DESSERT PRESENTATION

HTC215
FUNDAMENTAL OF BAKING

DESSERT PRESENTATION

HTC215
FUNDAMENTAL OF BAKING

LEARNING OUTCOME:
Understanding Cake:
a. Understanding dessert presentation
b. Terms and Glossaries

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Three Essentials of Dessert Presentation

• Good basic baking and pastry skills.
• Professional work habits.
• Visual sense.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Flavor First

• “Too much presentation and not enough flavor.”
• Use quality ingredients.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Simplicity and Complexity

• Know when to stop.
• Consider the function and importance of each element on the plate.
• Does it harmonize with the presentation?
• Does it serve a purpose?
• Consider kitchen capabilities.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Plating for the Customer

• Plan for variety but do not neglect to include lighter simpler
presentations for the reluctant diners.

• Try to include at least one or two simple comfort foods on the menu.
• Do not make the dessert difficult or awkward to eat.
• Select plates large enough to hold the arrangement without

overcrowding.
• Consider “truth in menu” when describing desserts.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Meeting Expectations

• The difference between chef and customer expectations: Chefs love to
experiment and showcase new ideas, while customers are less fond of
experimentation.

• To accommodate both chef and customer:

• serve dishes customers expect, but with a chef’s personal and unique style as
finishing touch.

• Be honest on the menu so customers know exactly what to expect.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Practical Plating Guidelines

• A plated dessert is an arrangement of one or more components.
• The basic elements of a plated dessert are the following:

• Main item
• Secondary items (a.k.a. garnish)
• Sauce
• When deciding what to put on the plate, you should consider five characteristics of the components:
• Flavor
• Texture
• Temperature
• Color
• Shape

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Secondary Items and Décor

• It is best to plate only components that are intended to be eaten.
• Examples of secondary items:

• Fruit
• Ice Cream (often shaped into quenelles, small ovals)
• Whipped cream
• Small cookie
• Fruit crisps or chips
• Chocolate decorations
• Choux lattice
• Stencil paste or tuile batter
• Sugar spirals or decorative sugar work

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today
General concepts to consider when planning dessert presentations:

• Every component should have a purpose.
• Components or elements can work together by complementing or by contrasting.
• When elements contrast, be sure they balance.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Sauce

• Dessert sauces enhance desserts both by their flavor and appearance, just as savory
sauces enhance meats, fish, and vegetables.

• Sauces are typically applied in decorative lines over a dessert with a pastry
bag/squeeze bottle, rather than ladled; ladling sauces covers up dessert appearance,
marring presentation.

• Flooding a plate (pouring a pool of sauce onto a place) is most often used in
old-fashioned and traditional desserts.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Sauce

• Sauces are usually plated as a small pool around the dessert or to its side.
• It may be drizzled in a ribbon or

in a random pattern.

• The pooled sauces may be marbled or feathered.

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today
Decorating with Sauces

Dessert Presentation

Plated Desserts Today

Adapting Plating Styles

• With carefully designed plating arrangement, chefs can adapt dessert ideas to
a range of plating styles to almost any restaurant’s expected style.
• Casual neighborhood restaurants: casual and homey desserts.
• High-end restaurants: creative, modern cuisine and more creative and
refined presentations.

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Panna Cotta with Caramel and Fresh Berries

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Apple Walnut Turnover

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts

Peach Napoleon

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Crème Brulée with Melon

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts and Mascarpone

Angel Food Cake with Plum Compote
Sorbet

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Trio of Fruit Sorbets

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Apple Fritters with Marscapone Sorbet

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Spice Cake with Caramelized Apples

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Chocolate Crèmeux and Raspberries

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Financiers with Warm Chocolate Dipping Sauce, Frozen Coffee Soufflé

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Charlotte Au Cassis

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Brownie Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwich

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Steamed Chocolate Almond Pudding with Praline Ice Cream

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Poached Pear with Baklava and Marscapone Cream

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Chocolate Bread Pudding with Caramelized Bananas and Cinnamon Ice
Cream

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Chilled Summer Fruit Soup with Strawberry Sorbet

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Raspberry Millefeuille

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Apple-Filled Brioche with Berries

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Savarin with Berries

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Linzer “Shortcake” with Berries

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
French Doughnuts with Pineapple

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Spiced Pineapple with Coconut Sorbet

Dessert Presentation

Examples of Plated Desserts
Passion Fruit Charlotte