Desserts

Dessert occupies an important position in any menu because it will be the guest’s final taste of the meal, but a satisfying grand finale does not have to mean a blockbuster loaded with calories and sugar. I am an advocate of the Mediterranean custom of serving fruit for dessert and reserving the more elaborate pastries for afternoon coffee or special events. At Square One, we try to serve desserts that are not overly sweet, and we depend on the quality of our basic ingredients to make up for the reduced amount of sugar. Really ripe fruit is laden with so much natural sweetness that it does not require additional sugar. I have, of course, included a few dessert extravaganzas in this chapter, those showstoppers everyone likes to have in his or her repertoire. But, for the most part, you will see that I believe less is more than enough when it comes to really fine desserts, especially after a Mediterranean meal that is already so rich in flavor and seasoning. Our desserts look inviting without being baroque or elaborately embellished. We do not specialize in chocolate sculptures and confectionery sugar rosettes; we are interested in flavor, not frou-frou.