"Pretty desserts": Bake like Cédric Grolet

Last year, Dubai chocolate with its crunchy kadayif threads, creamy pistachio cream and edible gold dust was a viral dessert hit. Even in winter and at Christmas markets, there was no escaping it. One year later, a new trendy dessert is dominating the feeds:  so-called "Pretty Desserts".

These mousse cakes resemble fruit, look deceptively realistic, and are currently all the rage in the US and Europe – and Paris in particular. Tourists queue up every day to see and, above all, taste the creations of French pastry chef Cédric Grolet, who achieved worldwide fame with his hyper-realistic fruit desserts. At their core, they consist only of fruit mousse or occasionally cheesecake, but are formed, glazed and filled with incredible precision – little works of art.

Inspired by the master

On TikTok, Cédric Grolet provides exciting insights into how his sweet illusions are created: Using special tools, silicone molds and his own technique , he shows step by step how he conjures up his masterpieces. The videos immediately make you want to grab a spatula and create one yourself. But as playful as it may seem, there is a real art to pastry making that you can't just replicate on the spur of the moment on a Sunday. But that's exactly what seems to be going viral right now: Videos of creative content creators who, inspired by Grolet, try their hand at the fruit themselves – right in their own kitchens.

The good news is that you can indeed make the desserts yourself – perhaps not quite as perfectly, but definitely successfully. Despite great enthusiasm, many amateur pastry chefs criticize one crucial thing: the characteristic "crunch" moment that is so often admired is tough to replicate. But it is precisely this crisp sound that makes these desserts so special. Many content creators are disappointed to report that the famous crunch doesn't materialize – usually because the chocolate coating is too thick or too soft. And there's another factor at play: time. In order for the desserts to come as close as possible to Grolets' version, amateur pastry chefs have to invest a lot of time and patience.

Practice makes perfect

However, when it comes to "crunch" time, some creators have long since realized what really matters: the decisive trick for a crunchy shell is the addition of cocoa butter. It ensures that the chocolate breaks cleanly when you bite into it – just like the originals. Online videos clearly show that small mishaps are part of the process – but that's exactly what makes them so appealing. However, opinions differ as to whether it is worth imitating the fruit form yourself. For many, the effort doesn't outweigh the experience, while for others the foray into the world of patisserie is a special experiment well worth undertaking.