Shareable desserts highlighting fall flavors at NoMi
CHICAGO (WLS) -- As the weather begins to get a bit cooler, local pastry chefs are turning to heartier fruits and spices in their creations.
One of those chefs is using mostly Michigan produce to create a sharable dessert that's hard to resist.
As you reach the seventh floor of the Park Hyatt, and enter NoMi, you expect high-end service and presentation. And some of the desserts certainly qualify for Instagram-worthiness. But their recent foray into traditional cobblers are anything but fancy. In fact, their construction is pretty straightforward, but the flavors are truly transcendent.
Like any pastry chef, Greg Mosko loves when the seasons change. As the man behind all of the sweets at the Park Hyatt, especially in NoMI on the 7th floor, fall presents a new arsenal of fruits and spices to work with.
"We really start switching into more warming spices, fruit and nuts, dried fruit," said Mosko.
All of the above shows up in his seasonal cobbler, which is intended for two to four people. First, a base that includes sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs. Then a healthy layer of sliced apples, pears, walnuts and cranberries sprinkled with sugar. Baked until the top is golden brown, Mosko finishes off the cobbler with a dusting of powdered sugar, and serves the slices with a vanilla bean goat's milk ice cream that has the slightest hit of chipotles, then a black pepper Cajeta sauce, essentially goat's milk caramel.
A smaller, more individual option is the huckleberry cheesecake. A tube of homemade cheesecake is set into a half-pipe of a cookie, then topped with local huckleberries, some tiny cubes of lime gelee, fresh herbs and edible flowers. Like most of his desserts this time of year, he's looking primarily across the lake for inspiration.
"A lot of the seasonal fruit that is available up in Michigan that will be around for the majority of the fall and the winter," said Mosko.
NoMI
Park Hyatt Hotel
800 N. Michigan Ave.
(312) 239-4030
