Plaisir Sucre

I finally got around to making Plaisir Sucre from Pierre Herme and Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Desserts. So much has already been said about this dessert, but I still want to add my two pence's worth of praises to the collection. This probably was the most fulfilling baking/cooking experience that I had. The well-written book took me step by step along the somewhat lengthy preparation, and when the components of the dessert were ready, it was such great fun to bring them together to build the dessert. Although bad weather and poor lighting conditions normally annoy me when I am taking pictures, even those did not dampen my spirit in this case. Then came the time to serve... When my husband seemed more interested in other things, I simply asked him to try it later, for this is one dessert that deserves full attention and appreciation. Why, it even demands it by its construction. You can not absentmindedly pop a forkfull in your mouth; that first bite requires some thinking and strategic planning. I must confess that the evil chef in me had fun watching my intimidated guests planning how to attack what was on their plates, the next day. But all that fun combined does not even come close to the sweet pleasure of eating it. What a deserving name! It revived that old passion I had for milk chocolate in my younger years. Once again, I thought that pastry can be an art form, and Plaisir Sucre comes very close to being an example of an ultimate artwork as it pleases all the senses at once. One cannot help but feel humble before the genius of Pierre Herme in creating this dessert.