Need dessert for non-sweet eater

I should have figured this out a few weeks ago, but as life got a little crazy I put it aside and nearly forgot about it and am now stumped. So, I'm in need of help and I was hoping someone here could come to my rescue!

I offered to make dessert for a party on Friday night for a group of people who are always willing to try something new and different. One person in the group always passes on dessert because he finds them too sweet and he can't stand chocolate. However I would really like to include him. I guess what I really need is a savory dessert, but I'm just not sure how to incorporate bacon or some such savory thing into a dessert that's not too sweet.

Also, I've considered putting together a plate of cheese and fruit but don't want to disappoint the others. I guess I could do cheese and a dessert if all else fails.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

How about a fruit based dessert? I really like the plum crumble from the Williams Sonoma recipe collection. Prune plums might still be available at farmer's markets this week and the recipe uses Chinese 5 spice in the crumble topping which gives it a bit of a bite. You could cut back on the sugar to make it less sweet although it only calls for a total of 5 Tbs.

Plum Crumble

How about making shortbread? You could do a variety of flavors: cheddar or parmesan-rosemary shortbread for the non-sweet-eater, and more traditional flavors (chocolate, nut, etc) for those who prefer sweets.

Diannie wrote:How about a fruit based dessert? I really like the plum crumble from the Williams Sonoma recipe collection. Prune plums might still be available at farmer's markets this week and the recipe uses Chinese 5 spice in the crumble topping which gives it a bit of a bite. You could cut back on the sugar to make it less sweet although it only calls for a total of 5 Tbs.

Plum Crumble

That's a really interesting idea! I like the idea of Chinese 5 spice and plums together. Plus, I can easily convert the topping to gluten free. Tomorrow there's a farmer's market not far from me I'll check to see if they have plums. Thanks!

MariaTheresa wrote:How about making shortbread? You could do a variety of flavors: cheddar or parmesan-rosemary shortbread for the non-sweet-eater, and more traditional flavors (chocolate, nut, etc) for those who prefer sweets.

Another good idea that I never even thought of. I sort of feel like baking so I'll play around with the idea tonight! Thanks!

I was thinking wine-or coffee-poached pears; not quite seasonal yet, but very good and not too sweet. My go-to dessert when we have people with dietary requirements.

I made a blue cheese cheesecake with candied walnuts, poached pears and a port-caramel sauce using a recipe from Mindy Segal (of Hot Chocolate restaurant) - described in this thread and including a link to the recipe - and I would definitely recommend giving it a try. Also, because the candied walnuts, poached pears and port-caramel sauce are accompaniments, each individual diner can add as much sweetness as he/she (or the person plating) likes.

My mother makes halved pears poached in port, & then stuffs the cold halves with a mixture of stilton & walnuts before serving - a different riff on some of the earlier suggestions.

I've made this recipe for apple goat cheese tartlets. It's very easy, impressive and the only sweet part is honey, which you can cut down if you like. I suppose if you want to jazz it up even more you could make your puff pastry from scratch, but I just use stuff from the freezer aisle.

I just made Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of Claudia Fleming's Concord Grape Focaccia with rosemary. It's sharp & rather savory for this sweet lover. I would serve it with cheese, nuts, & a fig preserve.

Thank you for all of the great suggestions. The hard part will be deciding which of them to make. So I'll take the easy way out and in the spirit of local eating, I'll ask my friend with the pear tree if any are ripe. I love the idea of serving them with blue cheese and walnuts and will definitely do so if there are pears to be had.

Again, thanks for all of your ideas. I really do want to make each of them and have added them to my recipe file.

I apologize for not reporting back a while ago. Regardles, I used pears from my friends pear tree (that I picked) and made poached pears. I served them with Maytag blue cheese and the candied walnuts, but also made the Segal caramel sauce and had that on the side for anyone that was so inclined. My friend the non-sweet eater was delighted.

I also made a version of the Concord Grape and Rosemary Focaccia to take to work. I used my gluten-free faux-caccia recipe but the Smitten Kitchen topping. It was really interesting and my coworkers loved it.

Thanks again for all of your ideas and suggestions. They were/are much appreciated. The non-sweet eater is having dinner with us on the 24th so it's likely I'll try another one soon!

I also do not like overly-sweet deserts. I have always loved the Thai sticky rice with mango. It is really simple and truly one of those "sum is greater than the parts" things. It also is a great palate cleanser, especially after a spicy meal.

d4v3 wrote:I also do not like overly-sweet deserts. I have always loved the Thai sticky rice with mango. It is really simple and truly one of those "sum is greater than the parts" things. It also is a great palate cleanser, especially after a spicy meal.

I love that dish. A Laotian friend taught my mom to make it 30 or so years ago, but it's not one that I often think of. I'm making a Thai red curry for dinner tonight and if I can find any decent mangoes at Caputo's, I'll add it to our menu. Thanks for the reminder!

I have a recipe for Rosemary Bourbon Coffeecake that is really tasty if you want it.