Kosher Critic: Just desserts… of the chocolate persuasion

The first time I ever ate a molten chocolate cake I was in my teens at a restaurant called Shallots in my hometown of Chicago. The cake was topped with a solid disk of chocolate under the name “Top Hat.”

I remember vividly this round chocolate cake the size of a silver dollar and the thickness of a hockey puck. The plate was further dressed with plump berries, chocolate drizzle, snowy powdered sugar and a dollop of parve ice cream all very artfully done. I speared the cake with my tiny dessert spoon and as I did it released a wave of hot chocolate ooze creeping its way over my plate, commingling with the artfully arranged berries. I remember thinking at the time that dessert didn't get better than what I had just eaten.

Here in New York, a version of this dessert is called “The Opera” or “Lava Cake.” There is some permutation of this cake at almost every kosher restaurant in New York. I wrote them off as imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and perhaps the pastry chefs were. Over the years, my palate began to sophisticate causing me to desire a less rich ending to the meals, but all around I saw tables ordering the Molten Chocolate Cake as the undisputed king of the kosher dessert scene.

At the most recent Kosherfest, I came upon an exhibit featuring huge plates of molten chocolate cakes that had been made in a factory, packaged, frozen and shipped. These confections were microwave ready. They only needed to be plated and garnished. This chef had been doing this for years and sold to some of the most prestigious kosher restaurants in the business. Learning that nine times out of ten the single most regularly ordered kosher dessert was something you could pull out of a freezer safe box, solidified the all-important question “Is that made in-house?”

I learned that despite the molten chocolate cake regularly being brought in many of the other desserts served throughout kosherdom are in fact homemade. But knowledge is useless if not shared. Here is a short list of desserts and their descriptions that I can thoroughly recommend.

1. Lemon meringue tart at Pardes. This tart is sweet, creamy and refreshing. A perfect end to a meal. I know on very good authority that Pardes’ Chef Wendel makes an amazing chestnut soup with chocolate flan that I have not yet tried but am eager to sample.

2. Roasted Pear at Prime KO. Roasting the pear caramelizes the fruit’s natural sugar making the depth of sweetness much greater while not being cloying. Served with a ginger ice cream that works beautifully with the dish.

3. Fragole con Zabaglione at Va'Bene. Zabaglione is exceptionally light custard made with a sweet white wine. The body of this dessert is ethereal making for a very light finishing course. Despite its lightness it is very flavorful and is likely the best kosher zabaglione served outside of Italy. Va'Bene also makes a really stellar tiramisu if you feel the need to augment your dessert with something a little more substantial.