Earlier in August, Finale hosted another tasting at their Coolidge Corner restaurant. Katie and I were eager to try the desserterie’s seasonal confections and libations – or, to use the simpler words of the event’s official name, “Summer Drinks and Desserts.” The theme meant we were in for lighter, often-fruity, and always-indulgent treats. Executive Pastry Chef Nicole Coady described each dessert in detail, and a fellow staff member shared the ingredients of each tasty accompanying cocktail. Here are close-ups of the 5 miniature desserts, with drinks standing at attention in the background.
- Cheesecake – this light, silky dessert was probably the farthest thing, cheesecake-wise, from a New York-style cheesecake…and I was happy with that. It had a whipped, even frothy texture and a sweet, creamy taste that was buoyed up by a base flavor of Mexican vanilla. This earthier vanilla was a great contrast to the usual cheesecake ingredients, and added an unusual and unexpected depth to the dessert. I ate this dessert with very small bites to make it last as long as possible!
- Lemon Tart – this tart consisted of a spoonful of lemon curd in a thin, crunchy sugar dough shell. Lemon curd has only a handful of ingredients – lemon juice, eggs, butter, sugar – but takes approximately eight hours to make. (That’s a lot of stirring over a double boiler!) Nicole uses European butter with 82% butter fat in her curd; it has a slightly sour and creamier taste compared to American butter, which has 80% butter fat. My palate is not refined enough to have noticed a difference in butter taste, but I appreciated learning about it. I absolutely love citrus desserts, so I was very happy with the curd. The flavorless sugar shell, on the other hand, was nothing special.
- Crème Brulee – I had never really liked crème brulee…until I tried this happy spoonful. Similar to the lemon curd, it only has four ingredients: eggs, cream, sugar, and Tahitian vanilla. Tahitian vanilla is known for its floral, fruity taste, and while I couldn’t exactly pick such notes out in the dessert, I could appreciate that it had more depth of flavor than brulees I had tried in the past. The burnt sugar crust was pleasing, too.
- Tiramisu – I’ve always been indifferent to tiramisu, and this one was no exception. You can see the layers of ladyfingers drizzled in coffee syrup, with a sweet mascarpone cheese mixture in between, and a thorough dusting of bitter Valrhona cocoa powder on top. Perfectly adequate, but not rave-worthy. Maybe more coffee syrup, and perhaps some cocoa powder dusted between each cake or cheese layer, would have made it stand out?
- Chocolate Decadence – this champion of a dessert is a fixture of Finale’s to-go pastry case. While you buy it refrigerated, Nicole recommends eating it at room temperature or warmer. Why? This flourless, truffle-like cake is robustly flavored with 70% cocoa and a hint of coffee, both of which pack more of a sensory punch when not chilled. The cake as a whole is then coated in a slightly sweeter chocolate ganache, which is smooth and creamy. Our pieces had been sitting out for the length of the event, so I experienced the richness and complexity of flavor that comes with a warm, aromatic dessert. It really was like being sucked into a vortex of chocolatey excellence, with enough bitterness and coffee tang to keep you on your toes. Decadence, indeed!
So, Finale did it again! Their tastings really are a great way to try a variety of desserts in one sitting. My appreciation for cream-based desserts has grown, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ll be treating myself to a full Chocolate Decandence sometime soon.
