The Desserts To Serve (And Skip) For An Impressive Presentation At Home

When you're only cooking for yourself, the flavor of the meal is usually the main focal point. When you're cooking for company, however, the presentation becomes an equally important element. Impressing guests with the visual appearance of the dish is part of ensuring they have a memorable experience — not to mention, people tend to dig into the food with a lot more gusto when it looks good. As the final dish served, dessert, in particular, demands mindful plating.

According to pastry chef and cookbook author Saura Kline, who spoke to Tasting Table about restaurant-worthy tips for plating desserts at home, the best desserts for an effortlessly beautiful presentation are the ones you can make in individual servings. She specifically highlighted crème brûlée, parfait, panna cotta, and mousse. For zero fuss, this three-ingredient chocolate mousse is our go-to dessert for entertaining because it's so easy to serve in individual glasses. If you have a collection of unique mugs, a lemon mug cake could also be a fun idea. You might even try your hand at a soufflé, conveniently baked in individual ramekins and easily garnished afterward with some fresh fruit and powdered sugar.

Kline emphasized that, when it comes to hosting, cakes and pies can be very tricky. They often get messy, leaky, topple over, or simply end up looking droopy once sliced and put on the plate. While that alone likely won't prevent your guests from enjoying the dessert, it will ruin the presentation. Instead, Kline suggests you opt for "tarts and individual pavlovas." Mini coffee pavlovas bring an espresso twist to the classic meringue, while sweet and spicy cherry tarts with hot honey are perfect for a group that loves bold flavors. That said, if your heart is completely set on a cake, but you still love the idea of individual servings, mini layer cakes, or mini cheesecakes are a great compromise.

You could also go the buffet route. Set up a separate dessert table that has several sweet options so guests can serve themselves. This lessens the pressure for each plate to look perfect, as the focus will predominantly be on the dessert table as a whole. It's also pretty easy to fill up a "dessert buffet" with treats that are generally made in larger quantities — cookies, truffles, and yogurt barks, to name a few.