We did not cook for Christmas Day this time around. We decided to try out the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay for our Holiday Brunch.  Well, they outdid themselves.  See the Dessert Spread this year. (And we did not even get to all of the offerings because we said we were already full.)

Desserts at Holiday Brunch, Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay, photo credit Likeitiz

The Dessert layout above my sister collected from the buffet were her choices. She said she did not bother with the others. They were not as interesting, she claimed. Here are a few descriptions:

Clockwise from the outer circle, top left and going around:

• Peppermint White Chocolate velvety mousse topped with Chocolate Holiday Tree
• Panettone Bread Pudding (Soooo Good!)
• Apple Tart on puff pastry
• Heavy chocolate mousse on a shortbread crust and topped with a fruit gelee (the red round one on the foreground, right side)
• Cheesecake ball rolled in shredded fresh coconut (delish!)
• Pistachio filled choux pastry (This was stellar!)
• Banana Nutella Crepe, made in front of you, sans the dollop of whipped heavy cream
• White chocolate topped with Pomegranate
• Brownie topped with white chocolate peppermint and  snowman decor
• Milk Chocolate topped with Raspberry Coulis and a Chocolate stick
• Pecan pie which was mostly pecans on a chocolate crust topped with black and white chocolate decorations (This was by far my favorite!  I plan to make my own version of this. Soon!)
• On the sides, a chocolate creme caramel and a personal-sized pumpkin pie that’s almost gone!

We were curious about this cute little friend posing on a stand:

Edible Snow Man, photo credit Likeitiz

The snow man had chocolate brownie base. His trunk was made of peppermint white chocolate, the scarf was buttercream, and his head and hat are pure milk chocolate! Soooo good!

We had to go for a walk after all that food. So we ventured out the backyard of the Ritz.

View From Patio of the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay, photo credit Likeitiz