desserts

My professional menu had two petit fours: Tropical Dream and Chocolate Dream. This summer, a third joined them — Midsummer Dream, built entirely around fig leaves. A half-sphere of fig leaf custard mousse sits on a fig leaf pistachio sablé, finished with toasted coconut, chopped pistachios, and a white chocolate pearl. I'm documenting the whole process here, including the white chocolate mousse that completely failed before I found the version that finally worked.

We’ve been misled. What’s labeled Pavlova on many menus is often just a shell of the real thing — literally. Somewhere along the way, we lost the essence of this light, crisp, delicate dessert. This post is a visual and poetic reimagining — a return to what makes Pavlova unforgettable.