I was recently introduced to the lovely Katalin Green over at Montana Bride/Avant Floral, who's approach to wedding planning is truly innovative and speaks to me on a very artistic level. I was honored when she asked if I could assemble a dessert table for her upcoming event celebrating the release of the 2014 issue of Montana Bride, and immediately got to work scouring the internet (ohkay, really just my obsessive Pinterest page) for ideas and inspiration.
What I decided upon was what is quickly becoming my signature Chamomile Cream Puff (I swear by Chamomile. It's so subtle and addictive and manages to make everything else taste so much better), Mini Coconut Cupcakes, Vanilla Cake Truffles, Meringues, Rosemary Citrus Shortbread Sandwiches, and a couple kinds of Petit Fours. These choices where based largely on the theme for the event: White. Guests where encouraged to wear white (even their weddings dresses!) and the whole party had a very modern minimalist aesthetic going on, so I thought an all white dessert table was an appropriate compliment.
When it came to deciding the Petit Four flavors I returned to my love of tea. Early Gray with Blood Orange, and Green Matcha with Almond. I am such an enormous fan of tea in pastries. I mean historically the two go hand in hand, just ask the French or the English... and people are always pleasantly surprised by how well they compliment flavors we are familiar with (like almond and orange).
But the real stroke of genius came when I was wracking my brain trying to come up with a flavor to infuse the meringues with. I knew I wanted something herbal or floral, and I considered lavender but remembered I had a near full bottle of Rose extract from a previous wedding cake I had done. Eureka! But wait, the epiphanies keep coming, because once it was time to start piping those delicious little clouds, I couldn't decide upon a shape... and than I thought "rosettes." Duh. Sometimes the most brilliant moments of pastry clarity come from linking two very simple things together. Rose Meringue Rosettes. It was so obvious, and yet I'd never seen it before.
In short, the event was a blast, the pastries were delicious and well received and I was lucky to have been introduced to so many fantastic people who are also working within the crazy world of weddings. Here is a toast to many more events just like this one!
Please check out the Montana Bride website for a constant source of inspiration!
vanilla cake truffles
chamomile cream puffs
matcha almond petit fours
coconut cupcakes, rosemary citrus shortbread cookies
rose meringue rosettes
earl gray and blood orange petit fours