Seasons 52 Restaurant's Mini Indulgences Popularize Top Dessert Trend

This year, the dining industry's sweetest taste sensations come in small packages. Seasons 52, the award- winning fresh grill restaurant known for its innovative approach to food preparation, showcases the leading trend of "mini desserts" with a flight of nine Mini Indulgences boasting rich ingredients in guilt-free portions.

Seasons 52 has garnered acclaim for offering flavorful, unique dishes created with fresh, seasonal ingredients. With the Mini Indulgences dessert offering, consumers celebrate the restaurant's refreshing take on a course traditionally considered to be a guilty pleasure.

In the recently released 2008 Restaurant Industry Forecast, the National Restaurant Association names "bite-sized desserts" as the number one trend in dining. Small plates and tapas ranked in the top five as well, indicating that "consumers want more control over their dining experiences, and that includes portion sizes. Small plates let diners build meals at their discretion-and share and sample as they please-while downscaled desserts allow them to indulge without overdoing." Source: NRA's 2008 Restaurant Industry Forecast

Seasons 52 Executive Chef Clifford Pleau notes that Seasons 52 developed the Mini Indulgences dessert options in 2002 out of a desire to deliver calorie-responsible servings without sacrificing great taste. Since the decadent, full-flavored desserts are portioned in small amounts, the nine options each contain around 250 calories and are priced at just $2.25 each. New flavors are introduced each season, and Chef Pleau plans to introduce German Chocolate Cake and Strawberry Shortcake for the spring 2008 menu.

"With our Mini Indulgence desserts, guests enjoy a tasting portion of classics like Key Lime Pie, Old Fashioned Carrot Cake or Rocky Road, without compromising taste or adding a lot of extra calories to the meal," says Pleau. "They'll satisfy the most discriminating sweet tooth and make a perfect ending to an exceptional meal."

Dessert enthusiasts seeking to enjoy the bite-sized dessert trend at home can replicate a Seasons 52 favorite with Pleau's Key Lime Mini Indulgence recipe.

• Preheat the oven to 350°, and whisk four egg yolks and one 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk in a medium bowl.

• Whisk in 5 oz. fresh lime juice and grated lime zest, pour the mixture into a glass pie dish.

• Bake for 13 minutes, then cool on a wire rack before refrigerating.

• To assemble, fill the bottom of a shot glass or cordial glass with graham cracker crumbs, and place key lime filling in a pastry bag. Pipe filling over crumbs, alternating layers until the glass is filled.

• Garnish with whipped cream and a lime wedge, and serve.

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