Chef Mariela Merengue is a swirl of music and sugar — tiny shoes that tap like claves, a bow in her hair that dances when she stirs. She learned to bake where pastel-colored buildings watched over kitchen tables, where abuelas whispered secrets into flan as it cooled. Mariela caramelizes memories into every dessert she makes: guava that tastes like sun, coconut cremas that melt like a slow afternoon, and meringue-topped cakes that look like little Havana clouds. Dessert, she believes, should feel like a song your heart already knows.