Red Fruit and Ginger Cream in Puff Pastry Shell

This dessert was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for a luncheon held in honor of Australian prime minister John Howard on November 13, 2001, during the George W. Bush administration. Mesnier made a scallop-shaped shell out of puff pastry, filling the crust with a ginger custard cream with red currants, raspberries, strawberries, and pomegranate seeds. Sliced strawberries were placed around the shell's edge and the platter was decorated with a lemon sauce. The dessert was backed with coral made of blue sugar and a school of fish made of puff pastry.