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Desserts with alcohol gaining momentum
By Laura McGuire
January 23, 2012
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 No restaurant experience is truly complete without sampling a decadent dessert or after-dinner drink for the final course. One emerging trend at independent restaurants is incorporating alcohol into desserts. A variety of beers, wines and liquors are enhancing traditional and new desserts, either as baking ingredients or flavoring a sauce, ice cream or garnish. These new end-of-meal options liven up the dessert experience by offering patrons exciting new alternatives to classic sweets.
Beer
Beer often appears as a marinade for meats and fish, but more recently, sudsy brews have started starring in desserts as well. The countless flavour characteristics and hues of beer make it a versatile liquid in recipes, where it can often substitute for water. The variances of beer allow for chefs to experiment with different flavours and textures. For instance, Guinness will result in a dense, rich dessert, whereas framboise beer, fermented using raspberries, adds a colourful, fruity, often sweet twist.
One concept well-attuned to the multifaceted uses of beer is Beer Bistro in Toronto. The concept’s dessert menu features a Flourless Chocolate Cake made with an oatmeal stout and topped with whipped cream, and a Cranberry White Chocolate Cheesecake made with sweet-and-tart Rodenbach Grand Cru and a graham-cracker crust.
Wine
Wines not only add dimension to desserts but can also provide a distinct taste and brighter colours for plating. While Riesling and Madeira wines can further sweeten desserts, dry varietals with high acidity levels, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Syrahs, help counteract sweetness. Recent wine-based desserts range from fruit poached in red wine to champagne-infused ice creams. Lure Restaurant & Lounge in Victoria, British Columbia, features a Pressed Sweet Melon dessert with marinated melons, berry powder and a champagne-basil sorbet. The complex flavours and sophistication that wine adds to a dessert makes these treats more appropriate for upscale casual-dining and fine-dining menus.
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Liquor
Liquors - such as vodka, tequila, whiskey and rum - readily pair with many desserts, including warm custards and brownies, and cold ice creams and gelatos. These distilled alcoholic spirits bring a strong taste to any recipe. Many operators are featuring liquors in dessert sauces, while some are infusing liquors into other dessert accompaniments. Alloy restaurant in Calgary, Alberta, lists two seasonal desserts with liquor on its main menu: Gingerbread Bread Pudding with candied ginger ice cream and apricot brandy cream, and Pumpkin Spice Crème Brûlée with fresh fruit and rum-infused whipped cream. The restaurant also listed a Key Lime Meringue Pie with lime and tequila syrup on its New Year’s Eve holiday menu.
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Toronto’s Winterlicious menu-tasting event from January 27 to February 9 highlights liquor-centric desserts at independent restaurants. Some Winterlicious offerings include Spacco Restaurant’s fresh strawberries and whipping cream infused with butter ripple liqueur; Portico’s Black Pepper and Rum Panna Cotta with mango-chile sauce and fresh fruit salsa; and JAMcafé’s Brioche Bread Pudding with a brandy caramel sauce.
Alcohol in dessert is gaining momentum at restaurants across Canada. Heavy incidence on recent menus signals strong growth potential for this trend over the next year. Not only do booze-filled desserts tickle patrons’ taste buds, these desserts also give chefs the chance to ignite their imaginations in the kitchen. Above all, these exciting new and creative options offer an intoxicatingly sweet ending to any restaurant meal.
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