“It’s extremely important that your desserts maintain the standard set by your entrees and mains, so customers don’t leave feeling disappointed”

• An appealing dessert presents a terrific opportunity for menu upselling
• Thanks to the affordability of quality ingredients and readymade components, you can assemble a variety of enticing desserts with minimal time and labour
• Dairy Farmers has a range of ingredients you can rely upon to deliver consistent quality and which will enhance the flavours of your dessert dishes

An appealing plated dessert priced at between $15-$25 presents a terrific opportunity for menu upselling. For a table of four, your server may suggest two desserts which can each be shared, increasing the total bill by $30-$50. And thanks to the affordability of quality ingredients and readymade dessert components – from premade pastry bases to cakes, meringues and macaron shells – you can assemble a wide variety of flavoursome, enticing desserts with minimal time and labour.

It’s important to bear in mind that, as dessert is the culmination of the overall meal and the final component to pass your customer’s lips, it may well be what they remember most about their dining experience. Therefore, if you want to generate repeat business, it’s extremely important that your desserts maintain the standard set by your entrees and mains, so customers don’t leave feeling disappointed.

Ingredients you can rely upon

One way to ensure this is by choosing ingredients you can rely upon to deliver consistent quality and which will enhance the flavours of your dessert dishes. Dairy Farmers Cream Cheese, with its mild, fresh flavour and rich creamy texture, is an ideal ingredient in a range of desserts as diverse as Basque cheesecake, tiramisu, cherry clafoutis and apple and cream cheese strudel. It also makes a wicked frosting for chocolate gateau!

Dairy Farmers Buttermilk, highly regarded for its uniquely tangy flavour and distinctively rich texture, is another perfect choice for dessert dishes ranging from pancakes and crepes to waffles, tarts, pecan pie, shortcake and ice cream.

Ideal for adding extra richness to dessert sauces, Dairy Farmers Thickened Cream whips to 2.5 times its volume and has excellent holding capability. Containing at least 35 per cent fat, it delivers a thick, creamy consistency making it ideal for dishes like chocolate mousse.

You can also use Dairy Farmers Sour Cream for a rich, tangy garnish or to add a zesty flavour twist to desserts like sour cream cheesecake or chocolate cake, blueberry sour cream flans or apple and sour cream pie.

Dairy Farmers Cooking Cream, with 18 per cent fat content, boasts the ideal viscosity for baking, freezing, whipping and reducing. As it heats quickly to high temperatures without burning or splitting, it’s the perfect choice to use in dessert dishes like crème brûlée.

And Dairy Farmers Thick Vanilla Custard makes a wonderful readymade accompaniment for desserts – use as is or add a little liqueur, vanilla pod seeds or a dash of ground spice to create your own signature custard sauce. It’s ideal to pour over a rich, warm bread and butter pudding!