Cannoli Ricotta Pistachio Tart? Yes please. That’s the type of creativity with which Jennifer Coins—pastry chef at Miel (honey in French)—approaches her desserts, a style that fits in perfectly with Miel, a restaurant known for its innovative cuisine and “local food” focused approach to dining.
“We don’t do artificial,” Coins says. “We make everything from scratch.” On the pastry side, that means eliminating any artificial dyes and extracts.” She even uses red wine in her Red Velvet Cake. “I just looked back at the history of red velvet cakes and how they used to be made.” The result, she says, is a red velvet cake with a little more of a burgundy color, but that tastes much better than the style with which most people are familiar.
Coins, a graduate of Johnson and Wales who’s been in the baking and pastry world for 12 years, loves to focus on seasonal ingredients. “Right now, we’re featuring apples, sweet potatoes, pomegranates.” She is also intentional about not overpowering her pastry dishes with sugar. I want you to get a little bit of sweetness without being overwhelmed, so I’ll use honey, sorghum and molasses. She even makes her own brown sugar.