Sweet Mosaic - Ohio Magazine

	Home \| Mission \| Pastries \| Where to buy \| Contacts \| Links \| Recipes

Back to the news	Issue Date: May 2004 Issue Take the Cake Kate Fazzini May is a month of new beginnings. It's the season of graduations, wedding parties, baby showers and family get-togethers. These events are the perfect occasions for the sweet and citrusy tastes of the season, because nothing stirs the senses more than the foods we share. With so much to celebrate, we asked three of the finest pastry chefs in the state for original cake recipes. They've provided signature creations with ingredients such as fresh strawberries, aromatic oranges and lots of creamy white chocolate. Delight your guests with a slice of one of these sweet concoctions. They will agree that these cakes are, in their own way, a lot like the month of May: not too heavy, not too light, but just right. Lonnie Ball's Orange Chiffon Torte with Blackberry JamRigsby's Cuisine Volatile and the Eleni Christina Bakery, 698 N. High St., Columbus, 614/461-7888 . . . HEATHER HAVILAND's Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Amaretto Torte Sweet Mosaic, 777 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, 216/374-9030, www.sweetmosaic.com Before embarking on a career in the culinary arts, Heather Haviland studied toward the offbeat major of "political science: anatomy of peaceful change" at Kent State University. Rather than taking the formal route of culinary training, Haviland journeyed across the country, finding chefs who inspired her and worked under them. After gaining experience as a pastry chef, Haviland moved back to the Cleveland area, where she worked at Parkers Restaurant in Ohio City and Fire Food and Drink on Shaker Square. She has delivered a graduation speech at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and worked in Seattle, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Woodstock, New York. In January 2004, Haviland opened Sweet Mosaic. She owns the business and serves as head pastry chef. Though her torte recipe appears intimidating, Haviland says that she field-tested the concoction with her customers. "They looked at the recipe, and I asked them if they would ever try it," she says. "They really went for it ... they said ‘yes.'" "Just take it a step at a time," Haviland advises nervous bakers. "People, I think, are ready to embrace a challenge. This recipe is for the person who bakes a lot and is ready for something a little bit edgier. We get a big call for fancier cakes for Mother's Day and anniversaries, and that's what this is for." Haviland said the secret ingredient is fresh, locally grown strawberries. "We're trying to really utilize Ohio farmers and producers; it's something [Sweet Mosaic] takes a lot of pride in." RECIPE . . .

May is a month of new beginnings. It's the season of graduations, wedding parties, baby showers and family get-togethers. These events are the perfect occasions for the sweet and citrusy tastes of the season, because nothing stirs the senses more than the foods we share.

With so much to celebrate, we asked three of the finest pastry chefs in the state for original cake recipes. They've provided signature creations with ingredients such as fresh strawberries, aromatic oranges and lots of creamy white chocolate. Delight your guests with a slice of one of these sweet concoctions. They will agree that these cakes are, in their own way, a lot like the month of May: not too heavy, not too light, but just right.

Lonnie Ball's Orange Chiffon Torte with Blackberry JamRigsby's Cuisine Volatile and the Eleni Christina Bakery, 698 N. High St., Columbus, 614/461-7888
. . .

HEATHER HAVILAND's Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Amaretto Torte

Sweet Mosaic, 777 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, 216/374-9030, www.sweetmosaic.com

Before embarking on a career in the culinary arts, Heather Haviland studied toward the offbeat major of "political science: anatomy of peaceful change" at Kent State University.

Rather than taking the formal route of culinary training, Haviland journeyed across the country, finding chefs who inspired her and worked under them. After gaining experience as a pastry chef, Haviland moved back to the Cleveland area, where she worked at Parkers Restaurant in Ohio City and Fire Food and Drink on Shaker Square. She has delivered a graduation speech at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and worked in Seattle, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Woodstock, New York.

In January 2004, Haviland opened Sweet Mosaic. She owns the business and serves as head pastry chef.

Though her torte recipe appears intimidating, Haviland says that she field-tested the concoction with her customers.

"They looked at the recipe, and I asked them if they would ever try it," she says. "They really went for it ... they said ‘yes.'"

"Just take it a step at a time," Haviland advises nervous bakers. "People, I think, are ready to embrace a challenge. This recipe is for the person who bakes a lot and is ready for something a little bit edgier. We get a big call for fancier cakes for Mother's Day and anniversaries, and that's what this is for."

Haviland said the secret ingredient is fresh, locally grown strawberries. "We're trying to really utilize Ohio farmers and producers; it's something [Sweet Mosaic] takes a lot of pride in."

RECIPE . . .