Corndogs for dessert? OKC's The Jones Assembly is offering unique takes on sweet treats

When The Jones Assembly's leadership decided to overhaul their dessert menu, they brought in a powerhouse Oklahoma City native and classically trained pastry chef to help.

"What better way to bring this in and to bring it fully home ... having an outside perspective, but (also) someone who so fully knows Oklahoma as well," said Scott Marsh, partner and director of operations at The Jones Assembly. "You don't get those opportunities a lot."

Now, after a months long collaboration with Isabel Daniels, The Jones Assembly, 901 W. Sheridan Ave., has a new dessert menu perfect for anyone looking for a unique take on a sweet treat. Daniels, a Heritage Hall alumna, has career accomplishments that include time spent at David Burke Townhouse, Abe & Arthur’s, Marta and Catch Miami, New York and Dubai.

Why did The Jones Assembly change it's dessert menu?

Marsh said the decision to change the menu came because the team had not taken time to reevaluate the pastry program since before the COVID-19 pandemic. So conversations with Daniels, who is currently based in Connecticut, began in November, and the development of a new menu that would ultimately include four dine-in desserts and a special take-away option would result.

"This is the tip of the iceberg for us as far as the creativity that we can have in that department," he said. "It's going to really showcase the skills of a lot of people in our kitchen."

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The collaboration allowed the restaurant to take many beloved, commonly used flavors to new places and devise a menu that would fit with the restaurant's food menu and bar program.

"What we do at The Jones in general is a lot of familiar flavors — familiar food that we all grew up eating — that we try to elevate or reinvent or reimagine mixed with a little bit of whimsy," Marsh said. "That's kind of what we're really good at, what we hang our hat on."

What will you find on the new dessert menu at The Jones Assembly?

Marsh said one aspect of the restaurant's dessert menu is that it has always had iterations of two distinct dessert options available — chocolate cake and banana pudding.

The new menu holds to this standard while asking what those flavors could be with some careful reimagining.

Buried Treasure is the newest chocolate cake offering, a devil's food cake layered with chocolate and strawberry mousse, chocolate ganache, cacao nibs, chocolate liqueur ice cream and strawberry, mandarin and grapefruit (when in season) topped with a Marak milk foam.

For banana lovers, the Tally Me Banana brings a smoked mascarpone mousse coated in white chocolate with whiskey soaked toasted pecans, banana bread pecan pie, banana pudding, caramelized bananas, and a mezcal and sorghum raisin Day-O ice cream.

To truly experience the whimsy of The Jones, perhaps the Corndog with Ketchup and Mustard is the dessert for you. This cornflake and white chocolate-dipped raspberry custard on a stick is served with a corn brulee and roasted corn cake made with Anson Mills corn and raspberry and mango sauces.

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"Anybody who's had the corndog just flips over it because it's just such a unique feeling dessert. It's got that visual element that you can't explain without seeing it," Marsh said. "It kind of plays a little mind game with you of 'Gosh this looks like a corndog, but it's so sweet and beautiful and delicious.'"

Rounding out the dine-in desserts, is the Cruller Intentions, an apple cruller ice cream sandwich glazed in cider and layered with vanilla custard, a baked apple, apple butter and house-made granola. For me, it was as if a churro and apple pie married. You'll need a fork and knife for this sandwich.

"I think that one brings people back to a time and place, a lot of times," Marsh said.

For those hoping to take a treat home to enjoy later, The Jones is offering its Midnight Snack. The four-pack of fresh baked cookies is the perfect option if you aren't ready for dessert immediately following your meal. There are four flavors to choose from chocolate chip, raspberry corn, molasses marshmallow, and gluten-free peanut butter.

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All of the ice cream and frozen custard elements for desserts at the restaurant are made fresh daily at sister restaurant Spark, and Marsh said a continued focus on seasonality will play a role in the way the menu evolves.

The restaurant's new desserts boast balance in both texture and flavor, each offering multiple mouth feels from creamy to crunchy to chewy. As someone who enjoys a dessert that is not cloyingly sweet and overwhelming to the palate, I found myself going back for a second, or third bite of each.

"The beauty of what we've been able to find now is it's another conversation — a new conversation on the table — whether their first time or its their 10th visit," Marsh said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What you'll find on The Jones Assembly revamped dessert menu in OKC