Dessert Club: Toppings

This theme was DC member Andrea's brainchild.  So much of what we make in Dessert Club has a topping, or two, or more - something to drizzle, sprinkle, crumble, spoon, spread, or shake on top of our creations to give them that extra special oomph.  So Andrea's idea was to showcase our toppings - those unsung, minimalist ingredients that make something sweet, something extra-special.

The very sad thing is, Andrea couldn't make it.  She'd had to go out of town unexpectedly, and tried desperately to make it back in time, but traffic was against her, and it just didn't happen.  We were so sorry she - and her Dessert Nachos - missed it, but we loved what we had to share.

Dessert Pizza with Custard, Berries, White Chocolate and Granola

Chocolate Truffle Cake with Raspberry Sauce

French Chocolate Bark (wow, yum)

Hawaiian Butter Mochi with Chocolate Banana Jam

Jacques Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies 
with Chocolate Finishing Salt (mine)

Citrus Semifreddo with Berry Sauce & Crushed Gingersnaps

...and the clear, landslide winner...
Nectarine Mascarpone Tart with Candied Ginger

Dessert Club: Tropical

And just in case you were wondering, yes, I have updated the Dessert Club page with current links.  I am an animal of updatedness this week!

In May, our Dessert Club theme was "Tropical."  In case you need to know exactly what this means,

trop·i·cal  (trp-kl) adj.

1. Of, occurring in, or characteristic of the Tropics.

2. Hot and humid; torrid.

trop·ic  (trpk)  n.

1. Either of two parallels of latitude on the earth, one 23°27 north of the equator and the other 23°27 south of the equator, representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constituting the boundaries of the Torrid Zone.

2. Tropics or tropics The region of the earth's surface lying between these latitudes.

 

Luckily, everything that came, qualified.  Yummily.

 

Mango-Glazed Grilled Pineapple with Vanilla-Coconut Sorbet

 Tahitian Starfruit Creams (so good!)

Mango Kumquat Magic Cake with Tropical Jelly & Coconut Glaze

Coconut Pie

Maharani Cupcakes
Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Curry Lemon Curd and Sweet Basil Cream (mine - quite delicious if I do say so)

Kona Mango Cream Pie

Tutti Frutti Ice Cream

Atlantic Beach Pie with Calamansi

Macadamia Fudge Torte with Coconut Caramel Sauce (mine)

...and the winner was...
White Chocolate Key Lime Cake

Dessert Club - American Regions

Alright, jokers.  There are procrastinators, and then there's me.  Time to belly up to the counter here in the kitchen and get some posts knocked out.  Since we just had a killer Dessert Club tonight, and now I am THREE months behind on posting those, let's start there.

In April, our DC theme truly rocked.  It was "American Regions."  Each member was delegated a different part of our great country to represent through a dessert.  The variety was beautiful, but I think the conversation was the real winner.  As we ate, we told the stories we'd discovered about our regions, or the story behind our dishes, and I think we all learned a few things we didn't know before.  Like, have you heard of Mackinac Island, Michigan, to which tourists flood for the fudge (and other diversions), so much that the locals call visitors Fudgies?  Or how about Tennessee Stack Cake, a traditional wedding confection to which each guests brings a layer to contribute?  We learned about these and more at Regional night.  We're definitely going to have to do that one again. 

(All regions were assigned but not everyone came.)

Northwestern Ice 
Pacific Northwest

Avocado Pound Cake with Lime Crème Fraîche (mine)
California/Southwest

Cherry & Chocolate Fudge
Great Lakes

Rugelach
Tri-State

Martha Washington's Jumble Cookies 
and Buttermilk Cake with Raspberry Sauce
Mid-Atlantic

Apple Brown Betty
South

Mountain Stack Cake
Appalachia

...and the truly, deeply deserving winner...
Vanilla Pain Perdu with Banana Cashew Praline
Bayou