Chocolate Coconut Smore

Here is a new dessert item that truly represents this new cuisine we are creating called "Colorado Fusion". We've defined it as a southwestern flare utilizing local Colorado ingredients. This dessert brought a lot of the staff back to their childhood with memories of campfires and marshmallows. I wanted to do a smore on the menu since it's such a big thing during the summer at the resort. We started with a graham cracker base in a tart shell similar to a cheesecake. Chocolate ganache was poured on top and garnished with toasted coconut shavings. After allowing the chocolate to set up, we topped the chocolate with whipped meringue and lightly torched it. The smore is served on a mango puree to really bring the color out. I think this is one of my favorite desserts and will be extremely popular during the spring/summer season.