The Top 5 Desserts Your Customers Are Craving

Specialist dessert bars that serve customers nothing but sugar-infused, chocolate dripping, simply mouth-watering goods have carved our their own niche in the hospitality market in recent years. And yes, it totally contradicts the health movement trend, but hey, you’ve got to give your customers what they want, right? While customers are filling themselves to the brim with desserts on their ‘cheat days’, instead of turning to new, over-the-top desserts, they are opting for traditional offerings that they know are full of flavour. To help you re-think your current menu offering, we’ve searched menus across the country, from the local café to five-star restaurants to find the top five classic desserts your customers just can’t get enough of.

1. Carrot cake

Carrot cakes have been on menus and throughout supermarkets since the 70s. And thanks to their flavoursome and fluffy sponge, they’re still a hit with today’s market. Carrot cakes have always been a popular dessert, with chefs experimenting with it in their kitchens and customers continually ordering it with their tea or coffee. Over at the famous Bourke Street Bakery, they offer their customers a carrot cake with the addition of walnuts for the extra crunch. And while it is perfect for cafes, restaurants and everything in-between, the old-school carrot cake has also become an option for vegan customers. To turn the traditional offering into a vegan’s delight, Chef Adam from Adam’s Bakehouse in Melbourne simply switched eggs and dairy milk with flaxseed and almond meal – and you wouldn’t even tell the difference. When it comes to the modern, thick cream cheese frosting, the use of vegan cream cheese provides the same textures and a flavour-packed experience.

Check out Chef Adam’s vegan carrot cake recipe here.

2. Trifle

It’s traditionally a dessert that is sold with sponge cake soaked in cherry and custard with a topping of fresh fruit (and sometimes jelly). But thanks to its ability to be swapped and changed, the trusted trifle has found itself back on top of the customer’s most preferred dessert list, especially during the festive season! As a simple rebuild of the trifle, chefs have experimented with a triple honey, chocolate edition, perfect for customers who love violet crumble. Most recently, renowned chef Matt Moran has taken it one step further and combined Australia’s love for trifle and Gaytime ice cream to create a layered masterpiece. The mouth-watering treat featured toffee and vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate, covered with honeycomb biscuits. Well-known pastry chef Andy Bowdy has also jumped on the trend, offering trifle to his customers – four variants to be exact but his two well-known treats couldn’t be further apart with taste and textures. His Ted Trifle features a chocolate fudge cake, topped with white chocolate mascarpone, Morello cherry compote and Nutella cremeux; finished off with candied hazelnut, cherry and bourbon soak, choc hazelnut crumb and fresh cherries. Whereas, his Philly trifle moves away from the chocolate path with a vanilla sponge, maple custard and peach and bourbon jelly. It’s finished off with brown sugar pecans, vanilla Chantilly, Anzac crumb and fresh peaches and raspberries. The flavour combinations are just priceless, so it is no wonder customer’s just can’t get enough.

3. Pavlova:

The pavlova is a traditional Aussie classic that can be dished up to customers in a vast number of ways. And despite it being commonly linked to the warmer months of summer, the dessert is loved and craved by customers all year round. With its meringue base, the pavlova can be served with chocolate and fresh berries or with whipped cream and fresh fruits. Thanks to it being simple to create, pavlovas can be offered on menus from the corner baker to the top tiered. In fact, renowned restaurant Bennelong in Sydney offer it on their customers, so too does Sydney’s popular Bar M, who serve their pavlova traditionally with Chantilly cream and seasonal fruits.

4. Lamington:

Another Australian classic is the trusted lamington. The sponge cake covered with chocolate and topped with desiccated coconut has been winning hearts of not only Aussie customers but also overseas visitors for decades. Well-known chef Peter Gilmore placed his renowned Quay restaurant on the map after he created the world-famous snow egg using the classic lamington. Over at Matt Moran’s restaurants, he also offers lamingtons to his diners but with a twist. He has developed the dessert with the inclusion of panna cotta, lamington cake and strawberry jam. Burch & Purchase Sweet Studio have also jumped on board the lamington craze and created a raspberry and dark chocolate brownie lamington, naming it the bramington. But when one just isn’t enough, the venue also developed a salted caramel lamington, which provides customers with the taste components of both sweet and sour. With the number of variants being served out of kitchens across the country, it’s no wonder customers just can’t get enough.

5. Tarts

The classic tart is another dessert option that customers just struggle saying no to. From date tart to salted caramel and lemon tarts, they can be made with any flavour and topping pairings. At Pasticceria Papa in Haberfield in Sydney, they have 10 different tarts on offer. Yep, you read right, 10! From a range of fruit flavoured tarts (strawberry, apple, berry), nut-inspired (pecan, almond and cherry) to jams and chocolate – nothing is off limits. Owner Salvatore Papa explained to Goodman Fielder Food Service their tarts selection has always been the most popular with customers as well as their famous Baked Ricotta Cake. “Our tarts are definitely a favourite – we find they’re the perfect size for events or even just for small get-togethers,” he said. “They’re also perfect for those Instagram-moments – they not only taste good but look good too.” The dessert-expert added “it’s the traditional pairing of pastry and a sweet filling that customers love” and “when it’s done right and you use high-quality ingredients it can just elevate the taste.”

Check out Chef Vasilios’ lemon curd tart recipe here. Or if you were after a chocolatey goodness, give Chef Tim’s dark chocolate tart a go.

Conclusion: Despite the trend towards fresh, healthy foods still dominating the requests from customers, the need to have tasty, delicious and sugar-filled desserts is still as important as ever before. From the classic carrot cakes, pavlovas and lamingtons to tarts and trifles, customers always seem to opt for the plate that they know best instead of trying new things. So, just when you thought it was time to put away your classic dessert recipes, don’t. Instead, get out the mixing bowl and start experimenting. Put a twist on a classic and win the hearts of your customers, both young and old.