dessert

If you're not planning on making the dessert for a holiday party or for Thanksgiving dinner, it's better to go all-out and get a top of the line cake than to buy a less-than-average supermarket pie and try to pass it off as your own. This Autumn Harvest Cake qualifies as over-the-top. Inside the white chocolate Limoges-style box, which has been topped with elegant grapes, leaves, a kumquat and two chocolate truffle pears, there is a Bourbon vanilla cheesecake with a macadamia nut crust. The cake is elegant and the combination of flavors is wonderfully decadent. The oval cake weighs 5.3 pounds and you'll probably get more than the recommended 8-10 servings from It, especially since people are usually fairly full following the main course of a holiday dinner. Price:$150.

Designer Ander Kant creates lace-patterned concrete tiles and, inspired by his work, another designer who prefers to work with a more palatable medium reworked some of his ideas in chocolate. Katja Gruijters is introducing her Chocolace tiles at the Chocolate Expo during Dutch Design Week. The tile above is made out of milk chocolate, but she has also done ones in shortbread, white chocolate and sugar. Although they are "real tile sized," these are not meant to be placed on the floor. Instead, they should be put on the table and chipped apart, shared over a cup of coffee with friends.

[via growabrain]

Perhaps I shouldn't go so far as to say that coordinating dinnerware is overrated, but these Geo Espresso Cups are definitely more visually appealing than the average matched set. The four white porcelain cup and saucer pairs all feature a different geometric design that has been adapted in to cup form. While you can use them to serve espresso, they would also make great individual servings of creme brulees or tiny pot de creme at a holiday dinner party. Price: £55.

Despite the name, there is no reason that the colorful Summer Play Dessert Plates should not be used year round. Their splashy, bright designs, done by artist Zao Wou Ki, play the same role in dressing up a dessert presentation as dots and splashes of brightly colored purees and sauces do at restaurants. These splashes don't contribute anything extra to the flavor of the dish, but when it comes of accenting a dessert, some chefs don't spend a great deal of time on the 1/4 tsp of sauce that gives the plate such a finished look, anyway. In other words, you might not be missing out by simply opting for design. Sold in a set of six, $250.

While ice cream may be a summer standard, gelato is really the hot topic of the season and gaining in popularity every day. The problem is that it can be hard to find a good gelateria. The solution is to have it shipped from an artisan producer, like Capogiro Gelato. The family-run, Philadelphia-based company produces very small (1-3 gallon) batches of their creamy gelatos each day and offer a total of more than 250 flavors that vary seasonally. They use local ingredients, including hand-picked produce and milk from grass-fed Pennsylvania cows, to ensure the highest quality product possible.

The best bet for a gelato fan is to order their Gelato for All Seasons ($240) package, which includes shipments of 6-pints of the best seasonal, four times each year. Flavors include winter specialties like Persimmon Sorbetto, spring's Honeysuckle Gelato, Blackberry and Blueberry with Thyme in summer and Sweet Potato with Pecan Praline and Pomegranate in fall.

Once you have silver containers for serving your ice cream, it is a good idea to get something other than the standard supermarket fare to serve in them. Laloo's Goat Milk Ice Cream is low fat, low in lactose, has no artificial ingredients and contains only fruits and flavorings that are locally produced in Sonoma County, California. The advantage to goat's milk is that it is naturally lower in fat that cow's milk, so the ice cream will still taste rich, and not "watered down"; reviews say that it mimics the taste and mouthfeel of ultra-premium cow's milk ice creams, like Haagen Dazs. Flavors include Vanilla Snowflake, Black Mission Fig, Deep Chocolate, Strawberry Darling, Molasses Tipsycake, Lemon Chiffon, Pumpkin Spice and the seasonal Chocolate Cabernet. Orders are a minimum of 4 pints at $8/pint, excluding shipping costs (it is also sold at some Whole Food's markets). The ice cream must be shipped overnight and will be packaged with dry ice to keep it ready to eat.

The little paper cartons that ice cream is packaged in are not terribly attractive, especially if you intend to include ice cream as part of your dessert when company is around or during a party. Since few things are more refreshing than a sorbet on a summer evening, to create an elegant presentation, most people resort to individually plating their ice cream desserts. You can slip the full cartons into one of these elegant silver-plated ice cream containers, however, and serve away. The container measures only 4" tall, but it will still make an impression at the table. Price: $95.

High on the list of things missed most by New Yorkers when they take up residence in another state is the Black and White Cookie. The cake-like consistency of the cookie and the smooth, sweet chocolate and vanilla icing combine to make one of the ultimate treats. As a gift for your favorite ex-New Yorker, or perhaps for yourself, consider getting a box of Dean & DeLuca's Black and Whites.  Black and Whites tend to be huge, since New Yorker's like things big, but the Dean and Deluca cookies are normal sized and packed in a box that fits two dozen. The cookies are a perfect version of the New York classic - tasty as well as beautiful to look at. If you can't eat them all at once, they freeze beautifully, but if you invite a friend over to share them, you might not have any leftover. Price: $30.