How To Get One Of The Most Famous Desserts In New York City For Just $6
DEBARYLIFE – Cornhusk Chef Daniela Soto-Ines created the famous dessert meringue at Cosme in New York City in 2014. Arriving at the table spectacularly cracked open, the slightly salty, charred Italian meringue laced with corn husks is filled with a corn mousse and burnt vanilla whipped cream.
The dessert at chef Enrique Olvera’s upscale, Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Cosme costs sixteen dollars. Additionally, you can also enjoy it for $6 in sundae form at Esse Taco, the newest concept from the Casamata restaurant group.
Early in May, Williamsburg saw the opening of Esse Taco, which specialized in homemade nixtamalization and tacos in the vein of Mexico City.
From the mesquite-smoked mushroom with black beans and salsa tatemada to the pork loin “al pastor” with pineapple butter, which pays homage to the proprietors’ renowned Pujol restaurant in Mexico City, each taco is exceptionally delicious. You must make room for that Cornhusk Meringue Sundae whether you order “Todos Los Tacos” or just one.
The Casamata crew knew they wanted to make a dessert that would be incredibly tasty and simple to make while they were creating the menu for Esse Taco. Though they discussed recipes for churros, paletas, and ice cream sandwiches, Cosme’s cornhusk meringue was their favorite. Gonzalo Gout, the head of culture at Casamata, adds, “We love it, everybody loves it, and it’s very much us.” “Well, how about we just go for it?”
The Cornhusk Sundae at Brooklyn’s Esse Taco, located in Williamsburg.
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Casamata has previously turned the Cornhusk Meringue into a frozen dessert. They worked with Shake Shack in 2022 to develop a milkshake with a husk meringue topping and corn cream custard. The sundae seemed like a logical next step after that dessert.
Early in May, Williamsburg saw the opening of Esse Taco, which specialized in homemade nixtamalization and tacos in the vein of Mexico City.
From the mesquite-smoked mushroom with black beans and salsa tatemada to the pork loin “al pastor” with pineapple butter, which pays homage to the proprietors’ renowned Pujol restaurant in Mexico City, each taco is exceptionally delicious. You must make room for that Cornhusk Meringue Sundae whether you order “Todos Los Tacos” or just one.
The Casamata crew knew they wanted to make a dessert that would be incredibly tasty and simple to make while they were creating the menu for Esse Taco. Though they discussed recipes for churros, paletas, and ice cream sandwiches, Cosme’s cornhusk meringue was their favorite. Gonzalo Gout, the head of culture at Casamata, adds, “We love it, everybody loves it, and it’s very much us.” “Well, how about we just go for it?”
Casamata has previously turned the Cornhusk Meringue into a frozen dessert. They worked with Shake Shack in 2022 to develop a milkshake with a husk meringue topping and corn cream custard. The sundae seemed like a logical next step after that dessert.
“I believe the secret to this dessert is its simplicity,” Gout adds. “It’s something with very different textures, but what gives it this sort of corn on the cob with butter moment is the relationship between sweet and savory in particular.”
They then had to figure out a method to imitate the three main ingredients of the Cosme dessert—the meringue, the corn mousse, and the vanilla whipped cream—to capture its best elements.
They chose to make ice cream out of the vanilla element rather than whipping cream. Making ice cream is no joke, so we wanted to make sure it was the best product available, says Gout.
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Gout met his longtime friend Fany Gerson, the proprietor of La Newyorkina ice cream firm, as if by divine intervention. “We’re having trouble making ice cream because it’s one of those things that’s inconsistent,” I mentioned to her, and she said, ‘We’ll make it for you.’ Who better to put your trust in than a close friend who works as an ice cream maker? Now, the foundation of the sundae is made of Mexican vanilla ice cream from La Newyorkina.
A miniature version of the broken cornhusk meringue and corn mousse, which is nearly identical to the Cosme version but whipped for a longer period to give it a lighter, fluffier texture, are placed on top of the ice cream.
Casamata is procuring the meringues from Jesus Parea, a former pastry chef at Cosme and current co-owner of the Brooklyn Mexican restaurant Sobre Masa, rather than making them internally, which would be a lengthy task for a high-volume facility.
A final garnish of powdered burnt corn husk is added to each sundae. According to Gout, “The meringue gets a little chewier rather than crunchier because of the cold dust on it.” “So, it’s served in a cup with the same components but different textures.”
There will probably be additional sweets added to the Esse Taco menu in the upcoming year. Perhaps a twist on a sundae, perhaps some churros, or perhaps even something akin to a “Choco Taco” (probably a follow-up partnership with Gerson – fingers crossed on that one). The Cornhusk Meringue Sundae, however, is here to stay, and we wouldn’t be shocked if it gained the same level of fame as its original ancestor.