This photograph shows a trio of holiday desserts served atop a plate from the Ronald Reagan state service. At right is a three-layer chocolate cake, topped with a marzipan ribbon to resemble a gift. Immediately left of the cake is a piped rosette of chestnut mousse served atop a drizzle of raspberry sauce. At top is a chocolate Christmas tree decorated with ornaments made of royal icing and a marzipan star. The desserts were likely prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Mesnier joined the White House Kitchen in 1979 and retired in 2004.

This dessert was first made by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier to serve at a State Dinner hosted by President Bill Clinton for Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom on February 5, 1998. It consists of a chocolate basket decorated with green piping and supported by a thin roulade biscuit, filled with alternating layers of whole poached strawberries and a lemon cream lightened with Devonshire cream.

This dessert was made for a holiday party by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier around 1985. It consists of a Christmas tree made from chatreuse ice cream topped with a white chocolate angel. The tree is decorated with marzipan and fresh berries and stands atop an oval made from dried meringue. The tree is accompanied by pinecones made from a pomegranate sorbet quenelle with scales molded from tempered chocolate.

This photograph shows two coconut chocolate squares, a popular dessert cookie prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Ronald Mesnier and the White House Pastry Shop for Christmas parties during the Bill Clinton administration. Baked in advance months before the holidays, the crowd-pleasing dessert is frozen to easily serve at large receptions. The dessert consists of a base made from pâte sucrée mixed with coconut and orange marmalade, topped with a dark chocolate ganache.

This photograph shows a plate of hazelnut crescents, a dessert cookie served at White House Christmas parties. Due to their immense popularity, White House Executive Pastry Chef Ronald Mesnier and the White House Pastry Shop typically prepared thousands of these cookies each holiday season. Ingredients in the crumbly cookies included hazelnut flour, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, and confectioner's sugar.

This photograph shows two Florentine squares, a popular dessert cookie prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Ronald Mesnier and the White House Pastry Shop for Christmas and holiday parties. Made from pâte sucrée topped with a filling made from dried fruits, nuts, and honey, the dessert is often made in bulk and frozen to accommodate large parties.

This diorama was created for the 1996 official White House Gingerbread House. Designed by Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, the gingerbread house paid homage tof first daughter Chelsea Clinton's love of ballet and participation in the Washington Ballet's production of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. This lively scene was displayed inside the gingerbread house and depicts the Christmas party from the first act of the ballet. The figures were designed from royal icing and feature subtle nods to the Clinton family including Chelsea, pictured in the pink dress at right, and Socks the cat, seen on a painting hanging prominently in the background.

This photograph shows a blown-sugar snowman created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Mesnier crafted many such snowmen to serve as centerpieces during the Bill Clinton administration. The snowman consisted of three sections made from blown-sugar and bound together with hot sugar.

This is a photograph of the 1993 official White House Gingerbread House that was dubbed the "House of Socks". It was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier in honor of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's cat, Socks. The gingerbread house is a to-scale replica of White House complete with 20 marzipan versions of Socks playing around the house. The architectural details were created with carefully pipped icing and illuminated with working miniature floodlights.

This cake celebrating Chelsea Clinton's 16th birthday was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier on February 27, 1996, during the Bill Clinton administration. Mesnier decorated the cake with roses along a chocolate jeep and faux driver's license. Mesnier added these humorous touches to the cake, referencing a recent interview where Chelsea mentioned wanting a driver's license and a car for her 16th birthday.

This cake celebrating Godfrey Sperling's birthday was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier on October 2, 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration. Godfrey Sperling, a longtime columnist for the Christian Science Monitor started a Washington, D.C. tradition called the Sperling Breakfast. Several times a month select journalists and politicians convened for breakfast and informal interviews. President Clinton invited Sperling to host a breakfast at the White House on his 80th birthday. For the occasion, Chef Mesnier covered a dairy-free carrot cake with a breakfast table made entirely out of chocolate or sugar in an ode to Sperling's famous breakfasts.

This cake celebrating President Jimmy Carter's 56th birthday was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier on October 1, 1980. Mesnier chose a praline and chocolate cake for the occasion. Since President Carter's birthday was so close to the Democratic National Convention, Mesnier decorated the cake with a blown-sugar donkey pulling a wagon filled with carnations.

This is a detail of Chelsea Clinton's 14th birthday cake created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier on February 24, 1992. Mesnier decorated the cake with pink ballet slippers hanging from a sugar rose bush for President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's daughter, a ballet dancer.

This strawberry cake was created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for a Mother's Day party for military wives at Andrews Air Force Base on May 11, 1980, during the Jimmy Carter administration. First Lady Rosalynn Carter specifically requested the cake for the event. Mesnier decorated the heart-shaped cake with icing roses, blown-sugar swans, and heart-shaped pastiliage box with a sugar butterfly.

This dessert was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for a dinner honoring recipients of the National Medal of Arts and the National Medal of Humanities on September 29, 1997, during the Bill Clinton administration. Mesnier made a honey sabayon decorated with pulled-sugar bees.

These petit fours were created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the buffet dinner for African American clergy members on February 1, 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration. For the dinner, Mesnier presented guests with petit fours in a white chocolate fishing net embellished with a chocolate lobster.

This dessert was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the buffet dinner for African American clergy members on February 1, 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration. For the dinner, Mesnier presented guests with a lobster of watermelon sorbet and Grand Marnier parfait on a bed of nougat parfait. He ringed the lobster with lemon tarts decorated with candied lime peel meant to mimic seaweed.

This dessert was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the dinner in honoring the King Abdullah II of Jordan on May 18, 1999, during the Bill Clinton administration. For the occasion, Mesnier created molded mango and sour cherry ice cream, embellished with pulled sugar roses.

This dessert was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the dinner commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 23, 1999. Chef Mesnier prepared domes of strawberry nougat glace, placing them on pulled-sugar stands secured by a dark chocolate base with the flags of each member nation. He completed the dish with a ring of fresh strawberries and kiwis.

These frozen dulce de leche desserts were prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the State Dinner in honor of Argentinian president Carlos Saúl Menem on January 11, 1999, during the Bill Clinton administration. Mesnier decorated each dome with graceful tango dancers made of chocolate. See image 1116604 for a detailed photograph of the chocolate tango dancers.

This chocolate tango dancer decoration accompanied the frozen dulce de leche desserts prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the State Dinner in honor of Argentinian president Carlos Saúl Menem on January 11, 1999, during the Bill Clinton administration. See 1116605 for an image of the frozen dulce de leche desserts.

This chocolate basket filled with strawberries and cream with Devonshire was prepared on February 5, 1998. White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier created the dessert for the State Dinner in honor of the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair. Atop the basket was a pulled-sugar flower and green buttercream leaves were piped between the strawberries. Mesnier chose Devonshire cream, a slightly tart, thick, and clotted cream, due to it's popularity in the United Kingdom.

This dessert was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for a luncheon in honor of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on April 5, 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration. Mesnier recreated one of Egypt's most famous landmarks, the pyramids, with lemon sorbet decorated with royal icing and surrounded with fresh lychees, raspberries, blackberries, and a date sauce.

This croquembouche of apple and cherry sorbet was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the State Dinner in honor of French president Jacques Chirac on February 1, 1996, during the Bill Clinton administration. Croquembouche normally consists of a pyramid of caramel coated puff pastries, but Mesnier alternated the layers of puff pastries with layers apple and cherry sorbet. He ringed the croquembouche with puff pastry swans floating on raspberry sauce and topped the entire dessert with a spun-sugar decoration.

This "Strawberry Surprise" dessert was prepared by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier for the State Dinner in honor of Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro on April 2, 1996, during the Bill Clinton administration. Mesnier created a giant strawberry made of strawberry sorbet and filled it with amaretto parfait and nougat mousse. He used pistachio nuts to mimic strawberry seeds and topped the "strawberry" with pulled-sugar blossoms and leaves. Lastly, he ringed the "strawberry" with fresh seasonal fruits and served lemon crème brulee on the side.