State of the Plate: Not-So-Sweet Desserts to Savor

Last year, data-meisters at Technomic reported a marked shift in dessert consumption: Inflation-battered consumers had closed their wallets at restaurants in favor of sweet stuff purchased at supermarkets or made at home.

To entice dessert avoiders, the analysts recommended that operators refocus on innovative and differentiated dishes, a recipe that many have taken to heart with some surprising and sophisticated results.

Back in Black

Basic black, always on trend with fashionistas, has been scoring on dessert menus of late. Besides providing an Insta-worthy photo op, black ingredients like black rice and black sesame seeds typically offer an earthy, somewhat nutty flavor counterpoint to conventionally sweet items.

At Rasika, which specializes in modern Indian cuisine in Washington, D.C., the signature Warm Black Rice Pudding achieves a sweet-and-savory balance with the inclusion of cashew nut and coconut, along with a dollop of aromatic cardamom ice cream. In a similar vein, the Black Sesame & Strawberry Brioche Donut at So Yen Desserts in St. Paul, Minn., offsets the slight bitterness of the seed with the sweetness of the berry, while at nearby Khue’s Kitchen, Cà Phê Sua Da Affogato tops Vietnamese coffee and vanilla ice cream with a black sesame toasted tuile.

Pre-pandemic, “goth food” had a menu moment based on the purported health benefits of activated charcoal, which lent its inky hue to lemonades, lattes, burger buns and more. While the micro-trend lost steam during the shutdown, it has been getting a second wind at spots like ice cream specialist Nobibi. Expanding rapidly in California, the brand’s photogenic signature Ninja Ice Cream Cone is made with charcoal ice cream, topped with Pop Rocks and Pocky sticks for crunchy contrast. Chicago’s Miru, Japanese for “view,” earns a second look with a dark-as-night hat trick; the dramatic Black Sesame Mochi Cake includes charcoal-vanilla ice cream and a black sesame praline.

Yogurt specialist 16 Handles took a different turn to the dark side with attention-grabbing Squid Ink Black Matcha Frozen Yogurt. It was launched in October 2024 to coincide with the premiere of Netflix’s “Squid Game,” and while the show has finished its run, the reduced-fat, gluten-free Black Matcha flavor ditched the ink in favor of activated charcoal to remain a core menu offering.

Herbs and Spices

The rapidly evolving emergence of Asian ingredients is impacting menus beyond the appetizer and entrée listings; it’s influencing desserts as well. Far East and Southeast Asian kitchens typically dial down the sweetness and amp up herbal, spicy and/or bitter notes, and domestic chefs are following suit.

Uchi, an influential Japanese-inspired operation headquartered in Austin, Texas, has been adding both locations and innovative desserts. In Austin, Warm Banana Cake is made with chicory, buckwheat and white coffee Kahlua ice cream; Uchi Miami features Jasmine Cream with cilantro granita, pineapple and honey tuile; and Uchi D.C. creates a Black Forest Crêpe Cake with chocolate, cherry and sakura leaves. The latter come from Japanese cherry blossom trees and are typically pickled in salt and plum vinegar.

Ice cream specialists are thinking outside the carton. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams scoops up Bay Leaf Cheesecake Ice Cream, which mixes ground bay leaves in a borderline-tangy cream cheese ice cream, and Salt & Straw’s seasonal Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream uses toasted anise for a distinctive finish.

Minneapolis music club Berlin is notable for more than entertainment; its menu has buzzworthy options like Genmaicha Pudding made with green tea, white chocolate and toasted rice. Genmaicha is a blend of green tea and toasted rice that features a nutty accent and chewy texture. The ingredient also shows up in Miru’s Miru-Ishi, an Okinawa black sugar cake with genmai (brown rice) crémeux and salted caramel.

Savory Umami

Umami imparts a subtle richness that is enhancing desserts, as at Moon Rabbit in D.C. Here, diners can complete their meals with Curry Cà Ri, green curry sponge cake with avocado sorbet, soursop mousse and fish sauce caramel.

Speaking of fish, the current menu at Hot & Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Ala., surprises with a cheeky change-up on a cheese course with Tea Rose Chèvre Capriole that marries the funky goat cheese with Sichuan pepper shortbread and roasted strawberries.

Animals are making the dessert menu in more than tiny crackers these days. Beef tallow has been trending, and it’s popped up at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, where the limited-time Southern Butter Pecan Ice Cream Sandwich is built on Wagyu-tallow chocolate chip cookies. Pasjoli in Santa Monica, Calif., asserts that French is fun and delivers fresh finishers like the PJ Sundae, which crowns vanilla ice cream with an unctuous duck fat caramel, and the fowl-less Chocolate Tart with Chantilly that also sports olive oil jam. And Kachka in Portland, Ore., has featured panna cotta that is infused with bison grass (an herbaceous Polish vodka) and enhanced with candied fennel.

M&Ms familiar to candy lovers are also being upstaged by a pair of classic umami ingredients: mushrooms and miso. The former are dressing up menus at Stages at One Washington in Dover, N.H. The tasting menu innovates with a closing course of Aerated Brie, featuring dried-mushroom madeleines, ginger and warm honey. In Birmingham, Ala., Current Charcoal Grill pays homage to Asia with memorable touches like Miso Custard Tart, with caramel and cultured whipped cream, and a chocolate sundae with chocolate brownie, toasted milk soft serve, miso caramel and black sesame crunch.

Hot Stuff

From a very different point of view, the Lagniappe Parfait at legendary Commander’s Palace in New Orleans lit up media, both social and conventional, with its show-stopping gumbo-in-a-dessert glass. Appearing on the tasting menu, it layers bay leaf ice cream and hot sauce rice pudding with toasted dark roux, sassafras and thyme streusel, topped with black pepper cane syrup and Chantilly cream.

Operators are turning up the sweet heat at chains, too. In April, 16 Handles introduced a special promotional item that infuses sweet, tangy yogurt with hot honey.

Outlook and Opportunity

Desserts aren’t the only items making the shift to savory. Cocktails and their nonalcoholic counterparts have become conspicuously more experimental. Chin Up in New York City taps into the gin revival with Rendezvous in Chennai, which combines gin with Madras curry, plus a totally unconventional Aquavit Old Fashioned concocted with apple brandy, Granny Smith apples, wasabi and red shiso. Looking ahead, the extraordinary level of creativity on liquid menus may well provide inspo and provoke interchange between bar chefs and dessert makers.