Sweet tarts

Basil marshmallows?

Yes, and they're delicious.

It all started when Three Tarts' Sandra Palmer and Kiyomi Toda-Burke made a chocolate banana parfait. The sweet little dish called for marshmallow sauce and mini marshmallows for the top, which the pastry chefs made themselves. “We thought, ‘Oh, we can make all sorts of flavors,’” Sandra explains. So they took the marshmallow project into a six-month test kitchen period and now have more than a half dozen gorgeous flavors.

“Most people go with vanilla because that’s what they’re most familiar with,” Sandra points out. Indeed, the vanilla marshmallow takes you back to camp days when you scarfed down handfuls of these things.

But the other flavors are where the Tarts’ marshmallows get interesting. The mango pops with high tropical flavor. The yuzu is sharp and tart. And the basil is like a nice summer day: herbaceous, light, and frothy. Still to taste: chocolate, raspberry and passion fruit.

164 Ninth Avenue at 20th
212.462.4392

The mixing bowl: Three Tarts

The tarts at Chelsea's Three Tarts are pretty awesome. And we're talking about Marina and Marla, and pastry chefs Sandra and Kiyomi. That these ladies call themselves tarts to begin with shows that their personalities are as lovely as their minature treats made with ingredients like wildflower and yuzu.

Growing up, my favorite sweet was:
Sandra: Chocolate brooms (marshmallows coated in chocolate on a stick).
Kiyomi: Strawberry shortcake.

My favorite sweet now is:
S: At home, ice cream; from a dessert menu, anything with fruit.
K: Anything with almonds.

My personal favorite from Three Tarts:
S: Salt and pepper biscotti; rosemary marshmallow.
K: Yuzu marshmallow.

What I love about Chelsea is:
S: My seven-minute walk to work.
K: The strong sense of community.

Truffles or pralines:
S & K: Pralines

White, milk or dark:
S: We have a number of truffles that are 1/2 dark, 1/2 milk that I love, but for plain chocolate, always dark.
K: Dark

Caramel, ganache or cream:
S: Cream
K: Caramel

The perfect pairing:
S: Berries & sabayon
K: Salty & sweet

We'd love to create a flavor for:
S & K: Adventurous eaters.

Kitchen essentials:
S: Calculator, clogs and a sense of humor.
K: We have these plastic guides for rolling dough that we got in Chinatown.

Style essentials:
S: Clean, classic, unfussy.
K: Flats and sunscreen. Comfort first.

Pastry chefs I admire:
S: In town: Deborah Racicot, Michelle Tampakis. Out of town: Lincoln Carson, Bill Corbett.
K: I am most inspired by a line cook or an intern who is working hard and determined to become a chef. It reminds me why I am doing this.

I'm most inspired when:
S: Collaborating with Kiyomi.
K: I am in the company of the people I love.

How much is too much?
S: There is nothing more unappetizing to me than a giant dessert.

Favorite movie snack:
S: Popcorn and peanut M&M's
K: Nachos

Guilty pleasure:
S: Potato chips — plain or salt and vinegar
K: McDonald's french fries

Other favorites:
S: Aimee Mann, The Roots, Yorkshire pudding with gravy, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, anything by Paul Auster, Hannah and Her Sisters, Wings of Desire.
K: Hip-Hop, rice, any documentary, vacationing alone to exotic locations.