When Parsnip Becomes Dessert

This plated dessert was my take on carrot cake, but with parsnip as the core ingredient as a way to push myself beyond the obvious choice. Parsnip has a lot of the same natural sweetness and earthiness as carrot, but it sits a little closer to the savory side, which made it interesting to work with. I built the dish around a parsnip cake and a parsnip mousse, using a parsnip puree that would normally live in a savory context. Instead of seasoning it with salt, I combined it with white chocolate to create a parsnip ganache, which I later whipped with cream into a light mousse and set in a silicone mold.

To finish it, I glazed the mousse with a dulce de leche mirror glaze, which added both elegance and a deep caramel sweetness that helped pull everything firmly into dessert territory. Since some of the flavors sat right on the edge between sweet and savory, I made a black pepper jam that ended up more like a fragrant, gently spicy gel, and it worked surprisingly well with the parsnip and caramel notes. I finished the plate with tempered white chocolate decoration and dehydrated apple shards for height and drama. This dish took place over several days and came with plenty of challenges, but it was one of those projects where everything clicked in the end, and I was really happy with how it came together.