Summer Drinks and Desserts

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.

So, what did we enjoy?

• 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!

The drinks were tasty, too. I enjoyed a tropical sunset cocktail, a wild berry mojito, a St. Germain sparkler (my clear favorite, unsurprisingly), and Finale’s signature Chocolate Bliss cocktail. Less enjoyable was the espresso martini, which was just too strong for the tiny portions of food.

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.