The Nibble: Garnishes

As fabulous as this dessert is, it needed just a little color—some fronds of lemongrass—to add excitement to the plate. Photograph courtesy of Richart.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KAREN HOCHMAN, Editorial Director of THE NIBBLE, prefers plating and garnishing to the actual cooking.

November 2005
Updated June 2009

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Garnish Glamour

Page 3: Garnishes For Sweet Dishes

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It’s even more fun to pick garnishes for dessert. Often, they’re as delicious as the dessert itself. Feel free to add two or even three garnishes, but make sure they don’t overwhelm the flavor or the appearance of the main event. Here’s how you can easily turn a piece of plain cake, tart scoop of ice cream or pudding into a glamour girl:


Classic garnish: raspberry and mint leaves. Below, sliced strawberries provide more coverage.	Chocolate curls: another classic garnish. Below, another way to garnish with fruit, plus chocolate sauce.	Edible flowers: a very pretty presentation, even if you don’t eat them. You can use candied flowers or marzipan instead.

Cheesecake photos courtesy of PRPastry.com, which produces many delectable flavors of cheesecake.

Now, think of what you can do with all the options below.

Garnishes For Sweet Dishes

Category	Options
Candies & Nuts	Chocolate morsels, scattered (use quality morsels from top chocolatiers) Chocolate novelties: straws, coins, decorative pieces Crushed peppermint or toffee	Marrons glacées Nuts—chopped, sliced, whole, roasted or candied Shaved chocolate (white, milk, (dark)
Cookies & Wafers	Bite-size gourmet cookies Fans Flutes	Petit fours Tuiles
Creams	Chestnut purée, sweetened Crème anglais Crème chantilly Crème fraîche Flavored or unflavored yogurt	Sour cream, sweetened or plain Whipped cream, regular or flavored (almond, cardamom, ginger—the opportunities are extensive)
Flowers	Edible flowers like hollyhocks, nasturtiums, pansies and violets Herb blossoms (if you grow herbs and your plants are in flower)	Shot glasses or soy sauce bowls with sprigs of flower blossoms as plate centerpieces (arrange food around them)
Fruits	Blood orange sections Candied citrus peel Champagne grape clusters (or dot with individual grapes) Citrus peel curls Citrus zest Dried fruit and fruit chips Fans or shapes* of apple, pear	Pomegranate arils (seeds) Skewered berries and/or melon balls Skewered mixed color grapes Sliced star fruit Stuffed dates or prunes *Cut with hors d’oeuvre “cookie cutters”; use lemon juice to prevent discoloration
Herbs & Spices	Basil Cinnamon sticks Lavender sprigs† Lemongrass Mint (all varieties)	Pink peppercorns Rosemary Thyme Star anise †(Use culinary lavender, grown without pesticides)
Sauces	Butterscotch Chocolate or fudge	Coffee or mocha Fruit (lemon, berry, etc.)

We hope you’ve picked up some ideas to put to work today. If you have favorite garnishes to add, click here to tell us about them. We’re off to continue garnishing!

This white chocolate banana tart, scrumptious in of itself, still needs a bit of accessorizing to look its best. It’s wearing 5 garnishes: a dollop of whipped cream, a chocolate straw, a miniature cookie, fresh raspberries, and a mint sprig. Photograph courtesy of El Rey Chocolate. Click here for the recipe.

Go To Page 1: Garnishing Overview

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