wanna help me get this plated dessert right?

[stir it up]

So I am after a nice Christmasy dessert, and I was thinking of doing a nice moist gingerbread cake, (I do one heavy on the molasses but nicely spiced, it is very moist but also light-ish if that gives you a sense of it). I would like the plating to be awesome, so please contribute any ideas.

I am thinking with a pear ice cream. Now I've not made a creamy one, I have done pear sorbet in the past from a recipe from Chez Panisse, but I'm thinking creamy on this, though heavy on the pear.

also thinking some pomegranate "berries" on the plate, and maybe some dark and white chocolate elements.

Any other ideas? Any suggestions for a liqueur incorporated into either the ice cream or into say a runny white chocolate ganache drizzle on the plate or something... I was thinking poire william type of deal in the ice cream, but I was wondering about an alternate flavor too, in either the chocolate or ice cream or in a coulis of some sort.

I'm willing to scratch these ideas too (except the gingerbread cake), so if you have a completely different take I'm open to that too.

Looking forward to your creativity! Any thought appreciated!

[GhettoRacingKid]

Ok, If you can why not have fun with your plating.

I say you use the white chocolate ganache and pipe it on the cake and do a drawing to make it look like a ginger bread house, or ginger bread person, then use what ever else to add some details.

It would be alot of fun. that is unless you had to do alot of them

[Harpua]

You know, if you want to make it interesting, replace the molasses with pomegranate molasses if you can find it. It will make the seeds pair better.

I got mine at a mediterranean/indian produce market.

[stir it up]

Wow, I didn't know there was pomegranate molasses. Oooh la la! Where have I been! What's the deal with that stuff harp, would it maybe be useful as an ingredient for a coulis or something like that on the plate.

LOL ghetto racing kid, I was thinking if you weren't careful with that drawing of a ginger person, it could look like a chalk body outline. I used to live in South Central LA so I've seen a few of those in my day. I guess you would have to fill it in solid, maybe dark choco eyes and buttons.

I was fairly certain about wanting no goo on the cake, just plain, or maybe with a fine dusting of icing sugar or a tiny bit of coco and a little gold leaf or something. You've just made me think you could make a template and dust a ginger man on the plate (or cake, but I'm really thinking plain-ish on the cake). It would even work if you had to do a lot of them. Come to think of it I have a cookie cutter that comes with a template to spray on color, though I think it's a snowman and the face, hat and buttons go on through the template.

On the booze front, I have this thing about using only liqueurs with fairly natural ingredients. I remember now seeing something pom in liqueur, but roughly recall it to be a little fake? hmm, framboise, cassis, I dunno. maybe there's something that could be done with sauternes or ice wine.

I will definitely get my hands on some pom molasses and start having fun with that. I can google but if you want to tell me anything more about it harp that'd be great.

keep those ideas comin' I've been in a pastry rut and am getting really excited about the possibilities of this one.

[GhettoRacingKid]

I like the dusting idea. You can make a few.

You could even cut the cake into ginger bread shapes. A simple cookie cutter (depending on how thick your cake is.) and that would be a nice littel holiday treat.

but Im not a fan of POM, I feel its missing something. but in the Hotel, Motel, Resturant Show in NYC last month I got to sample this

2005 Rimon Dessert Wine

Its a POM Dessert wine. jsut looked at it and its $35 for the bottle.

[stir it up]

A very interesting wine, thanks GRK. yum 100% pomegranate, and basically the Porto method of stopping the fermentation with hard alcohol. I wish they gave a sweetness # or some sense of the degree of sweetness, but I would guess about like a Porto, hopefully even a little more tart with a little sharpness from the pomegranate.

I have a feeling I would enjoy drinking that wine if it's good. A friend makes a 100% raspberry that is divine, but in short supply as you need so many raspberries to do it.

Speaking of tart, I was thinking this dessert needed a hint of tart also. maybe kumquat.

[Curdled & Broke]

i seem to recall a recipe that involved cutting boxes of gingerbread, carmelising apples, cider sabayon and caramel sauce in The Star's dessert book years ago. i do not remeber the specifics, but bourbon may have been involved,too.

I know sabs are old hat, but i could never get my pear ice cream peary enough, though i did not try dried pears. With the sab, you could do champagne/poire william.

also, i believe grenadine is the mixer with pomegranite flavour


good luck.

[stir it up]

Thanks Curdled and Broke! Sabayon is an excellent idea too, I was asleep at the switch to not be thinking it!

(BTW did you ever see the movie Johnny Stecchino... he is faking an insurance disability claim by pretending that his right hand shakes violently all the time, he says to the insurance guy "all I can do is make zabaglione all day.")