For leaving a lasting impression on diners, it’s hard to go wrong with an incredible dessert. As the final dish on the table, desserts are a chance to pull out all the stops, whether that’s with surprising ingredients, spectacular presentation, unusual flavor pairings or all of the above. The omnipresence of social media has given rise to endless sweet trends, like the over-the-top decadence of “crazy shakes” or the rush to recreate pop star Dua Lipa’s favorite combo of ice cream, olive oil and sea salt.

With diners increasingly seeking out creative ingredients and flavor combinations, there’s no better time to start experimenting with the sweet side of your menu. Here’s how some chefs are thinking beyond the simple sundae and taking their desserts to delicious new heights.

Add Some Veggies

The vibrant red, crackled crust on the Pâte à Choux at Tur Kitchen in Coral Gables, Fla., has a surprising origin: beet root powder. “We wanted to offer a classic dessert with a twist,” explains Luca Delogu, director of operations. “We came up with the idea of making a beet powder craquelin, which adds texture and color to the dessert and elevates the guest experience.”

The craquelin tops a traditional French pastry filled with diplomat cream, an airy mix of pastry cream and chantilly cream. The crimson puffs are plated with fresh berries and flowers before a second surprise appears: ruby chocolate ganache, poured tableside for dazzled diners. “The ganache adds texture, color, temperature and creaminess to the dessert,” Delogu says. “Guests are blown away by the tableside presentation. It’s one of many elements that play an important role in our menu that enhances the dish both through the visual and flavor.”

Both the beet root powder and the ruby chocolate give the dish an unexpected burst of color, while also adding to the unique play of flavors that takes the classic dessert to new and surprising places. According to Delogu, the simple-but-stylish presentation is what makes the dish next-level memorable for guests. “Plate presentation is the final step that showcases our creations,” he says. “We believe that plate presentation and finishing touches should highlight the quality of the food and preparation techniques while engaging the guests’ senses. Simple enough to execute on a busy night yet stylish and visually appealing to the guest.”

Play With Taste and Texture

Photo Credit: Randy Schmidt

La Petite Grocery infuses unexpected nuance into its dessert lineup. The Lemon Posset (left) is topped with berries that have been compressed in gin and herbs, while the Seasonal Fruit Pavlova (right) features a soft, pillowy interior that’s been steeped in citrus leaves.

At La Petite Grocery in New Orleans, Pastry Chef Shelby Fallman is playing with flavor and texture to combine fresh Louisiana ingredients with classic techniques, yielding creative desserts that change with the seasons.

For the restaurant’s rich-but-delicate Lemon Posset—a loosely set pudding made from simmered cream and sugar and combined with lemon juice—Fallman tops the dish with a hazelnut-oat crumble and a quenelle of local berry sorbet. But there’s also a surprising finishing touch that takes inspiration from another section of the menu: the cocktails. The posset is topped with berries compressed in gin and herbs.

“My thought process for that element was, ‘What would make a good cocktail?’ The answer: gin, herbs and berries,” she says. The herbaceous flavors are a tasty contrast to a wide variety of berries, which allows the dish to change with the seasons. “During strawberry season, we used strawberries, but this dish easily transitions. We’re using fresh blackberries now that the season has shifted,” Fallman says.

For her seasonal pavlova, Fallman elevates the meringue-based dessert with a combination of surprising flavors and attention to technique. “The Seasonal Fruit Pavlova plays with textures and flavors of summer, starting with the cardamom meringue base, which has a crisp outer shell and a pillowy soft, melt-in-your-mouth interior,” she explains.

The meringue is topped with citrus leaf pastry cream and stewed Louisiana blueberries that have been cooked down just enough to be slightly jammy but still hold their shape for a textured bite. It’s finished with burnt cinnamon honey on the plate.

The texture of the meringue is often surprising for guests who are expecting something dry and crunchy, Fallman says. The twist on pastry cream, which she describes as having a “Froot Loops-like flavor” from steeping the citrus leaves with the dairy, creates a new flavor profile that complements the blueberries and cardamom for a more unique experience.

“When putting my own spin on a more classic and traditional dessert, I like to think about the texture and flavor of the different elements I’m trying to introduce,” she explains. “A classic saying in cooking is, ‘If it grows together, it goes together,’ and I try to keep that front of mind when creating a dish that focuses on seasonal ingredients.”

Follow Your Wildest Impulses

Photo Credit: Spot Plant Bar

Guests love to “dig” into The Harvest at Spot Dessert Bar in New York. The stealth dessert features layers of cake, jam, cream and berries that’s topped with Oreo crumbles and parsley.

Guests are often more willing to take a chance on surprising ingredients or flavors in supplemental dishes, like dessert, which give chefs license to be bold and play with unexpected elements.

Spot Dessert Bar in New York, which specializes in “Western-style desserts influenced by Eastern flavors,” has made a name for itself with creative, unusual ingredients and playful presentations. While many of the dishes are limited-time offerings, one in particular has been a guest favorite for years. The Harvest arrives at the table looking like a seedling tree in a terracotta flower pot. But the potted plant exterior belies layers of strawberry jam, chiffon cake, soft cheesecake, whipped cream and fresh berries, topped with “dirt” (Oreo crumbles) and a “tree” (a parsley sprig.) It’s then “watered” tableside with Earl Grey tea before guests dig in.

At Dirt Candy, another New York mainstay, Amanda Cohen takes her love for vegetables to the next level with a bok choy banh mi—for dessert. The chef describes her spin on the Vietnamese sandwich as “sweeter and fluffier” than the original, with a Sriracha-lime pavlova topped by two bok choy mousses, one featuring Chinese five-spice and the other sporting white pepper and sesame oil. Cohen then layers on a carrot gastrique, bok choy-lemongrass sorbet, fresh herbs and a baguette tuile. She calls it an homage to “the tastiest sammich ever invented.”

If these dessert disruptors have demonstrated anything, it’s that there’s so much more to be explored in the world of sweet dishes. Menu developers who follow their wildest impulses for creative colors, unexpected ingredients, plating and flavors are certain to land somewhere surprising, sweet and entirely original.