| Napoleon Bakery's desserts aren't trendy, just delicious. |
The upcoming trends, according to the poll:
1. Artisan or house-made ice cream
2. Bite-sized or mini desserts
3. Dessert flights or combos
4. Deconstructed classic desserts
5. Savory desserts
"A lot of those trends are already here," says Napoleon Bakery's James Holmes, who discovered early last year that his customers weren't very interested in paying $35 for a whole cake but didn't mind dropping $2.25 for a bite-sized version of the same cake.
"The first of the year, I'm going to focus more on miniature desserts," Holmes tells me. "And as far as savory desserts go, I have a client who asked me if I could create something that blended chocolate mousse and bacon. It's an intriguing challenge, and I'm going to do it."
Celina Tio of Julian says the "trends" have been on her menu for some time. Yes, she makes smaller desserts -- her price point is $4 for each confection -- and yes, she makes a pastry with smoked bacon. Deconstructed classics? She has one of those, too: "I make a banana panna cotta topped with chocolate ganache and strawberries. It's our version of a banana split."
Jef Dover, the proprietor of North Kansas City's Le Monde Bakery, has seen almost all of next year's trends on dessert lists now but isn't making a lot of them himself.
"I get a lot of requests for bite-sized desserts, but we don't make them because we're too busy making regular-sized desserts. We don't make desserts with savory ingredients, either, although I'm seeing a lot more desserts in restaurants with a savory component -- usually bacon, it seems."
Will he ever make a bacon-and-chocolate croissant?
"I don't think so, unless there's a lot of demand," Dover says.
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