Sugar Rush: Top Trends in Desserts for 2019
A great meal is never complete without a great dessert to cap it off, or a sweet hungerpass discount. The ebb and flow of the New York food scene is not reserved just for the main meal, but affects the dessert scene just as much. It’s no secret dessert is adored by New Yorkers, and those with sweet tooth’s near and far. If you’re looking to scope out the dessert scene in NYC, you’ll have to check out these must try 28 underrated Desserts in the big city, as told by BuzzFeed. But with dessert trends coming and going, we wonder what the top dessert trends of 2019 will be. One moment a certain type of garnish or flavor is all the rage, and the next moment dessert lovers everywhere are demanding something less decadent and more healthy. So what’s the scoop? Here are some top trends taking the dessert world by storm in 2019!
Indulging in What’s Actually Good for Your Health
One of the biggest trends resonating throughout the dessert scene is indulging with one’s health in mind. Diners love things like chocolate, frozen yogurt, and cookies, but instead of indulging in straight-up sugar overload, people are now more conscious of what goes into their desserts. The mentality now is that yes, go for that chocolate, but maybe have it in a way that won’t hurt your health in the long run. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, sweetened superfoods are in. Such examples include dessert hummus with chocolate and cookie dough flavors, gluten free options, chocolate mousse with toasted quinoa on top, and frozen yogurt without actual yogurt but frozen taro pudding instead. This is one trend that is very popular among diners, because it allows for indulgence, but with healthy choices that actually do the body good.
Not Your Usual Empanada: Dessert Empanadas
When one thinks of empanadas, one usually envisions fried dough pockets filled with savory flavors like a mix of cheeses, meats like beef, chicken, or pork, and spices like jalapeno or cilantro. However, the diners of 2019 are looking to indulge in empanadas of the sweeter kind. Foodservice-snacks-dessert.com reports that dessert empanadas are all the rage in New York, with popular establishments like Empanada Mama offering up plates of crispy fried empanadas generously filled with bananas and decadent Belgian chocolate. Yummly.com reports other dessert empanada flavors including mango and gorganzola cheese, apple cinnamon, caramel pinapple, and chocolates and berries, just to name a few. Dessert empanadas offer up an endless combination of wonderful, exotic dessert flavors all wrapped up in a warm, crispy, fried shell.
Geometric Shapes and Vivid Colors are All the Rage
Gone are the days of traditionally shaped desserts. As explained by theritzyrose.com, what started out as a wedding trend has now spilled over into the mainstream. Hard lines, hexagons, triangles, trapezoids—the more structured the shape of the desert, the more appealing it will be to the diners of 2019. Dessert chefs all over should tap into their inner architect with this trend, creating cakes and ice creams that look like something straight from another world, but no less tasty. Vivid colors combined with geometric shapes elevate these desserts to new heights. Using geometric shaped molds and cutting techniques, chefs all over the New York area are creating desserts that not only give the diner that sugar rush they crave, they also give the diner a visual experience that will stay with them long after they leave.
Natural and Clean Ingredients Will Go Far
As mentioned earlier, diners of 2019 are more conscious about what they want to consume. As stated by Foodservice-snacks-dessert.com, refined carbohydrates and sugars are out with diners opting for natural sugar sources like maple syrup, agave syrup, or coconut sugar.. These alternatives provide the sweetness dessert lovers crave without aggravating health problems like diabetes. There is also a big demand for desserts containing full-fat dairy, whereas before going fat-free was considered the healthier choice. According to some experts this trend is not really for the sake of indulging in full-creamy goodness, but to actually feel full after eating.
Catch the Tahini Train
Tahini is a spread made from crushed sesame seeds that started out as a great way to flavor hummus, but is quickly branching out into other areas of cuisine, including dessert. Delish.com reports that restaurants across the country, including in New York, are using Tahini in both the traditional flavor and in chocolate, in dessert items like ice cream bars, muffins, and milkshakes. Tahini is proving to be a very versatile ingredient that can be incorporated into several different kinds of dessert to elevate their regular flavors to new levels. Much like peanut butter in the past, tahini is making its place in the dessert world, much to the delight of diners in 2019.
Not Just Colors and Taste, but the Whole Sensory Experience
Vibrant colors to catch the eye, and wonderful flavors and aromas to excite the palate and have diners devour their desserts is one thing, but another trend being seen in 2019 is giving special attention to the texture of the elements of a dessert. In 2019, it’s all about creating a total sensory experience. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, chefs are more-intensely focusing on the texture of their creations alongside the usual visual appeal and great taste. A big trend with both savory and sweet dishes is adding ingredients like puffed rice or puffed quinoa to make a dish stand out against so many versions of the same thing. For example, chocolate mousse has been done a thousand different ways by a thousand different chefs, with the usual smooth and creamy texture. Keeping with the 2019 trend, a chef may add tiny puffed rice, quinoa, or candied nuts to add a bit of crunch to go along with the smooth texture, making for a more memorable experience. To have diners engaging all of their senses rather than just taste and sight is proving to be one of the go-to trends of 2019.
What’s your favorite dessert trend of 2019? Comment down below!
Written by: Raidah Islam
