My new menu!!

I am super excited and grateful to finally put together a menu that I am extremely proud of and that I love so much. Menu planning is crazy. I am not a planner by nature. I used to work in restaurants and clubs where menus were given to me to execute most of the time. I did not have a lot of creative freedom when it came to menu planning.

When I started out as a pastry cook, I was super set on making sure I followed every recipe to a tee (except when I didn’t read the whole recipe through) and I made mistakes, lots of mistakes.

People often tell me that Baking is science, and it is, but it is also something that you can easily put a unique twist on something classic or keep it simple.

A few things I have learned that I incorporate into my menu planning:

  1. Find something I like, and get creative with pairing flavors. Truth is, I had no idea that certain flavors could pair well together. I learned from working in restaurants and clubs how to pair some things, other things I have just experimented with and loved or never did again lol.

  2. Keep a few items simple because not everyone will like my crazy combos. I like to be creative with flavors in desserts (only desserts:) You can always add or remove certain things but there will always be people that like the classics.

  3. Food coloring is not required to make something beautiful. There is such a focus on cakes, frosting and pretty colors. Cool, but not for me. I like natural colors. My desserts stay true to their natural state (with the exception of a few items like French macarons). You may not see color in every dessert, but that is because I like the natural look and it keeps it fresh. If your desserts is neon or too bright, beware of lots of fake flavoring or dyes. Not my thing. Key lime should not be green, it should be accented with zest and a light color if you use real limes and real juice. My banana cheesecake is fairly white looking as opposed to the bright yellow banana color that is often seen in candy.

  4. Deciding on what flavors pair well together is a never-ending cycle of ohhh how about that one and that one??? I can play that game all day long but I do have to limit my options so it is not to overwhelming for me or you.

  5. Have fun and try things that don’t make sense, sometimes those are the best pairings:) My pear sage tart is amazing and I had never ever had or cooked with sage before.

I am working on updating my website with all the amazing new photos of my desserts but here is. a breakdown of the new sweets:

  1. Basil chocolate flourless torte

  2. Mango raspberry tart

  3. Baklava Cheesecake

  4. Keylime cheesecake

  5. Banana Chocolate chip cheesecake

  6. Blueberry Rhubarb tart

  7. Mango Galette

  8. Strawberry Thyme Tart

  9. Zucchini Brownies

I hope you find something on my new menu or my old menu that you love. I try to keep it fun and fresh for both me and you. If you ever have a flavor pairing that you think might make a good dessert idea, please feel free to pass it along or try it at home and let me know how it worked:)

Thanks for reading and supporting my business !! I am super grateful to have your support on this roller coaster ride that is boss babe life:)

I would love your votes for Best Pastry Chef in Cleveland for Cleveland Scene Magazine’s Best of Cleveland contest. You can vote every day until April 11th:)

You can vote for me by copying and pasting the link below:)

https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/BestofCleveland2019/Page#/?fbclid=IwAR2k8s1_YwGJAafyWPyw-ho4A8HQmt6k9JCfrBlWpESRahrTk0P2qNbqNSY

Enjoy your weekend!

Annie

Ann LoParoComment