A dozen roses would be challenged to compete with the delectable Sweethearts Cake from Nick Morgenstern, the ice cream wizard. A raspberry-dusted slather of gossamer whipped cream covers a half-cylinder of Madagascar vanilla ice cream, set on raspberry sponge cake for a snowy, edible Quonset hut. Hearts of tart red fruit jam show up in each slice to punctuate the delicate sweetness. It serves four, but just two might make short work of it. Though this confection needs no embellishment, a few spoonfuls alongside the raspberry coulis, a new intense sauce from Francine’s Outrageous Kitchen, puts it on a pedestal.
Sweethearts Cake, $39, available for local pickup and delivery and nationwide shipping, morgensternsnyc.com; Raspberry Coulis, $18 for eight ounces, francinesoutrageous.com.
Get Caffeinated for Bach’s ‘Coffee Cantata’
Vincent Youmans wrote the song “Tea for Two” 100 years ago, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. But two centuries earlier, Johann Sebastian Bach composed “Coffee Cantata,” a lighthearted operatic pastiche about a caffeine-crazed young woman and her disapproving father set in a Leipzig cafe. A revival of Bach’s work will be performed next month at Lost Draft Coffee Shop, a creative workshop and cafe in SoHo, by On Site Opera, a nomadic New York group. There will be an English libretto and new orchestration by Geoffrey McDonald, the music director of the company. The hourlong performance includes a coffee tasting.
The Immersive Coffee Cantata Experience, Feb. 14 through 16 and 22 through 24 at 7 p.m. by On Site Opera, Lost Draft Coffee Shop, 398 Broome Street (Centre Street), $40, osopera.org.
Pair a Chocolate Documentary With a Tasting
The past few months have seen the release of a number of films that explore food. A new one, “Håkan: A Documentary About Chocolate, Creativity and Passion,” is about a Swedish chocolate maker, Håkan Mårtensson, who established his online chocolate company, Håkan Chocolatier, in Beacon, N.Y., during the pandemic. He’s known for using uncommon ingredients in his confections. After the world premiere at Scandinavia House in Manhattan, Mr. Mårtensson and the film’s director and producer, Charlie Bennet, will have a discussion with Ulrika Bengtsson, who runs the Björk Café & Bistro in Scandinavia House. There will be a chocolate tasting and a reception with food from the cafe. Mr. Mårtensson’s chocolates will be available for purchase.
Feb. 12 at 6 p.m., $25 or $20 for members, Scandinavia House and Björk Café & Bistro, 58 Park Avenue (37th Street), scandinaviahouse.org; hakandocumentary.com.
Hummus With a Splash of Sunshine
Supermarket shelves are well-stocked with hummus, plain and flavored. But from Little Sesame, a restaurant in Washington, D.C., the lemon variety takes on particular vitality; its latest hummus has preserved lemon for sunny North African zing. It’s excellent alongside tinned sardines or can be warmed to make a sauce. It joins Little Sesame’s line that also includes classic, tomato, caramelized onion and herbed jalapeño, all of which are made from organic chickpeas and tahini with some lemon juice. The leftover rinds from that juice are now used to make preserved lemon paste in the new hummus. Stir all varieties well because the tasty stuff is on the bottom. Two eight-ounce containers come in the Hummus Club assortment, along with each of the four other flavors and 10 pita breads, $60; it should hit Whole Foods by summer.
Little Sesame Preserved Lemon Hummus, eatlittlesesame.com.
The Museum of Food and Drink Reopens
In about two weeks, the Museum of Food and Drink will open its new headquarters in Dumbo, Brooklyn, with an interactive exhibit, “Flavor: The World to Your Brain.” The museum, founded in 2005, was previously located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Curated by food scientists and culinary anthropologists, the inaugural exhibit will explore many aspects of flavor, how we perceive it, the differences between natural and artificial flavors, and more. There is particular attention to how Covid affects taste and smell for some people. The public is invited to submit brief testimonies on flavor memories. Admission, including a tasting kit, is $15; $10 for children 5 to 13; and $10 for those who qualify in categories, like students.
Museum of Food and Drink, opening Feb. 14, Empire Stores, second floor, 55 Water Street (Main Street), Dumbo, Brooklyn, 201-371-3550, mofad.org.
A Perfect Sparkler for the Year of the Dragon
Pop a cork for Lunar New Year and the upcoming Year of the Dragon, starting Feb. 10 on the. A new blanc de blancs sparkler with a handsome red and gold dragon label is the option for pouring or giving from Iron Horse Vineyards, the bubbly specialist founded in 1976 in Sebastopol, Calif. Single vineyard chardonnay grapes became the wine for the 2020 vintage (not a dragon). But it’s ready to pour, with fruity tropical aromas, a clean finish and persistent carbonation. Bring on those longevity noodles!
Iron Horse Year of the Dragon Blanc de Blancs 2020, $75, ironhorsevineyards.com.
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