The Principles of Dessert Composition

All of the previous information in this chapter comes together in this section. Once you know most pastry preparations, flavors, textures, and ingredients, you can attempt the composition of a dessert. The more you work with food, the fewer mistakes you will make, at least most of the time. It is important for you to remember that from failure you can also learn, and what you learn is not to make the same mistake again.

As you will see in the following chapters of this book, the definition of dessert extends beyond that of a plated dessert. It is pre-desserts, cakes (entremets), passed desserts, buffet desserts, and mignardises. They are all different in their form of delivery, and specific principles for each category will be elaborated on in their respective chapters. However, there are a few common principles that apply to all of them. Here are a few key points to keep in mind.