Readymade heart-shaped sweets are widely available for Valentine’s Day, but baking them from scratch takes them up several notches. Celeb pastry chef Christina Tosi glams up walnut cookie hearts with a chocolate coating, fig jam filling and a garnish of chopped walnuts.
The kitchen at Nordstrom Restaurant Group bakes the tender shortcakes from scratch and tops them with bright red fresh strawberries and housemade whipped cream. The strawberry flavor is intensified with the addition of a local fruit puree.
Chocolate fondue is a retro shareable dessert that has a lot going for it on modern menus. Restaurant George’s at the Cove updates the classic recipe by melting together two types of chocolate with creamy mascarpone cheese.
Chocolate and Valentine’s Day go together like the proverbial love and marriage. Chef Elizabeth Karmel puts a vegan spin on individual chocolate pudding pies by making a no-cook filling with silken tofu instead of milk or cream.
Cranberries and white chocolate chips give these cookies a festive look. A batch or two can be whipped up quickly for a last-minute addition to the sweets selection.
A global conference last week in Europe provided a preview of where restaurant menus may be headed. Here are the eight currents that were anointed megatrends. You'll need to bring your own fork.
