Once the calendar flips from August to September and spring is in the air, it’s only a few short months until Christmas, which means one thing: it’s Gelateria releases Nutcracker dessert season.

To celebrate The Australian Ballet’s 2019 production of The Nutcracker, Piccolina Gelateria created a range of desserts inspired by the whimsical story of Clara and her nutcracker doll.

Originally intending to do just one tribute flavour, Gelateria releases Nutcracker dessert, Piccolina owner Sandra Foti ended up creating three new flavours with toppings, each representing a different scene in the ballet.

“The ballet is so complex and has so many intricate details, we didn’t want to miss out on any of them,” Ms Foti said.

“We wanted to deliver a full [dessert] … because anything less wouldn’t do the ballet justice.”

The Clara and the Nutcracker cup is a scoop of apple gelato with spiced apple compote topped with Chantilly cream and tiny gingerbread soldiers, while The Land of Sweets features a decadent and delicate combination of white chocolate gelato and strawberry boba with torched meringue and white-chocolatecovered freeze-dried strawberries.

Of course, the range wouldn’t have been complete without The Sugar Plum Fairy, which consists of a crema gelato with plum and raspberry coulis and finished with pink pearl candy and fairy floss.