Although receiving one’s just deserts can be unpleasant, eating a meal of just desserts is the only way to consume the FDA's recommended daily allowance of frosting. Meet your mouthwatering nutritional needs with today's Groupon: for $39, you get admission to a chocolate-soufflé-making class at DessertTruck Works (an $85 value).
DessertTruck Works, which was declared Best Mobile Food by Time Out New York readers in 2008 and won on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, lets curious students learn the ins and outs of confection creation with informative, hands-on workshops. During the 90-minute session, professional pastry chefs guide people through the process of making chocolate soufflé, from whipping up a fluffy meringue to folding the mixture into molten chocolate to offering the soufflé to a kangaroo in exchange for letting you ride in its pouch. Complimentary coffee keeps participants fueled as they wait to devour their culinary works of art, and students take home any leftover soufflé batter. Although not included with today's Groupon, students can nosh on eclectic treats such as warm brioche donut squares, goat-cheese cheesecake, or chewable gusts of wind in DessertTruck Works' café after class.
Cathcart & Reddy
Jerome Chang, the mastermind behind the much-lauded DessertTruck, gave his desserts a grounded home at Cathcart & Reddy, a café on the Lower East Side that sells many of the truck’s wares while expanding its purview. Run by Chang and two pastry chefs, all credited in their New York magazine listing as Le Cirque school alumni, the truck was nominated for two Vendy Awards and received heavy attention in a New York Times feature on dessert trucks for gourmet sweets that include chocolate bread pudding, vanilla crème brûlée, and french macaroons. The café also sells pressed sandwiches with mellifluous fillings such as goat cheese with caramelized almonds, thyme, and apricot jam, or domestic serrano ham with manchego, roasted garlic, and pine nuts.
When not slinging sweets behind the counter, staffers can be found in the kitchen, baking new batches of desserts or hosting workshops for aspiring chefs. Scheduled every few days throughout each month, the classes teach patrons kitchen secrets such as how to craft perfect soufflés and macaroons or gauge a cook’s feelings by the color of his chef’s hat.
Reviews
The people here are so nice and helpful. I learned a lot during the workshop.
Jennifer L., Yelp, 7/29/11
I love the way they play with odd ingredients in the desserts they serve.
restaurantfairy, New York, 11/10/10
Tips
93% of 593 customers recommend
-
“It was a great experience to learn how to make macaron.”
-
“Great class, very informative, very delicious. I know the time is limited but it would have been nice to learn how to do a filling that did not include chocolate.”
-
“Lots of fun and good instruction. Thoroughly enjoyed the class. The macarons came out great and were delicious!”
-
A
