fudge. While the cake is chocolate perfection on its own, the additions make it an even better Death.

Thank you, Aunt Janet, for a delicious recipe and the countless treats that your gift has inspired!

Bacon Bakin'

I really enjoy combinations of sweet and salt. So, why not have bacon chocolate chip cookies join the Sweet/Salt Shortlist of peanut butter cups, chocolate covered pretzels, and sea salt caramels? Call them a meat/sweet violation…OR call them delicious!

I thought I’d stick to a simple chocolate chip cookie adaptation to test the meat’s mettle. Here is the recipe, with my commentary in italics.

• 2 1/4 C flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 C granulated sugar
• 3/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 C cocoa morsels
• 10-12 slices bacon, cooked to a crisp and then finely chopped. I underestimated the amount of bacon I needed, not realizing that the 7 huge-looking slices in a package would cook down so much. At slightly less than double what I put in, 12 slices is probably an ideal amount of bacon.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
3. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add the eggs and beat well. Gradually stir in the flour mixture.
4. Add chopped, cooked bacon and mix in to the batter. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, and then remove. 8 minutes was actually sufficient in my case, knowing that the oven in question has a history of blackening anything by the recommended cooking time. Watch your cookies closely to determine when you should remove them.

I was impressed with the end result. The actual batter was rather sturdy – it was never runny, not even while in the oven, and it held the chocolate chips and bacon well – plus, it baked into thick, chewy cookies. The maple bacon gave off a delicious syrupy aroma while cooking, and retained a hint of maple taste once done. Its crunchiness, saltiness, and, well, bacon-iness go without saying. The bacon softened somewhat in the baking process, and imbued its neighboring batter with its flavor. I can’t stand this softening / absorption when nuts are involved, but it was most appreciated with the bacon. Any way to further convey the opposing flavors within the cookie is appreciated. I should have used quality milk chocolate chips rather than Whole Foods’ house-brand semisweet chips: the chips were rather waxy, and a sweeter chocolate would have been a better counterpoint to the meat. However, I still enjoyed every cookie bite…and dough ball! Each bite gives you substantial yet soft dough, melted chocolate, and salty, somewhere-between-crispy-and-chewy bacon. It’s even more tempting than a hilariously horrible cult film, as this picture attests.
The recipe made 36 cookies, which would have been 40 if I hadn't snacked on the dough. I clearly enjoyed this taste of "extreme" baking. If I bake with bacon again, I’ll kick the adventure factor up a notch, maybe by incorporating another salty ingredient.