A Study In Dessert: Peas and Carrots

Inspiration: This dessert was the final course of a vegetable-centric five course meal that featured produced grown in New Jersey. I read about a ‘peas and carrots’ themed dessert done by pastry chef Bill Corbett in Dessert Professional (when it was published as Pastry Art and Design magazine). The idea stuck with me for many years. Whether or not it was his intention, I loved the genius of taking a food that we hated as kids—peas and carrots—and turning it into what kids would love most—dessert. The trick to succeeding with this dessert was to introduce peas and carrots in a form that people love, and who doesn’t love cake and ice cream? I worked the peas into ice cream since the texture of peas pureed into a mousse or a panna cotta only reminded me of baby food. (No offense, Gerber.) With the core elements of carrot cake and sweet pea gelato in place, composing the rest of the dessert was a matter of reinforcing the flavors of fresh peas and carrots.

Flavor Pairings: peas-carrots-lemon-maple syrup-cream cheese

Technique: For the sweet pea-mint gelato, I made a mint gelato base to which I added pea puree (sweet peas blanched in salt water and pureed in VitaMix). Because the pea adds a lot of body and has a delicate, sweet flavor, I was able to use mostly milk and reduce the sugar by a third. I used fresh mint because it added a subtle finish that countered the pea’s tendency to taste grassy and vegetal.

The carrot cake was just that—carrots. No nuts, no pineapple, no raisins, no coconut…nothing but a lot of freshly grated carrots and a smidgeon of cinnamon. The cream cheese icing was lightened into a foam made with equal parts of cream cheese and sweet milk that was charged in a nitrous oxide canister.

The carrot puree was made with cardamom, slow roasted carrots, honey, and carrot juice.

The lemon cookie crumble was a lemon-flavored sugar cookie dough that I baked as a sheet and ground in the Robot Coupe.

For the maple glazed carrots, I sweated the carrots in butter, added maple syrup, and cooked over medium heat until the syrup thickened.

Comments: This dessert was a terrific showcase of the versatility of vegetables.