Lament of the Plum Tart (and other such tales)

I've been trying to find time to write an update about the new menu for a while - but the truth of the matter is, it's been such a busy, tedious process that I can hardly keep up with it myself. It's been somewhat frustrating because the products that I've been producing have come out pretty well - but, in Mothras eyes, there is always something missing. I do appreciate that she feels that all of these desserts have potential to be ultra incredible, but it's worn me down over the past few weeks to attempt to plan out an exceptional product that gets let down - sometimes not in an easy or tactful way. In the back of my mind, I feel that I'll look back on this time (somewhat fondly with, I imagine, a coy smile on my face) and think what a growing period this point was in my career. I am really looking forward to that day.

Here's the official updated menu as of today:

Main Desserts

Cherry Cobbler- served with a scoop of house-made sour cream-brown sugar ice cream

Blueberry Trifle- layers of blueberries and maple syrup, cheesecake and maple mousse

Blackberry Cornmeal upside-down cake (Still in testing stages)

Peach Tart (Still in testing stages)

Drumstick (Still in testing stages)

Ice Creams/Sorbets

Melon Sorbet (Still being tested)

Black Forest Ice Cream

Cotton Candy Ice Cream (Still being tested)

Ginger Ice Cream

Sour Cream Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Pies

Mixed Berry Pie

S’more Pie

Sour Cream Pear Pie (Still being tested)

Tiramisu Pie

Specialty Drink

Blueberry Ginger-Ale

You may notice from the last post that the menu has undergone some major changes. And I think that was is so frustrating to me at this point - this menu was supposed to be my project, but with all the changes that have taken place, I hardly recognize the vision I originally had. That being said, my name is not being put on the line with this menu change, it is Mothras. When you get down to the bottom line, any review that this menu might get is a reflection of her work, so I know there is a great deal of trust from her to me to give me this project. Most people in my profession (especially at my current position on the totem pole) don't get opportunities like this very easily.

However, that also means that she has the liberty to take my ideas and bend them to reflect her style. Again, she is the boss and that is her prerogative. It is my goal to work with that I now have in front of me, learn what I can about making these desserts more appealing, and make this menu change fantastic. The new menu begins officially on August 6 - One week.

You may have noticed that one thing that has changed in the menu is the fact that there is no longer a plum tart - namely for these reasons: The plums we got in were from California, thereby neglecting the local, organic aspect we are striving to maintain; The plums are tart and not quite ripe - additionally, maintaining consistency of product with an inconsistent fruit flavor (especially one as the main ingredient) could pose some major problems; Finally, Mothra feels that plums wouldn't sell. It would be more palate-friendly to offer a fruit that people easily recognize (in this case, peaches). These reasons are all completely valid - but it made me disappointed because one of my favorite recollections of dessert growing up was a plum cake my Mom used to make - that cake and my mom were the inspiration for that item. So aside from the fact that I was emotionally invested in this item, I spent an entire night at home perfecting this recipe so I could "sell" it to Mothra. After a series of tests, I felt I had a solid recipe and a delicious product. Unfortunately (for the reasons I listed above), Mothra decided to pass on this tart, but I still wanted to include a few pictures from my experiment:

Getting ready to grind up the almonds for my almond cream

In the process of mixing the almond cream

Making a plum preserve for bottom of tart

After it had reduced enough, I blended it in my Cuisinart, strained it and added some Plum Brandy to give the preserves a more unique flavor

Lining my tart pans with pate sucree

Layering the bottom with the plum preserve, then adding the almond cream on top...

Then layering the top with slices of plum (I wanted to try both red and black to see the result - the black version looked much better)

Final product:
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(Plum-Almond Tart)

Although this didn't make the final cut on the menu, I still wanted to include my process (and passion involved) in this product here on this blog. Even though the menu I originally planned has changed, I can honestly look at this product and the recipe I created and say that it is mine. As a result, I named it after the number on my house growing up - That is the house where I have many fond memories of eating the plum cake my mom makes. Since that house was my first home, it seems a little appropriate that my first dessert creation would relate.

At any rate, I have many more pictures of the process of the desserts at work with the new menu - the experiments for those are actually pretty interesting to see. Also, I've had the opportunity to do another wedding tasting and meet with the bride and groom at work to design their wedding cake and discuss their cake and dessert options. Exciting things have been happening lately - There will definitely be more to follow soon.