Exquisite desserts at Daniel Boulud’s Bistro

EXQUISITE desserts always crown fine dining.

In New York City, Pastry Chef Ashley Church Brauze, of DB Bistro Moderne, who was named 2013 StarChefs.com Rising Star Pastry Chef, consistently creates a sensational dessert menu—one that blends her own sophistication and elegance with the classic French cuisine that meets the flavors of American market. The youthful

32-year-old Ashley hails from North Carolina and there she grew up greatly influenced by her grandmother’s love for cooking and baking. A culinary school

degree from Johnson & Wales in South Carolina and her serendipitous dining experience in Daniel Boulud’s renowned fine dining restaurant, Daniel’s (where US President Barack Obama dines in

Manhattan), propelled her pastry career. A matching sweet personality to boot, my granddaughter Sabrina simply adores Chef Ashley who pampers her with her sweet treats.

The parade of desserts during our recent mini UP Diliman dinner-reunion at DB Bistro Moderne was another delightful pampering of our palates. Joseph Camper, the bistro’s engaging somellier, poured Santa Julia Tardio–Late Harvest Torrontes from Argentina, a

delightful sweet white wine with intense aroma of over mature fruits (pears, apricots, peaches and orange skin) into our dessert wine glasses, while a parade of exquisitely plated desserts were placed on our table, compliments of the house. Not even the presence of celebrity journalist, author and talk show host Katie Couric, who came in to dine at DB Bistro that night and whom I so wanted to meet, could not take my attention away from the desserts. My UP Diliman colleagues initially shying away from ordering desserts were all mesmerized. The Vacherin is

an enticing red, pink and white creation of orange blossom poached rhubarb carpaccio, strawberry meringue ad strawberry-rhubarb sorbet. The vacherin is

actually a strawberry gelee wrapped around a layer of strawberry sorbet and nougat ice cream. An equally beautiful piece like an artwork is Torte Pignons de Pin, a dark chocolate brownie, pine nut feuilletine (“feuille” means “leaf” in French), blackberries poached

in cassis or currant syrup, dulcey cremeux (custard with dulcey chocolate) and lemon ice cream. A refreshingly light dessert, Lemon Tart is lemon curd with gelatin that sits on top of a lemon-thyme infused sable Breton (French butter cookies), white chocolate kumquat (small orange) foam, lemon olive oil pate de fruit (French for fruit paste) sorbet. A glorified bread pudding, Apricot Bread Pudding with lavender poached apricot and Marsala Ice Cream tasted is as dainty as it looked. Marsala is a wine produced in Marsala, Sicily. The group was silenced while our palates were being pampered with the exquisite desserts. We were all transported to a heavenly high while dessert-forking in to try all the exquisite creations of pastry chef Ashley. Why, I completely forgot about Katie Couric, who must have slipped out while we were in sweet languor.