8 Ways to Amp Up Your Dessert Menu

June 24, 2020 Bidfood - News

The food service industry is a ferociously competitive arena. Thousands of new restaurants launch every year, but sadly, studies show that only 50 percent of these remain operational after the two-year mark.

According to industry specialists, one of the main reasons behind the closure of some dining establishments is the lack of innovation. Quite often, it's not enough that the menu items taste wonderful. They need to be memorable, too. Therefore, there should be a continuous effort to improve and present something unexpected yet delightful.

Some of the best items on the menu to experiment with are the desserts. This is evident enough in all the Instagram "food-tographs" that pop up in the Explore section. Also, desserts are sweet indulgences that are easy enough to elevate in terms of appearance and taste. 

So, if you are looking for a way to refresh your restaurant offerings, work on amping up your dessert menu. Do this whether you prepare the desserts from scratch at the restaurant or simply purchase frozen cakes and other sweet treats from reliable distributors.

8 Effective Ways to Improve Your Desserts

According to professional bakers, patissiers, and photographers, you don't need to take the complicated route in leveling up your dessert menu. Simple tricks will do the job. Shared below are eight ideas to try.

1. Update flavor combinations

Desserts, as delicious as they are, can be sickeningly sweet for some. Therefore, it's nice to add another layer of flavor to them. For example, if you have a popular vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting on the menu, it's perfect by itself. But, you can make people consume more of it if you add salty or savory flavors.

Consider crushing salted pretzels and sprinkling them generously on the frosting or decorating the cupcake with two strips of bacon. The combination may seem weird, but people with a dynamic palate may enjoy the contrasting flavors.

2. Create miniatures

If you don't have a lot of small desserts on the menu, start including them. "Cute" is an enormous draw factor, and you can't overlook the fact that a lot of diners prefer small morsels that do not require fancy utensils to eat.

Some of the miniature desserts worth including in your menu are cheesecake bites, mini cream puffs, and pies. 

3. Add seasonal items

This has got to be one of the easiest ways to switch things up for your dessert menu. Celebrate the changing seasons by including seasonal offerings. 

Say, during the fall, include spiced desserts in the selection. Meanwhile, for Christmas, make sure to add Santa Claus-themed sweets such as Santa-shaped beehives, butter cookies, and cupcakes. And during the summer, add more recipes that feature summer fruits such as apricots, berries, melons, and pineapples.

4. Experiment with herbs

Herbs are not often used for desserts, but they can actually give classic recipes a whole new appeal. Tarragon, thyme, mint, and rosemary can make sweetened fruits for pies more appetizing. Plus, sprigs of these herbs make desserts more visually appealing.

5. Come up with hip presentations

You'll create a more desirable dessert menu if you make every item pretty. Take new pictures of the selection and glam up every item. An elegant presentation will make petits fours and other sweet morsels more desirable.

Here are two presentation tricks to try:

  • Place small cakes in a shallow bowl, then cover these with a crystal goblet turned upside down.
  • Surround and sprinkle desserts with edible flowers.

6. Play with liqueur

Spiked desserts are quite popular, and they're worth including, especially if your restaurant has a diverse clientele. A lot of people just enjoy the light and rebellious feeling they get when they eat desserts they know have added liqueur. Plus, certain liqueurs and spirits can truly enhance the flavors of ingredients.

For instance, rum chocolate fudge is delicious, and it feels like a real treat, especially if a single order just comprises three nuggets. Margarita ice cream is another enjoyable dessert for gastronomes. These kinds of options will make your dessert menu more exciting.

7. Pair special beverages with certain dessert items

Reach out to gourmands and sommeliers to find out what types of wine would be perfect for matching with your dessert menu’s top-selling items. Pairing desserts with wine is a lovely chance to create a luxurious experience for diners.

But it's not just wine that you can pair with desserts. Teas, and tea blends, as well as carbonated beverages and coffee concoctions, make attractive compatible matches as, too.

8. Come up with unusual names

Make poring through the menu a fun experience for your diners by giving your desserts quirky names. For example, a homemade recipe that's been passed down to your family can be named "Nannie Dolly's Delicious Mistake." Or, if you offer a decadent chocolate cake that makes use of high-end chocolates, how about calling it "ChoCo Chanel?"

Get Your Dessert Essentials From Bidfood

These are just eight strategies worth trying to improve your dessert selection. More than any of these strategies, however, the tried and true surefire way to amp up your dessert menu is by using only the finest ingredients in your products.

You can get this quality assurance from us at Bidfood. 

We are the most trusted food and beverage company in the UAE. We have imported ingredients for dessert recipes and also sell wholesale sweet treats like cakes, cookies, and pastries. 

You can order from us online, and we'll have what you need delivered to your restaurant right away.


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