Modern Pastry + Lulu's Bake Shoppe

Some days it is all I can manage to walk home without Modern Pastry pulling me off Hanover Street with promises of classic Italian specialties or LuLu's on Salem Street beckoning me to her pastel pink sanctuary of sweets. The craving is not for just any type of desserts, but for lavish, fancy, good looking dessert.

{Modern Pastry favorites}

Delicately placed atop creamy vanilla custard, sitting in a milk chocolate shell are vibrant red raspberries, tart blackberries and perfectly round blueberries. Not a dusting of powdered sugar is out of place. The crisp chocolate shell vessel ties it all together, holding the luxuriously thick and smooth custard as it cradles sugary bites of tart and sweet berries.

Chocolate Ganache

Soaked with rum and Strega liquor are three layers of light chocolate sponges sandwiching whipped airy chocolate mousse. The cake gets topped with rich dark chocolate ganache finished with zig-zags of white chocolate ganache. A pretty unbelievable combination as the lightness of the mouse and rum cake layers hold up nicely to the thick ganache draping over them. Delicate hints of sweet rum and qualities of the Strega liquor including very faint notions of mint, fennel and saffron elevate this fancy chocolate treat.Lulu's Bake Shoppe serves plenty of sweets such as bagged candies, giant lollipops, and phenomenal signature cupcakes.My favorite (and I've tried many) is the Salted Caramel.
Moist chocolate cake is layered with glistening chocolate frosting and circular swirls of deep golden caramel. This is as decadent as a cupcake gets. Crystals of flaky sea salt sprinkled on top are in brilliant harmony with the caramel and chocolate.

Runner up is the Chocolate Peanut Butter.

PB + Chocolate always makes a stellar combination. Enough said.

What was the last really good dessert you ate?