A Feast for the Eyes: Decadent Desserts

Tucson Guide

TUCSON, Arizona – Dessert. It’s the ultimate ephemeral art form – creations meant to be admired and consumed within scant (yet sumptuous) minutes. This culinary artist’s medium makes a sonata or cinema eternal by comparison.

Whether incorporating scoops of rich, roasted-banana gelato, fragile sheets of decorative chocolate, or whisper-light chilled vanilla mouse, these sublime confections threaten to melt away before the eyes of those who tarry. Their fleeting nature makes them only that much more seductive.

As Tucson’s culinary scene continues to push the boundaries of creative cuisine, so do Tucsonans’ opportunities to indulge in “plated desserts” – high-style confections designed to please the eye as well as the sophisticated palate. Stark white dessert plates become canvases upon which an inspired pâtissier paints with drizzles of colorful fruit coulis.

Almond brittle and tuile batters serve as the raw materials for sculptural, edible serving bowls. Generously sized wafers of molten sugar are enlisted to build architecturally ambitious creations. When entrée dishes are cleared away and specialty desserts are whisked to the table, an evening out suddenly includes dinner – and a show.

Visitors to Soleil are immersed in an artistic aesthetic long before reaching its front door. Tucked into upscale Gallery Row at El Cortijo, the foothills restaurant shares space with such distinguished neighbors as Madaras, Wilde Meyer and El Presidio galleries.

No meal here would be complete without a sample of the inventive, witty desserts created by pastry chef Dorothy D’Alessandro. Her Belgian Chocolate Mousse Bombe, with its glossy, dark-chocolate shell, is one of those not-long-for-this-world sweet somethings one must consume tout de suite, while the white chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache remain at chilled perfection.

D’Alessandro builds her served-in-the-round slice of cheesecake atop a shortbread cookie foundation, and paints the bright white serving plate with crimson swirls of Italian morello cherry coulis. A delicate, spun-sugar wafer tucked jauntily into the firm custard brings the petite sweet to a height of nearly seven inches.

The Lemon Drop verges on edible esoterica, featuring a batter that mysteriously divides itself during the baking process into alternating soufflé-like lemon curd and sponge cake layers. In a clever visual reference to the restaurant’s namesake, crispy lemon tuile triangles encircle the lemon cake in the shape of – but of course – a stylized sun.

More unexpected treats await at The Grill at Hacienda del Sol. The Spanish Colonial style resort (designed in the 1930s as an elite, private girl’s school) exudes historic guest-ranch elegance. Diners on the west-facing veranda may also be treated to a showstopping Arizona sunset – hot oranges and vibrant pinks fading into soft rose and violet – before el sol winks out of sight for the night.

To keep pace with the intriguing entrée menu, Pastry Chef Jeff Shepley creates desserts substantial in size, flavor and style. His Citrus Chèvre Cheesecake – a thick, rectangular slice presented on the diagonal atop a severe, square dessert plate – is a study in ambrosial angularity. The amusingly named Chocolate Deca-Dense Cake features a dense, flourless chocolate-mousse cake spiked with Frangelico liqueur, seemingly afloat in a swirling sea of chocolate and caramel sauces.

A thin skin of roasted pineapple accents the Grill’s Honey Roasted Pineapple Mascarpone Torte, while fresh-fruit sorbet and a vibrant mango sauce snuggle alongside. The compact pastry’s architectural profile rises with a white-chocolate cigarillo garnish that soars several inches into the air.

Of course, no search for dessert-as-artwork is complete without a trip to Wildflower. Executive pastry chef Karen “Spike” Ames is known for elaborate presentations, incorporating spun-sugar and shaped tuile whatnots, shimmering glazes, and sauce-painted plates for maximum effect.

Wildflower’s crème brûlée sounds simple enough, but Ames dresses the silky custard with handmade designer cookies, and crowns the confection with fresh berries and an edible, fuchsia-colored orchid blossom. Its whisper-thin caramelized sugar crust shatters delicately when touched with a spoon. Crème anglaise, rich chocolate and coffee sauces ring the Kahlua-infused Chocolate Flourless Torte, which reaches toward the roof with a generous scoop of roasted banana gelato, topped by a playful, handmade tuile teaspoon.

Ames also presents her refreshing Key Lime Tart in grand form, centering the macadamia-brittle-shelled tart within a painted starburst design of mint, mango and blueberry coulis. The vivid colors and accompanying blueberry-ginger sorbet are so visually compelling that the first taste of chilled lime custard comes as a delightfully tart surprise.

Of course, given the ever-evolving nature of America’s culinary industry, no one knows exactly how long elaborately plated desserts will remain in vogue. And indeed, some chefs have begun to edge away from architectural food styling towards the charming naïveté of simple, rustic or home-style pastries.

Still, once you’ve been to the molten-chocolate mountaintop … It’s tough to give up on the extravagant, high-style view.