Pastry chefs and bakers share the 6 best and 4 worst desserts to order
- Insider asked bakers and pastry chefs about the best and worst desserts to order from a restaurant.
- The experts recommend ordering soufflé, mousse, and cheesecake from eateries as they can be tricky and time-consuming to make at home.
- Unless the restaurant you're at specializes in pie, you might not want to order it.
- The pros also suggest making creme brûlée at home for cheap instead of getting it from a restaurant.
The perfect dessert is a sweet ending to any meal. But which desserts are worth saving room for?
Here are some of the best and worst desserts to order from a restaurant, according to certified pastry chefs and a professional baker.
Chocolate mousse is usually better when ordered from restaurants.
Certified pastry chef Jo Scrivner told Insider that it's actually easier and cheaper to enjoy chocolate mousse in a restaurant than at home.
"You need high-quality chocolate to make chocolate mousse," said Scrivner. "The best chocolate is sold in bulk to restaurants for prices that are normally too high for the average home baker."
This means that, for most people, ordering this dessert from a restaurant is actually a more economical way to enjoy top-quality mousse.
Cheesecake is an indulgent dessert order.
Unless you're an avid baker, ordering cheesecake from a restaurant is probably easier than whipping one up at home.
"It's often not worth baking a whole cheesecake for yourself at home," said Scrivner. "Plus cheesecakes tend to taste great even at fast-food chain restaurants, making it a safe choice almost anywhere."
Soufflé is an elegant treat that's tough to make at home.
Soufflé is a French dessert made from beaten and baked eggs. It's a famously tricky dish to make, so skip the hassle and simply order one on your next evening out.
"Soufflé is usually reasonably priced, and because it has to be baked after you order it, it will most likely be freshly made just for you," said Scrivner.
A brownie a la mode is usually a good dessert option.
Professional pastry chef and baker Chris Tucker, founder of Betta With Butta, told Insider that a warm brownie with ice cream is one of his favorite dessert orders.
"Brownies served in restaurants tend to be super fudgy and dense with chocolate," said Tucker. "And even if they are slightly overbaked, you won't be able to tell if it's served warm and a la mode."
A warm cookie skillet is often baked to order and difficult to mess up.
"A cookie skillet is literally the hardest thing to mess up, and [it's] something I always order it if it's on the menu," said Tucker. "It's hot, gooey in the center, and crisp around the edges from the cast iron."
Since this dessert is prepared in a skillet and served warm, it's usually not baked until someone orders it — meaning you'll almost always get a cookie that's fresh out of the oven.
Molten cake pairs perfectly with ice cream.
Molten cakes are made individually and heated before serving, turning them into a warm, decadent treat.
"They always have a gooey, liquefied center. This means that even if the sponge was dry, the likelihood of it staying that way is super slim," Tucker told Insider.
Pairing a molten cake with a side of ice cream adds a flavor and temperature contrast that can elevate this dessert even further.
An ice cream sundae is hard to get wrong.
Professional baker and cookbook author Jessie Sheehan told Insider that if you're looking for a safe dessert choice, go for the ice cream sundae.
"This is a dessert that's hard to screw up," said Sheehan. "Even grocery-store ice cream can be elevated to beyond delicious when topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, and toasted walnuts."
On the other hand, tiramisu from restaurants can be overpriced and not fresh.
Tiramisu is an Italian dessert usually made with either eggs or fresh cream, and both of these ingredients make this dish extremely perishable.
"Many restaurants try to sell old tiramisu in the hope that the coffee aroma will repress any bad taste you might notice otherwise," said Scrivner. "The portions are usually tiny and expensive as well."
Scrivner noted that for the price of two or three small servings of restaurant tiramisu, you can usually make a large batch of the dessert at home.
You can make a batch of creme brûlée at home for just a few dollars.
Creme brûlée is surprisingly easy and inexpensive to make at home.
"This dessert is way overpriced in most restaurants," said Scrivner. "Making creme brûlée only requires a handful of ingredients, and you don't need any great cooking skill."
All you need to make creme brûlée at home is egg yolk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla.
You don't even need a blow torch to caramelize the top — simply set the baked creme brûlée under your oven's broiler for three to five minutes.
Ordering a slice of pie can be a gamble.
Unless a restaurant is known for its pie, you may want to steer clear of ordering a slice of the daily special.
"Pie crust is tricky to do well and easy to do poorly. Restaurant pie often has a tough, flavorless crust and filling that includes too much thickener, making it gloopy," said Sheehan.
Sheehan recommended opting for a fruit crisp or cobbler instead, as these desserts are similar to pie in terms of taste but are easier to execute.
Sometimes restaurant cakes are served stale.
The perfect slice of cake is moist and flavorful, but some restaurants without a dedicated bakery or pastry chef may serve customers slices that have been sitting around for a bit too long.
"Cake is actually surprisingly hard to get right," said Sheehan. "Too often it is served stale and dry, or without the proper ratio of frosting to cake."
If you decide to order cake, consider also asking for a ramekin of warm chocolate sauce or a scoop of ice cream to go with it. These sweet sides can help rescue cake that arrives dry and crumbly.
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