Decadent New Plant-Based Desserts from Harrods

Adding to their current plant-based line-up, Harrods recently announced two new desserts, Dawn of a New Day and Every Cloud has a Silver Lining. Never have desserts had such long names! Harrods are great for plant-based sweet treats, see

, so I couldn't wait to check out these new creations.

About these new desserts

These are both in-house creations developed by Harrods’ head pastry chef, Phil Khoury. A key ingredient is NXT M*lk from Callebaut, the famed Belgian chocolate house. NXT is Callebaut’s first range of dairy-free, plant-based chocolate. It’s also the first plant-based milk chocolate to be certified free from allergens. It’s great to see these high quality plant-based ingredients being developed, allows chefs more latitude with their plant-based creations.

Getting the desserts

Back to the desserts at hand. I braved the Harrods crowds on a busy Saturday to see if I could secure these treats for taste testing. Mercifully, the food halls were not as busy as I remember from the Christmas period. The second blessing was there were plenty of both desserts on display for the taking. Dawn of a New Day was found at the patisserie counter. Don't forget to take a numbered ticket to be served or you'll be left waiting. Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining was found at the chocolaterie counter.

I grabbed one of each, headed outside and down the street to Starbucks for a take-away black coffee and on to Hyde Park around the corner to tuck in. It was a beautiful sunny day in London and Hyde park was buzzing.

Taste Test: Dawn of a New Day

As always, Harrods packaging is beautiful with their classic green colours and thick cardboard bags with woven cloth handles. I started with Dawn of a New Day. First off, it looks impressive. They say good food should be a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. This creation has certainly ticked this box. The dessert is split into two sections with the bottom a simple half globe of chocolate whereas the top is a small golden globe with spiked chocolate rays coming off it, dusted in gold. Looks fantastic!

The different elements are described by Harrods as follows:

Kent Conference pears poached in Harrods No. 42 Earl Grey tea with velvety milk-chocolate cream, Earl Grey sponge and milk-chocolate Chantilly – with a biscuit crunch

Splitting the dessert open revealed the biscuit and poached pears in the bottom half, with the top half filled with chocolate cream. The pears were divine. They tasted fresh and poached to perfection, with only the faintest Earl Grey tea flavour. Underneath the pears was the sponge. Disappointingly, I found it to be soft, mealy and stodgy, perhaps even underbaked. The milk chocolate Chantilly, however, was delightful. It had a rich chocolate flavour but without the heaviness of traditional milk chocolate creams. The chocolate rays also tasted great and provided additional texture and interest.

Overall this is a great dessert. It may not have all the flavours described and you might want to eat around the sponge (perhaps mine was from a bad batch?) but it is excellent nonetheless and would satisfy any chocolate lover.

Taste test: Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

On to the next  treat, Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining. This is more like a chocolate bar than a cake. The bulbous cloud formation looks great and is dusted with something white that gives it an almost dewy look. It is described by Harrods as follows:

a bubbly chocolate bar filled with silky aerated chocolate, Harrods Perla Negra coffee caramel and roasted milk-chocolate shortbread biscuit

Breaking it open revealed all three layers: shortbread biscuit, caramel and aerated chocolate. From the first taste it was obvious it was a hit all the way. The biscuit was buttery with a lovely texture, contrasting nicely with the soft and milky aerated chocolate layer, which had a deep and satisfying chocolate flavour, much like the Chantilly from Dawn of a New Day. The caramel in the middle was rather runny, which I loved, and tasted clean and sweet. However, I had to pause to see if I could detect any of the Perla Negra coffee flavour. I couldn't, although my partner said he could. Overall, it was a delightful chocolate treat and would highly recommend.

Bottom Line

Both desserts are delicious. The use of NXT really shines, providing rich and creamy chocolate without the dairy. Although the use of Earl Grey tea and Perla Negra coffee flavours did not shine through, both desserts do not suffer because of this. The only miss was the sponge on Dawn of a New Day but if this was on a restaurant menu I would still happily order it.

I love seeing creations like these come about. With more and more high quality plant-based alternative ingredients at their disposal, chefs are starting to meet the demand for high-end plant-based dessert options. Kudos to Harrods, Phil Khoury and Callebaut. I can't wait to see the next plant-based creations from this trio.