Miller Union pastry chef Claudia Martinez shares dessert recipes

Claudia Martinez is the new executive pastry chef at Atlanta’s Miller Union, where James Beard Award-winning executive chef and co-owner Steven Satterfield is well known for his Southern and farmstead-inspired cooking.

But Martinez has quite a resume of her own, studying culinary arts and earning a food service degree at Johnson and Wales in Charlotte, and starting out at Atlanta’s Restaurant Eugene, where she worked as a line cook and a prep cook, before deciding to learn more about pastry.

“It wasn’t something I liked in school or something I was really good at,” Martinez said during a recent chat at Miller Union. “I got really curious about it at Eugene because the chefs there were playing with vegetables and local ingredients, and it was a little bit more elaborate, and a little more fun.”

In 2017, Martinez doubled down on that curiosity and moved to Sweden for a month, where she worked and studied with pastry chef David Vidal.

“I ended up falling in love with it,” she said. “He taught me about molds, and different fruits, and playing with textures and powders.”

When Martinez landed back in Atlanta, she joined the team at Atlas, then became the pastry chef at Tiny Lou’s, where her career really took off. In 2019, she was named an Eater Young Gun, and she was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2020.

Credit: Chris Hunt

Credit: Chris Hunt

When she’s not in the kitchen at Miller Union, Martinez often can be found at her weekend “Café Claudia” pop-ups, where she sells desserts and pastries, and partners with other Atlanta restaurants and chefs to raise money for social justice organizations.

Asked about the signature style of her desserts, Martinez said she always likes to incorporate fruit and keep things light, and she often pays homage to her Venezuelan heritage.

“I think my desserts aren’t as sweet or heavy,” she added. “I think I play off nostalgic flavors. So if it’s something I grew up eating, or something that’s well known, like a PB&J or strawberry shortcake, I break it down in different ways. Fruit and chocolate are important to me, as far as letting them shine on their own.”

Asked to come up with some spring-to-summer seasonal recipes to share with readers, Martinez decided on a Meyer Lemon Semifreddo with oat cookie crumble and macerated strawberries.

“Semifreddo translates to semi-frozen,” she said. “And it’s topped with strawberries with some sugar, and an oatmeal cookie that’s been broken up for some texture. You just spread the dough out in a pan and bake it.”

Then there’s a no-bake recipe for Raspberry Cheesecake Mousse topped with pretzel crunch. “You just put it in the fridge and it sets up,” she said. “Then you scoop it out however you want to serve it. I just use an ice cream scoop.”

Martinez explained that year-round she always likes to offer a chocolate dessert for those who don’t care for fruit desserts. This time, it’s a gluten-free chocolate cake with salted caramel sauce and candied hazelnuts.

RECIPES

These spring-to-summer desserts from Miller Union executive pastry chef Claudia Martinez feature bright flavors and seasonal fruit, but there’s a special treat for chocolate lovers, too.