Dessert Presentation

A lot of times it can be discouraging to have gone to a lot of effort to make a really yummy dessert only to have it come out looking poorly or not as good as it should be. This can also be frustrating when you simple don’t have the time or resources required to make a really fancy, elegant looking dessert and instead have to settle for something less extravagant but still want it to look good. What this comes down to is making sure that the presentation of your dish is one that does the very best job it can at making it look as tasty as it is. Many desserts that are extremely complex don’t look all that great when they come out and others are simple and yummy looking but don’t taste that wonderful. What you want is a dish that tastes great and looks great too but what if you’re just doing something fast and easy that may be tasty but doesn’t always look wonderful? There are plenty of little tips and tricks that can make it look much more appealing.

The first thing to do is to decide whether or not you want to serve your dessert whole or in pieces. If you’ve gone to the work to make a three layer cake with frosting and decorations you definitely want to parade that whole thing out there to be certain that everyone sees the time you've spent on it. However if you’ve made a batch of brownies with nuts that doesn’t look so fantastic in a big pan then you’ll probably want to cut it up and serve them individually. If you do decide to serve your dessert in pieces then figure out if you’re going to serve them individually to your guests or just in pieces on a large platter. Sliced cake with ice cream next to it and a little garnish of mint can look much better then a cake that was slightly lumpy coming out of the oven in one piece and your guests wont have any idea! Brownies arranged in an artful stack on a platter look much tastier than a big tray of brown cracks and bubbles that spilled over a bit while it was cooking. Pay attention to what your dessert looks like and see if there isn’t a way that you can give it a new angle or a fresh look. Garnishes help a lot and can make your work seem a lot more elegant than if you were to leave a piece of cake just slid onto a plate.

For fancier desserts serve them in their own little ramekins or decorative bowls so that guests have something to look at and enjoy while they eat their dessert. Serve desserts with the toppings and trimmings already on them just so that guests have a chance to see what you intended with that treat. That means serving ice cream with the sauces, nuts, and little cherries on top of it already instead of letting guests dish their own up. A little extra effort goes a long way to making your dessert look a lot fancier than it may be. Take the time and your guests will never be able to tell the difference!