Designing a dessert menu can prove to be difficult for most restaurants, and especially challenging for those who do not have the budget to hire a pastry chef on board. A pastry chef is someone who specializes in creating and curating desserts and loaves of bread. For a restaurant that does not have a pastry chef creating a dessert menu can be very difficult, and restaurants have to find a way to elevate simple desserts that are both simple to create and yet enticing.
Listed below are five desserts that such restaurants can include in their menu:
1. Panna Cotta
Panna Cotta is a dessert of Italian origin that is made out of sweet cream and gelatin. Chefs can add a multitude of different flavour combinations to the mix, and the sheer simplistic approach of the dessert is enough to make it seem elevated and enticing to customers. The great thing about a Panna Cotta is that it only takes 5-6 steps to make, and doesn’t involve baking at all. Chefs can simply follow the recipe and cook it on a stove, fill the mixture in ramekins and leave it to set. Chefs can serve Panna Cotta with balsamic cherries, or flavour it with honey and lavender – the possibilities are essentially endless.
2. Cake
Cake is a classic dessert and has so many variations that no matter what cuisine you serve at your restaurant, you are likely to find a cake in a relevant flavour. While baking a perfect cake may require pastry chefs, chefs can try to bake a simple sponge cake and perfect it by layering with different textures and fillings. For chefs wanting an elevated cake, they can always pre-order cakes from a popular bakery and have them delivered in-house. A good suggestion for this purpose would be getting the drip cake from The Cupcake Room which can easily be delivered and cut up to be served to diners.
3. Baked fruit
Baking or roasting fruit is the easiest way to serve up a fancy dessert without a lot of hard work or skill. Not only does baked fruit show diversity in your dessert menu, but it also caters to diners who like desserts that taste tangier or fresher than regular desserts. You can serve baked apples with a caramel sauce or chai syrup, or baked pears with a bourbon sauce, or roasted mangoes and greek yogurt – the possibilities are absolutely endless.
4. Sundaes
Gourmet sundaes can literally be put together in a matter of minutes, and only require some aesthetic sense. Gourmet sundaes can really be elevated and hence you can price them in your menu accordingly. You can either partner with your local gourmet ice cream parlour to ensure supply, or purchase an ice cream maker and have one of your chefs do it. Gourmet sundaes can include a Blueberry and Key Lime sundae, hot fudge and caramel popcorn sundae, and many other options.
5. Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is one of the easiest and most delicious desserts that you can make. It can be put together with leftover bread and only requires a few ingredients. While bread pudding does require some baking, it is easy to execute. Restaurants can serve bread pudding with caramel sauce or ice cream or both.
