Who hasn’t fallen under the dessert menu’s sweet spell? There’s nothing wrong with indulging in some dark chocolate or devil’s food cake now and then.
But it is wrong to let the dessert menu get stagnant. Restaurants should embrace daring trends to make the final course even more wickedly delicious.
1. Shocking Combinations
There is such a thing as too much sweetness. Cutting through the sugar with crispy textures or tart flavors is often a good move. But why not take things a step further? Why not inject something unexpected for a dessert that leaves taste buds buzzing? Restaurants can even look to ingredients from their non-dessert menu items to minimize new SKUs.
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According to Datassential, matcha has seen a 168 percent increase on U.S. menus. That’s in part because diners are starting to realize that matcha isn’t just for beverages. This grassy but sweet tea is perfect for airy cakes and lighter desserts and pairs well with chocolate, vanilla, and citrus.
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The comforts of salty snacks and sweet treats come together with the addition of potato chips to desserts. Think potato chip cookies, potato chip ice cream sundae, potato chip pie crust—several desserts benefit from that little extra crunch.
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Cream cheese is no stranger to the dessert menu, but other cheese varieties like goat cheese can add unexpected tartness to cake, mousse, or ice cream.
2. Hellish Heat
More and more diners are looking to add more spice to their life—or at least to their meals. As a result, restaurants are getting more adventurous, pleasing heat-seekers with spice across dayparts and courses, including dessert.
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Fish sauce, soy sauce, and Thai sweet chili sauce might not sound like they belong over ice cream, but mixed with sugar or maple syrup, they turn into a flavorful dessert topping with just enough heat.
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When the Mayans started drinking chocolate around 500 BC, they didn’t just mix cocoa with water; they threw in chili peppers for an extra kick. A lot has changed since then, but chocolate and chili still come together deliciously in a Mexican hot chocolate.
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From pizza to cocktails, it’s hard to find something that hot honey doesn’t go well with. On the dessert side, a little drizzle of hot honey on pumpkin pie or churros can go a long way.
3. Death by Chocolate
As we’ve established, there is such a thing as too much sweetness. But there are also those times when too much sweetness is exactly what the customer is after. In those instances, nothing beats chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.
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Whether diners are celebrating a major life event or just capping off a great meal, desserts are made for special occasions. Play that up by creating a chocolate spectacle with beautiful layers, lavas of caramel, or fudge in epic proportions. It might even become internet-famous.
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More diners are falling for the dark side of chocolate. It’s seen a 20 percent growth globally in the past several years. Chefs should embrace dark chocolate in all its strong, bitter, indulgent glory.
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Chocolate served as a pandemic pick-me-up for many consumers. Since they’ve returned to restaurants, they want more inventive takes than what they ate at home. Play with striking presentations (think blue velvet cake) or textures (think cocoa nibs topping) for extra flair.