Every spring I get restless with the menu. The rich, dark flavors that feel right in December start to feel heavy by March, and I want something that matches the season. This month, three new pieces are joining the lineup, each one built around ingredients I sourced right here in Cape May County.
Strawberry Bark
The base is white chocolate, tempered and spread thin, topped with freeze-dried strawberries that I crush by hand into uneven pieces. The freeze-drying concentrates the flavor so intensely that each bite tastes like you crammed a whole punnet of June strawberries into one square inch. A light dust of pink peppercorn adds a little warmth underneath.
Lavender Clusters
I've been buying dried culinary lavender from a small farm outside Cape May for two seasons now. The trick with lavender in chocolate is restraint. Too much and it tastes like soap. I use just enough to give the dark chocolate clusters a floral note that sneaks up on you after the cocoa fades. Toasted hazelnuts round out the texture. These might be my favorite thing I've made this year.
Lemon-Dipped Pretzels
Meyer lemon zest folded into tempered white chocolate, poured over thick pretzel rods, then finished with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. The Meyer lemons come from a friend's greenhouse. They're sweeter and more fragrant than regular lemons, and they pair with white chocolate in a way that feels effortless. The pretzel gives you that salty crunch to balance the citrus.
All three are available now at The Bailey Grind and at the Ocean View Farmers Market on Saturdays through the end of May. Come taste spring.
