Strawberries, wild blueberries score big on restaurant menus, but more exotic fruits also make gains

Exotic fruits from around the globe are becoming increasingly common on restaurant menus, but everyday berries such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries remain favorites of both chefs and consumers when it comes to fruit and berry restaurant desserts, cakes, and pies.

In fact, strawberries, the most common fruit found on restaurant dessert menus, continue to gain traction, with penetration up 1% during the past four years, according to research from Datassential. The fruit, which is grown throughout the U.S., appears on 24.4% of dessert menus.

The second- and third-most commonly used fruits in restaurant desserts—apples (appearing on 17.6% of dessert menus) and bananas (17.2%)—were both down in double digits in that time frame.

The fastest-growing fruit or berry dessert option on restaurant menus is also a berry. Wild blueberries saw their menu penetration increase 105% during the last four years, and they are especially popular in the Northeast.

Examples include the Wild Blueberry Flapjack Cake, introduced last year at the Quentin Tavern Restaurant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, which rotates its cheesecake varieties. The new dessert item was described as having “thick, buttery cake layers inspired by flapjacks,” baked with wild Maine blueberries and stacked in layers on top of smooth maple cream.

In Maine, treats made from freshly picked wild blueberries rival freshly caught lobster for top billing at local restaurants. McLoons Lobster Shack on Spruce Head Island, which was once crowned the champion of Maine lobster rolls by Yankee Magazine, is also known for its Wild Maine Blueberry Bread Pudding. The dessert features locally grown wild blueberries combined with cubes of fresh bread, white chocolate chips and homemade vanilla custard. It is baked and then drizzled with white chocolate.

Raspberries and blackberries have also been mainstays on dessert menus. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, which has featured a series of berry-flavored, hand-held pies over the years, last year rolled out a Blackberry Cheese Cake Fried Pie, which features a blackberry pie filling, graham cracker crumbs and cheesecake inside a deep-fried, turnover-style crust.

Other berry dessert ideas include this Raspberry Bread Pudding recipe made with Chunky CHIPS AHOY! Cookie Pieces. Suitable for any breakfast, brunch or dessert menu, this soft, sweet treat includes dough made with raspberry jam and CHIPS AHOY! Cookie Pieces, topped with raspberry-flavored whipped cream and fresh raspberries.

Or consider this simple, yet visually striking Deconstructed Strawberry Sundae recipe, made with Golden OREO Cookie Pieces.

Other exotic fruits gain in popularity

Aside from the ever-popular fruit and berry dessert options for restaurants, other fruits that have been trending on dessert menus tend to be a little more exotic and lean toward the tropical. They include papaya, up 47% in the last four years; acai, also up 47%; guava, up 45%; and avocado, up 21%, according to Datassential.

The research firm also identified several exotic fruits in restaurant dessert menus that are regionally popular in the U.S., and that may gain traction as restaurant dessert ingredients, including:

• Salmonberry, as featured in the Salmonberry Jam Thumbprints from Grandma’s Kitchen Bakery & Gifts, Kake, Alaska;

• Mayhaw (the fruit of the Hawthorn tree), as used in the Mayhaw Tart at Josephine Estelle, New Orleans;

• Scuppernong (a type of muscadine grape), which is featured in the Peanut Butter Torte with Starlight Farm Scuppernong coulis at Starlight Café in Greenville, North Carolina.

As operators plan fruit and berry desserts for restaurant menus, they should consider mixing in some of the less common fruits alongside the favorites they know their customers will love. For more snack and dessert menu inspiration, visit the Mondelēz International Foodservice Culinary Center