Indulgent flavors shine in all seasons

From Bistro Collection® Gourmet Desserts.

Consumers may be trying to choose better-for-you options at mealtime. But, when it comes to dessert, indulgence reigns supreme.

Think chocolate and caramel and peanut butter and brown butter, too.

Operators can menu on-trend flavors—while saving on labor—with semi-scratch preparations.

Serving pre-made baked goods such as bars, brownies, cakes and tortes with seasonally focused housemade sauces, ice creams and other add-ons is one way to meet the changing seasons with little operational stress – while still catering to those requests for indulgence.

Bistro Collection® Gourmet Desserts offers a full line of ready-to-serve gourmet brownies and dessert bars. New flavors include a Brown Butter Bourbon Bar (brown butter-bourbon cake, pecans and bourbon syrup on a sea salt-brown butter cookie crust), S’mores Brownie (brownie studded with marshmallows, on a graham cracker crumb crust with marshmallow drizzle), Pecan Carmelita (caramel sandwiched between sweetened oat squares, studded with pecans, dark chocolate chunks and topped with caramel drizzle) and Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Bar (chocolate brownie with chocolate chunks on a peanut butter cookie crumb crust, topped with peanut butter mousse and chocolate drizzle).

These new flavors mesh with consumer preferences, allowing you to serve them as-is or in creative presentations.

Chocolate remains the most-preferred variety of baked goods, according to Technomic’s recent Dessert Consumer Trend Report. In fact, some 67% of consumers would order a brownie for dessert and 58% would choose a chocolate-chip cookie, the report found.

Also on-trend are alcohol-infused desserts, such as those with bourbon or liqueurs. Bourbon, for example, has jumped 167% on leading dessert menus in recent years, according to Technomic’s MenuMonitor data.

Craveability is key with indulgent desserts, so be sure to play up indulgent items with appealing photography and social media callouts.

Ready-to-serve dessert options are also a convenient choice to fit with the blurring of dayparts. Serve smaller portions throughout the day for snacks. Portable options are especially appealing as lunchtime add-ons. Or, offer them on late-night menus.

Turn to Bistro Collection® Gourmet Desserts’ full line of gourmet brownies and dessert bars to save time and labor in the kitchen while still providing consumers with the on-trend, seasonal flavors they’re seeking.