Dessert glasses

Start with the question of whether the dessert needs to be seen. If it has layers, like a tiramisu, a trifle or a cheesecake in a glass, you want a straight wall with no waist, because every curve distorts the lines. If it is one single mass, like mousse, panna cotta or chocolate cream, the shape may well be rounded and a coupe or a low bowl works more pleasantly.

In size, the models here run from 18 to 42 cl. For a portion after a three-course meal, 18 to 22 cl is plenty, because a dessert that is too big gets left standing. For a dessert as the main event, with ice cream, sauce and cream, count on 25 to 30 cl. The larger sorbet coupes of around 40 cl are more presentation pieces. Choose as well between stem and no stem: a footed glass is more festive and keeps your hand off the cold dessert, while a stemless glass stacks better and fits more dishwasher baskets.

Build layers with a piping bag and not with a spoon. A spoon touches the wall and leaves a smear you will not get out again; with a piping bag the inside stays clean up to exactly where you want it. Fill from the bottom up, tap the glass briefly on the worktop after each layer so it settles flat, and let every layer set before the next one goes on.

For cold desserts, chill the glasses beforehand. For lukewarm ones, such as a warm chocolate cream, do the opposite and rinse them out with hot water. Some desserts come in liquid form: a sgroppino of lemon sorbet with prosecco suits a coupe, and a brandy alexander with cream and nutmeg is more of a dessert than an aperitif. Serve both in a small size, because they are sweeter than they look.

Cream, caramel and chocolate leave fat behind, and that is why dessert glasses go dull faster than wine glasses. Pre-rinse with warm water, wash on a cycle hot enough to release the fat and rinse afterwards with clean water. A short, cool cycle leaves exactly the sort of haze that is hard to get rid of later.

Narrow verrines are the most awkward: the dishwasher jet does not reach properly inside and a layer of water stays on the bottom. Stack them at an angle in the basket, or wash them by hand with a narrow brush. Place footed glasses separately, without the bowls touching. And let everything drain upside down on a rack rather than on a cloth, because a damp cloth passes its smell on to a freshly washed glass.

If you are specifically after the footed bowl for ice cream, you are one step too far: those are gathered under the ice cream coupes. If it is portions of one or two bites, you end up at the amuse glasses, and for a small glass of limoncello or dessert wine afterwards at the liqueur glasses. If you serve coffee with dessert, the coffee glasses match in size. Searching by brand, a lot of cut Italian dessert glass sits with RCR.