How to Make a Dessert Menu Design With Examples (Free Template)

Desert menus, whether they feature pictures of delectable desserts or undeniable descriptions, are powerful drivers of sales in restaurants, bakeries, and pastry shops. Menus steer the guest experience, provide staff with a selling tool, and streamline customer service.

Design your printed menus, online menus, and menu boards using this 10-step process. We provide tips on how to develop menus, example menus, and free, customizable dessert menu templates.

The Power of Good Dessert Menu Design

Great menus can boost sales, but menu design missteps can hurt your restaurant or bakery’s sales and profitability. When listing menu items, draw customers' attention to the most profitable desserts.

Menus are your service staff’s best-selling tool. List modifiers, such as adding a scoop of homemade ice cream, right on the menu. That will tempt customers and create opportunities for sales.

In each menu design, keep your brand’s unique aesthetic front and center. Consult the examples we provide at the end of this article. Use our templates, worksheets, and guides to create menus that drive a cohesive, memorable guest experience.

How to Make a Dessert Menu

Pastry chefs love to let the intricate designs of their desserts speak for themselves. But sometimes dessert menus are necessary. Designing menu boards, online menus, and paper menus that are sales tools for your service staff and informative to your guests requires a lot of careful decisions.

This 10-ten process can help you to build your own dessert menus or give you some insight into the process when cooperating with a designer. For an even bigger advantage, apply these steps to our customizable dessert menu templates.

Write Out All Menu Items

Start by creating a spreadsheet to organize information about your dessert menu items. Before you get creative, use Excel, Google Sheets, or our favorite spreadsheet program. List out all of the desserts that you and your pastry chefs offer to guests or clients.

The spreadsheet of desserts will help you to organize the names of menu items, their costs, and their descriptions. Google Sheets autosaves your work, which you can copy/paste into online and printed menus. Use our template to get started, and don’t forget to download a copy of each iteration for your records. Be sure to update the names and descriptions of menu items when things change since this document becomes a reference for your designs.

Categorize Menu Items

For a restaurant’s dessert menu, you’ll probably have three to seven desserts, depending on the restaurant. As a basic rule, it’s good to list the items that you want to sell–those with the largest profit margin–at the top of the list.

Bakeries and pastry shops will have a longer list of menu items, and it’s necessary to categorize those items. Begin by creating sections of your spreadsheet for cakes, pies, tarts, ice creams, etc. 

When you begin the design process, you’ll need to decide how you want to order menu items in each category. The goal is to feature those that will make your business the most profit. Our menu engineering worksheet can help in this process.

Set Menu Prices

Setting prices for dessert menus is based on a number of factors, such as the business model and profit margins. The complexities of food cost calculations warrant a deep dive. As a food service business owner or stakeholder, it’s worth it to understand how to price menu items. Here are a few general considerations for setting menu prices:

When setting dessert prices for the first time, focus on balancing the price of each menu item with the cost it takes to make it. Do market research and compare prices to get an idea of what local customers are used to paying for similar desserts.

When you have to reconsider the prices on your dessert menu to keep up with inflation or other costs. Analyze the sales data available from your business’s point of sale system and ask yourself if you can tweak prices to make them more appealing to customers.

Sometimes, you have to raise menu prices to provide better pay or benefits to your great staff. Explain the increase in a note to your guests on the menu and website. Let guests know that the small increase supports their favorite bakers.

Finally, remember to make decisions based on sales history, inventory, support, labor costs, and the local economy. Our menu engineering course can help new and veteran chefs and restauranteurs alike to use data when pricing dessert menu items.

Learn more about creating a dessert menu pricing strategy here. 

Create Menu Descriptions

Many desserts are recognizable by their names alone. But, it’s good to be able to describe menu items to customers. Use precise, clear language and choose adjectives to describe flavor and texture that appeal to the senses–words like tart, rich, light, crisp, and spiced.

Some businesses hire a copywriter, but the best menu descriptions tell the story of each dessert. Take customers on a journey from the recipe’s origins to how it found its way to your menu. It adds personality to the brand and can be a powerful selling point.

There is some information that customers and clients will need when reading a menu or website for the first time. Make a note of critical information like what allergens are in each dessert and how long in advance they need to order items.

Decide on a Menu Color Scheme

Here comes the fun stuff–deciding on a color scheme and aesthetic for your dessert menus.

Now that you’re prepared with a list of menu items including descriptions and prices, think about how you can use color and design to convey your brand’s identity. Choose color schemes and design elements that are memorable without being overwhelming.

Colors affect how people interpret your restaurant, as this Chron article on the psychology of restaurant colors shows. Here are a few color resources that designers love:

• Adobe Colour CC - color wheel tool

• ColorDot - color palette tool

• ColRD - color inspiration

Design your Dessert Menu

The design of your dessert menu should showcase your chef’s sweet creations while staying true to your business’s brand. Designing menus in-house can help you to save money, but hiring a designer can streamline this step of the process.

Using design software such as Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or Powerpoint can help you to create your own professional designs. Use ourdessert menu templates as a starting point, and keep these design best practices in mind:

The menus should be easy to read. Customers can get overwhelmed by large menus. Keep your offerings to one or two pages to offer just enough options to have something for every guest.

The Golden Triangle. When reading a menu, our eyes start in the middle of the page and then move to the top right and left. 

Use dollar signs strategically.  Researchers at Cornell found that diners are likely to order more when dollar signs are not on the menu than when they are present. You might remove dollar signs from your menu, and avoid listing prices in a single column which encourages customers to compare them.

Dessert Menu Photos

Using photos on printed menus, menu boards, and your website can be a powerful driver of sales. But, those pictures need to be high-quality to really showcase each cake and pastry. Consider hiring a professional photographer or investing in a digital camera. Make sure that the photos are representative of your best work.

Photos also help to boost your business’s performance on social media. Insert a link back to your online menu or order form with each post.

Choose Menu Fonts, Spacing, and Composition

There are hundreds of options when it comes to deciding on fonts, spacing, and embellishments for both digital and online dessert menus. That is why many restaurants hire a designer to help consider all of the possibilities. 

Designing your own menus has its advantages, but don’t be afraid to get a second set of eyes on your designs during the process. And you can use our templates and keep all of the design work in-house. Keep your menu consistent enough through redesigns so guests know what to expect.

Select the Final Dessert Menu Layout

Once you decide on the color scheme, design, font, and photos, it’s time to put all of the elements together. Consult your staff, business partners, and investors to vote on the best menu design for your brand. 

Each stakeholder should review the branding, design, menu descriptions, and prices. The more opinions you get, the better idea you will have of how customers will use the menu. Customers have certain expectations of how to interact with a menu, so consider how you can make printed and online menus more user-friendly.

Proofread and Print your Menu

Proofreading is a critical step. Some customers will overlook and forgive spelling and grammar mistakes, but they become distractions to others. Use the built-in spell checker or software like Grammarly to streamline proofreading and catch small mistakes. This can also help you to save by avoiding misprints.

When you’re ready to go to print, consider the paper quality that will give you menus that last for as long as you need them. You can use a local printing shop or an online service like one of the following:

• Vistaprint

• PsPrint

• PrintPlace

Examples of Dessert Menus

• Creative and Eye-Catching. This template is just one of Canva’s large array of designs that are available for free or for a subscription fee. Its bright colors can’t be missed and it will excite any guest.

• Clean and Refined. This dessert menu design is simple and elevated, perfect for the restaurant’s brand. Notice how all the desserts are the same price encouraging customers to choose the one that appeals the most.

• Elegant and Focused. This dessert menu is short, minimal, and focused. It tells the customer that all the desserts are fresh, “house-made,” and includes a short description for each option.

• Eat with your Eyes. This QR menu is a great example of utilizing the endless space offered by digital menus. Each dessert has a description and high-quality picture to entice customers.

• Classic Chalkboards. In bakeries and pastry shops, classic chalkboard menus behind the counter are customizable and easy to update. Bring in some TV screens for a digital update to this timeless look.

Keep Learning about Menu Engineering

Now that your menus are designed, printed, and published online, develop a strategy to keep them updated. Take note of the best-sellers and keep your menu looking fresh – our menu engineering spreadsheet will help you analyze the performance of each menu item and guide every change.

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