Just desserts! West Palm Beach pastry chefs team up for dinner of sweets

Liz Balmaseda, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
First course for the "Indulge" dessert-only feast is all about lemon and lavender flavors: lemon-zested shortbread with lavender white chocolate pot de crème, lemon curd and edible flowers.
First course for the "Indulge" dessert-only feast is all about lemon and lavender flavors: lemon-zested shortbread with lavender white chocolate pot de crème, lemon curd and edible flowers.

What happens when two sweets-loving bakers team up for a pop-up dinner? They put on a five-course dessert feast.

Local indie bakers Anna Ross (of Anna Bakes) and Caroline McGinley (of La Gringuita cookies) will present their collaborative "Indulge" dinner on Thursday, Aug. 25, at Palm Beach Meats, a trendy market and pop-up space in West Palm Beach’s South of Southern neighborhood. Tickets are $85 per person.

The menu reads like a sweet-tooth’s daydream.

"We chose flavors that cover the entire spectrum of what you crave in something sweet when you’re looking for something sweet," says McGinley.

The "wine and cheese" appetizer for Anna Ross and Caroline McGinley's dessert dinner: homemade rosemary crackers topped with Brie cheese, walnut cranberry sauce and oatmeal cookie crumble.
The "wine and cheese" appetizer for Anna Ross and Caroline McGinley's dessert dinner: homemade rosemary crackers topped with Brie cheese, walnut cranberry sauce and oatmeal cookie crumble.

Dinner starts with homemade rosemary crackers with Brie, walnut-cranberry sauce and oatmeal cookie crumble. It continues with a lavender and white chocolate pot de crème, lemon zested shortbread and edible flowers.

Then comes the “Summer Cheesecake,” a guava-swirled confection with mascarpone whipped cream on a graham cracker crust.

The next course is McGinley's "Horchata de Mani," a thick vanilla cookie stuffed with horchata-spiced peanut custard and served with candied peanut-pretzel brittle and peanut butter gelato.

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The dessert dinner's third course is all about horchata and peanut flavors: a vanilla cookie is stuffed with horchata-spiced peanut custard and served with a candied brittle.
The dessert dinner's third course is all about horchata and peanut flavors: a vanilla cookie is stuffed with horchata-spiced peanut custard and served with a candied brittle.

The sweet finale is a s’mores tres leches with torched meringue and Belgian chocolate ganache.

"The desserts start out lighter and grow into a richer, deeper menu with the horchata-spiced peanut dessert and the s’mores finale," says McGinley.

At the event, sommelier Brett Hart will offer a full slate of wine pairings ($60). For those who wish to pair their dessert dinner with non-alcoholic sips, the pastry chefs will offer a selection of infused milks ($35) by Okeechobee’s Sutton Milk dairy farm.

'Indulge' dessert dinner

When: Thursday, Aug. 25, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Palm Beach Meats, 4812 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach.

Tickets: To purchase a seat, visit AnnaBakesFl.com/shop.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Just desserts! West Palm pastry chefs team up for dinner of sweets