The New Era of Desserts -By Chef Sanjay Kumar Faculty@CAI

The New Era of Desserts

A hot trend right now is drinkable desserts. In addition to serving milkshakes, pastry chefs are now experimenting with flavors and ingredients to create innovative liquid desserts. This is an ideal concept especially since it is the perfect cooler for the summer time. It’s not your regular desserts churned into the liquid form but the ingredients specially created into the liquid form and liquors like cinnamon or mint are added to improve the taste and baileys are added to give it a smoother texture. These items are listed as dessert cocktails and include such items as Peach Melba and banana split.

They incorporate a different flavor and textural experience from the beverage point of view. Like a carrot cake martini which is sweet and spicy. All the cocktails need not be inspired by an existing dessert, but can be a tantalizing one, like a milky combination of vanilla vodka and creamy banana liquor. Some dessert beverages have tit bits in them like tapioca pearls, which are served with a wide enough straw so the pearls can fit through. All the desserts are served in fancy glasses and most have a cream cheese frosting rim. It’s like a slice, I mean glass of heaven. Another way to make your dessert stand out is by pairing sweet and savory on the same plate. Savory ingredients can make interesting toppings for frozen desserts or can be chopped up and mixed into a dessert. Like an orange and bell pepper dessert. In case the flavor of the savory item is too dominant, it should be steeped in a cream mixture and then cooked.
Another way to test your limits is to create sweet versions and familiar savory items like, a“Caprese salad” with alternating slices of macerated strawberries, pannacotta and basil, drizzled with balsamic syrup. Not everyone is up to this challenge of experimenting with these flavors and textures, but the ones who dare to try will not be disappointed. As this era progresses the popularity will increase and wow at the end of your dining experience will be a bigger one!