With a menu that changes every week, pastry chef Larissa Costella has plenty of opportunity to tap into her creativity at Calgary’s Salt & Brick. “I am very lucky to have a lot of creative freedom at my job and I have so much fun coming up with new weird ideas every week,” she says. “I love being able to bring a playful lightheartedness to fine dining and bring people joy through my work.”
Some of her favourite creations in-house are the result of putting a unique twist on a familiar favourite, like the Miso Caramel Twix Tart. She even managed to incorporate veggies into a dessert: the Peanut Butter White Chocolate Sunchoke Cake was inspired by lyrics from a favourite song.
When it comes to honey, Chef Larissa loves to caramelize it to deepen the colour and complexity of flavours. Boil it until it turns dark and use it a variety of ways like flavouring icings, glazes, adding cream to make a honey caramel sauce, or making ice cream.
Honey Graham Cookies don’t require caramelizing the honey, but they’re still a perfect cookie according to Chef Larissa. When mixing the dough, she says to trust the process. “It will appear crumbly and too dry at first once you add the dry ingredients. Just keep mixing the dough with the paddle attachment and it will come together!” Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to prevent sticking, and if it’s too soft, pop it into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm up.