10 Best Desserts from Europe That Pair Perfectly with Wine
Wine and dessert pairing has been the talk of the town for a while now. As this combination has been a mystery to many wine drinkers. Usually, people enjoy wine throughout dinner and switch to tea or coffee at dessert time.
But little do they know, a perfectly paired wine served with the dessert can make a huge difference to their dining experience. Once you get the taste of it, I guarantee you there is no going back.
In this guide, I bring you the 10 best Desserts from Europe that pair perfectly with wine. You will also get to know about the basic pairing rules and how to pick the right wine for the evening.
Wine and Dessert Pairing
Well, it is known that wine and dessert can make an iconic duo if paired correctly! It is no secret that a good pairing enhances the flavors of both the wine and dessert. So, before you pick the wine to go with your dessert make sure they pair well.
For that, you can simply follow the basic rules for pairing wine and dessert. They are picking the wine with the right amount of sweetness, matching flavors, and matching colors. We are going to circle back to this later.
Keeping all the basics in mind, look for a wine that will go perfectly with the dessert you are serving. Once you master the art of pairing wine and dessert you’ll realize how palatable it tastes!
Basics for Pairing Wine and Dessert
When it comes to pairing wine with dessert you can go for a dessert wine. They are sparkly sweet styled wine that elevates the taste of your dessert without making it too overwhelming.
In case, your guests don’t like a sweet one there is scope for opting for other less sweet or off-dry wines that will complement your dessert. Before we dive into the list of the best European desserts, here are some basic rules you can follow to pick the right wine for the evening.
Rule No 1: Choose Wine Sweeter Than the Dessert
When pairing wine with desserts, pick one that is sweeter than the dessert. As desserts are meant to be sweet but if the sweetness level of the wine doesn’t match the dessert it’s going to be a disaster!
The wine will taste bitter as the sweetness from the dessert will overpower the flavors of the wine. And the entire experience will end up unpleasant for everyone.
Rule No 2: Match the Flavors of the Wine and the Dessert
While picking a wine you should keep in mind to match the wine flavor with your desserts. A similar flavor of wine and dessert goes together like a happily married couple.
So, if you’re having chocolate desserts make sure to get wine with chocolate flavors. In the case of desserts enriched with fruits and acidity, get a wine that has high acidity. Similarly for berry-filled desserts pick a wine that matches the berry flavors.
Rule No 3: Match the Colors of the Wine and the Dessert
Last but not the least, matching the colors of the wine and the dessert makes a remarkable impression on the guests. So, a good rule of thumb is to pick a dark color wine when you are serving a dark-colored dessert. On the other hand, for light fruit-flavored desserts you can pick any light-colored wine.
10 Scrumptious Pairings for European Desserts and Wine
Pairing dessert and wine is the perfect way to ensure a wonderful dining experience. When it comes to pairing wine with anything, the key is to consider wine as an ingredient that adds a little something extra.
The perfect pair of wine and desserts not only enhances the taste but also creates an entirely new flavor profile. And serving the best wine and dessert combination to your guests is the best way to end a memorable evening.
So, without any further delay let’s get into the list of the 10 best European desserts that pair perfectly with wine.
Tarte Tatin
The legendary dessert Tarte Tatin is known all across Europe. As scrumptious as it looks, the harder its execution. The gorgeous dessert is made by coating the puff pastry with a sweet apple concoction and letting it caramelize into absolute perfection in the oven.
And such an artsy dessert deserves a fantastic wine pairing. To keep up with the beauty and taste of the Tarte Tatin nothing can be better than a glass of Late Harvest Riesling. This exceptional collection of wine is the perfect match for this dessert.
The fruity and crisp citrus flavor yet with a naturally sweet finish taste of the wine makes it exceptional. The aromas of baked apple, honey, and vanilla lead to a creamy palate making Tarte Tatin and Late Harvest Riesling the perfect match for each other.
Chocolate Mousse
The light airy texture with an intense chocolate-flavored dessert named Chocolate mousse has never failed to mesmerize people. As soon as you take a bite of the mousse, it melts like heaven on your palate.
It’s a special dessert that is made magically by combining egg whites, top-quality chocolates, and cream. Once the mixture is combined and set to rest, it turns out to be this scrumptious dessert!
And nothing can be a better combination to serve the mousse with a glass of wine. The dessert will perfectly go with a glass of Brachetto d’Acqui. This light-body wine with red berry notes will complement the mousse without being too overpowering.
The sweet tiny bubbles of this semi-sparkling Italian Red cut through the heavy creaminess of the dessert. It creates a sharp texture with notes of candied fruits on the side.
Strawberry Shortcake
The shortcake is made with layers of strawberries and whipped cream between shortcakes. You get the taste of freshly cut berries in every bite you take.
To add more to this creamy classic, Vouvray Brut can only do the justice. This fine wine is made from Chenin Blanc grapes. Usually, it’s made following the traditional process, resulting in a biscuity note to it.
The mouth-puckering white wine is known for its crisp texture and notes of fruits such as honeysuckle, pear, etc. The acidic taste of the wine gets balanced with the shortcake and whipped cream, whereas the bits of fruit complement the fresh strawberries.
Lemon Tart
Lemon Tart or Tarte au Citron is one of the simplest yet most palatable desserts of all time. The simple execution of this dessert doesn’t make it any less tasty. The simple yet elegant lemon tart is made with a shortcut pastry base topped with sweet lemon cream.
The crunch of the pastry and the sweetness of the lemon curd contrast each other and that is what makes it so divine! To pair this flavorful dessert we have picked Late Harvest Chenin Blanc for you.
This amazing wine gives mouth-watering tropical fruit and honeycomb notes which makes it a delight. It’s sweet and flavorful and cuts straight through the sourness of the lemon curd making sure the wine and the lemon tart are happily married.
Chocolate Eclair
The oblong choux dough pastries are filled with thick chocolate filling and a generous amount of chocolate coating on top. The dessert has a unique richness to it that’s just indescribable.
And a dessert that is rich in flavor requires a wine that is as robust and flavorful as this. For that, I have decided to pair the scrumptious dessert with a glass of sweet-style champagne.
The demi-sec sweet style sparkly champagne cuts through the sweetness and creates a balance with the right amount of acidity. This pairing will make sure your dessert time was awesome!
Macarons
These marvelous cookies are made by whipping the egg whites with the right amount of cream of tartar. There is a fine line between under-whipping and over-whipping, and you must take care of that to get a perfect macaron cookie.
The diva cookie requires a certain temperature and humidity to be made. Failing to have nice weather results in floppy dry macarons. And just the perfect match with such a delicacy is an Italian Pinot Grigios.
The classic crisp white wine is a crowd-pleaser for sure. The versatile wine Italian Pinot Grigios comes in fruity, floral, and nutty flavors. This type of wine specializes in bitter notes and high acidity. So, to balance the sweetness of the macaron with a fruity floral drink, Pinot Grigios is an excellent choice.
Tiramisu
Tiramisu is every coffee lover’s dream dessert. This creamy coffee-flavored dessert is made with layers of ladyfingers dipped in coffee syrup and whipped cream and finally topped with a slayer of cocoa powder.
Less sweet dessert like Tiramisu goes perfectly with a little sweet and sparkling wine like Demi-sec Champagne. The semi-sweet style champagne will elevate the taste of the dessert.
As a result, trying out both of them together will be a surreal experience. The sweetness from the champagne will even out the slight bitterness from the coffee in the Tiramisu.
Creme Brûlée
Creme Brûlée is one of the iconic desserts in the world. The wonderful-looking dessert has a soft creamy custard base topped with a thin layer of blow-torched caramelized sugar.
The luscious creaminess and textural contrasts of this dessert elevate it from its peers. The first crack of the sugar layer is a literal pleasure to the ears! And to pair this pleasing dessert I have picked the perfect bottle of wine for you.
Sauternes and Creme Brûlée go together so well as if they were made for each other. To balance out the sweetness of the dessert, Sauternes has the perfect amount of fresh acidity to it.
Panna Cotta
This delicious dessert is made by molding thickened sweet cream with gelatine. It has a silky cream texture that takes you to another world with just one spoon of it. The hint of rich vanilla and the toasty flavor of golden sugar makes it a heavenly dessert.
And the A+ combination to pair such a dessert with wine is none other than a bottle of Muscat. This still, sparkling, dessert-style wine complements the texture and flavor of Panna Cotta.
Muscat is the perfect match for this sweet dessert as the wine can go from dry to insanely sweet. You can easily balance the sweetness of both the dessert and wine and have a wonderful time eating the dessert.
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a sweet dessert that typically has one or more layers to it. The first one consists of a mixture of thick and soft cheese, egg, and sugar combination on top of a layer of crust. The crust is usually made of crushed cookie crumbs with butter or sponge cake.
We pair this creamy heaven dessert with an off-dry Riesling. The fruity flavor and the dry notes make a nice balance between the sweet and dry wine. This type of wine goes great with anything sweet or sour.
And cheesecake has the right amount of sweetness and sourness to it. Hence, if you are looking for a perfect wine to go with your dessert, pick Riesling.
Wrapping Up
The above-mentioned European dessert and wine pairings are tried, tested, and loved combinations all across the globe. But the combinations are not just limited to these. There are many more dessert-wine combinations that will blow your mind away!
There is always a chance for experimenting and exploring these combinations. So, go out of your comfort zone and try out different combinations. Some of them are going to be hit and some of them will be major failures.
But the journey is going to be worth it and you are going to love every bit of it. Therefore, it’s time to stop contemplating and go wild with your dessert-wine combination experiments!