By Betsy Feinberg

Summer fruit is gracefully simple, requiring little more than a dash of sugar or a shell of warm, flaky piecrust to create a satisfying dessert. Such effortless preparation is fine for home cooking, but when patrons step into a restaurant, they often expect more than satisfaction. Combining fresh summer fruit with ingenious technique can uncover unexpected tastes and textures.
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Pastry Chef Christine Law of Postrio in San Francisco celebrates summer fruit by adding Prosecco to chilled peach soup that is garnished with lavender shortcake biscuits.

At Alizé at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, pastry chef Tammy Alana has created a “sky’s the limit” version of the traditional strawberry shortcake recipe, in which a vertical medley of soft, spongy shortcake, creamy strawberry sauce, and diced fruit is fortified by baked banana crisps and crowned with crème fraîche and a freeform web of crispy rice sticks dusted with strawberry powder.

Kenny Magana of Sensi at the Bellagio pays homage to summer’s most beloved berries with his own take on an ice cream sundae. He layers pistachio ice cream between chocolate chiffon and vanilla brick cookies and then tops it off with a bing cherry port glaze.

Back in the Big Apple, Eric Bertoia of Café Boulud takes raspberries to refined heights with his Summer Raspberry Lychee Macaroon with Lemon Sorbet, an elegant layering of almond macaroon cookies offset by the delicate sweetness of rose cream and the tangy ambrosia of raspberry coulis.

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