Grilled White Chocolate Apple Cake and More

Today I'm finishing up the last details on the next Seasonal Dessert Tasting Platter which will debut first thing tomorrow morning! I've always enjoyed working on the line-up, and as it rotates every six weeks, it's always kept me on my toes. And since we recently celebrated our first anniversary, I thought it would be fun to bring back one of our best desserts from this time last year. And for good measure, I'm including a new one in this little teaser, too.

Back in the fall of 2007, I first made my Frozen Peanut Butter Mousse Petit Four to much applause. In fact, I remember the response from some of my clients when they returned to find out that the collection of four desserts we feature that comprise each Tasting Platter is retired every six weeks. I'm not as disheartened; there's always new and exciting dessert combos to get my mind around. Still... maybe this post will be a long-awaited conciliation for them. Come and get it, folks!

The mousse begins with a rich crust of brownie crumbs combined with melted chocolate and a touch of Maldon sea-salt. You know me... a little salty chocolate finishes any dessert! That is then topped with a whipped mousse of milk chocolate and peanut butter. To finish, its glazed with a silky chocolate ganache, frozen, and cut into bars. Pretty tasty, folks.

My second temptation is of the grilled variety. If you remember, the platter is a collection of one frozen item, one bread pudding, one chilled pudding, and one grilled item. This time around, we're celebrating the Autumn with a Grilled White Chocolate Cinnamon-Apple Cake. Made from a house-made spiced apple sauce from local stock, this baby begins moist and develops a crispy crust after a quick pass through our panini grill. It's stuffed with 31% white chocolate chips that melt and become little pockets of gooey goodness.

See 'em both here today, but the real platter is available for the first time tomorrow. Just in time to get everyone into the Autumnal spirit!