This ice cream bombe is filled with a refreshing, slightly sweet lemon-verbena ice cream and served with a hot, rich fudge sauce. Use a good store-bought chocolate ice cream for the shell, but for piquant flavor make the ice cream for the center at home, using either fresh or dried herbs. To create the bombe's perfect shape, we used a large white bowl as a mold, from Loaves & Fishes Cookshop, landfcookshop.com. Leaves of lemon verbena on top contrast prettily with the ice cream.
A decadent slice of orange-chocolate ganache cake on a 13-inch bone china charger, $75, Jasper Conran at Waterford Wedgwood, waterfordwedgwood.com.
Aromatic mint leaves drenched in bittersweet chocolate, and chocolate truffles with rose syrup make sweet favors for guests.
A swirl of sugared, organically-grown pink rose petals dipped in chocolate add an irresistibly romantic look to your dessert table.
For chocolate lavender shortbread cookies, the amount of lavender may be adjusted to your taste. Start with a tablespoon of fresh lavender flowers (or a teaspoon of dried) for a subtle flavor. The delicious herbal scent and taste mingle wonderfully with that of the rich, bittersweet chocolate.
Sugared orange peels and rose geraniums are tasty bites with an orange liqueur. “Point” round plate with square center, $56, Raynaud, 732-751-0500. Bread plate, $70, Arkadia at Moss, mossonline.com. “Point” Quenelle dish, $23, and cover, $36, Raynaud, 732-751-0500. “Desire” shot glass, $70 per pair, Hoya Crystal, hoyacrystal.com. Oxygène Blanc dessert plate, $36, Medard de Noblat, medarddenoblat.com.
To create an artful presentation for a dessert table, we used a small, glossy paper shopping bag as a form, slathering the inside with warm, bittersweet chocolate. After it cooled, the paper bag was peeled away. Piled high in the “bag” are chocolate-ganache almond macaroons. A spoonful of rose water gives the macaroons a delicate, floral bouquet. Surrounding it all: a wreath of pale pink- and yellow-rose petals. Pink “Tudor” linen tablecloth, $160, and napkins, $22 each, Gracious Style, graciousstyle.com.
