Panna Cotta with Warm Strawberry-Mango Salsa, Hazelnut Cookie Wafer, Prickly Pear Sorbet, and a Caramel Halo

This modern-looking creation was invented to illustrate the concept of a properly prepared composed dessert. Compose is a verb meaning to arrange, create, devise, fashion, form, or shape. In the case of a composed dessert, or dessert composition, several elements are arranged together on a serving plate in a way that is appealing both to the eye and the palate. I teach my students that any plated dessert must contain a minimum of three components. The individual elements should harmo