Sherry Yard’s Sugar Wonderland

Sherry Yard, Wolfgang Puck’s longtime pastry chef, is always laughing and smiling and whipping up delicious creations. She was once again wearing her signature pink chef’s jacket at the Governors Ball preview surrounded by a Candyland of little goodies. But how on earth could she ever top last year’s stunning chocolate bento box? How about a dessert that glows?

Yard interpreted this year’s retro “Streamline Moderne” theme by reaching back through time and producing an updated Baked Alaska. You can’t have 1500 open flames around all of those beaded gowns and teased tresses, so in lieu of setting the baked Alaskas on fire, they are set upon glowing bases. The “Etoile de Oscar” is filled with chocolate Guittard L’Etolle du Nord chocolate sorbet, espresso glace and chocolate gelato with a toffee coffee crunch and cold-infused coffee whipped cream.

In addition to the Baked Alaskas, guests will enjoy a treasure trove of sweets, including Yard’s mud cookies, which made my Top Twenty Favorite Bites last year, Miniature blackberry bundt cakes brought to mind what I used to imagine “sugarplums” would look like.

Chocolate banana truffles and cream puffs tempt the hand to stray towards the dazzling display. Lavendar macarons are Concord grape-flavored, and Yard confided that she had been up all night making Concord grape jam to fill them.

Of course, no Governor’s Ball would be complete without the little chocolate Oscars dusted with gold. The chocolate Oscars look like mummies when they are all lying down

The presentation proved so irresistible, while Wolfgang Puck spoke to the press, we noticed Sherry Yard absentmindedly nibbling on little chocolate candies out of a lollipop vase.