Croquembouche of Apple and Cherry Sorbet, State Dinner for France
This croquembouche, photographed by Sharon Farmer, was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for a State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac of the French Republic and Bernadette Chodron de Courcel Chirac, spouse of the president of France. The State Dinner was hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House on February 1, 1996.
Designing desserts for French leaders was always very important for Chef Mesnier who was born and grew up in France. For this dessert Chef Mesnier decided on the traditional French croquembouche with an American twist, alternating the traditional caramel coated cream puffs with apple and cherry sorbet. In order to keep the sorbet cold and the cream puffs room temperature, the pyramids were built just before being served. Minutes before the butlers came to take the desserts, the pastry team attached the cream puffs and sorbet to a cone of green apple sorbet. Each pyramid was decorated with spun-sugar plumes designed to look like the ones worn on the helmets of the Republican guard at the Élysée Palace in France. Around the base of the pyramid were cream puff swans swimming in a raspberry sauce.
This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.