Appetizers & Desserts feature story

Today’s Desserts Focus on Quality in Smaller Quantities
by Iris Ackerman, Staff Writer

What happened to that reliable slice of chocolate cake at the end of a satisfying dinner? It’s still available, but today it may be a little different, a little dressed up, or made with more exotic ingredients to appeal to those who crave international tastes.

The trend toward decadent desserts has been growing in restaurants for several years, as diners who want to splurge on dessert want something memorable to spend those calories on. Today’s pastry chefs are incorporating higher quality versions of traditional ingredients and sometimes more exotic ingredients into their desserts to give them what they want. For example, a chef may use chocolate that has 70 percent chocolate solids, or chocolate liquor instead of cocoa. Fresh cream, real butter and fresh fruits, including mangoes and other tropical varieties, increasingly are coming together in desserts designed to please the tastes of a changing population. And when the best ingredients come together in a memorable dessert, the portion size can be smaller and still satisfying, as upscale restaurants are finding with their diners.

The trend toward mini desserts is largely being powered, like many other trends, by aging baby boomers. Their numbers are growing every day, and with their more sophisticated palate and a higher level of disposable income, boomers continue to cause changes on the culinary scene.

So that diners can have dessert without so much guilt, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), one of the nation’s most prestigious cooking schools, has introduced a concept it calls the “pastry flip.” The usual proportions of the dessert are flipped, so the indulgent part—the brownie or ice cream, for example—is the garnish, and the fruit becomes the main event.

Chocolate continues to be a necessary choice on practically every dessert menu. With the news that dark chocolate contains compounds that are good for health, new formulations are popping up. While chili peppers have been added to chocolate for years for a subtle kick in hot chocolate and other Mexican desserts, chefs are now experimenting with spices like curry and paprika. They’re also kicking up the taste by adding liqueurs.

One way to put chocolate in the spotlight and make a special statement at a party or banquet is the use of a commercial chocolate fountain. Kim Polk, owner of The Chocolate Fountain in Wichita, Kan., told Sunbelt Foodservice that the fountains are growing in popularity.

The metal-tiered fountains, made by Canada’s Design & Realisation (DR^TM), are filled with melted chocolate. The chocolate is then pulled to the top of the fountain and gently overflows the tiers. Guests dip their bits of dessert in the chocolate for a tasty treat. Nearly anything can be dipped in the chocolate, from pastries such as mini cream puffs, to fruits, nuts, pretzels or pirouettes. The fountains create a focal point for guests to gather around, and Polk said that some of her renters have used the fountain in place of wedding cakes. It also is a popular replacement for the groom’s cake, which is traditionally chocolate. Several fountains can be set up with different flavors, or even colors, of chocolate.