Try This! Kitchen Stencil Art
Here's an easy, elegant way to take dessert or coffee from scrumptious to showstopping! Kitchen klutzes and novices, it’s your time to shine.
This stylish serving trick can save you money—and your waistline. A 2-tablespoon smear of vanilla frosting? Around 140 calories. It’ll take 40 minutes to walk that off, Sis. A 2-teaspoon dusting of powdered sugar? Walk off those 19 calories in just five minutes. Also, we “taste” food with our eyes, sensory experts say, so prettying up that plate will please the palate. British celebrity chef–supermodel Lorraine Pascale, in her cookbook Bake, dresses up a plain cake with a sugar-dusted doily design, a single fresh flower and a few mint leaves.
There’s little to buy. Got a sifter or sieve for dusting? Check. What about a fancy stencil? Don’t need one! Use a doily, a spoon, a bit of lace or ribbon, a cookie cutter or a sculptural trivet. (We know you probably own these last two.) Take a pair of scissors to some parchment. Heck, dust sugar over the opened scissors. All you need is something that will leave interesting negative space when removed from that coating of cocoa or ground coffee. (You do have coffee, right?)
PRO TIPS
• For dusting coffee or hot cocoa, create a head of frothed milk or whipped cream as a canvas.
• Dust a dessert plate to make a smallish serving or a store-bought treat look sumptuous.
• Play with lines and angles for a modern, minimalist design.
• Match the powder to the canvas’s ingredients: cocoa for plating lava cake or topping hot chocolate; espresso for tiramisu or mocha; cinnamon for apple pie or a latte.
• Experiment with matcha powder, hibiscus powder, colored sugar, grated chocolate or sprinkles.
• Use a slow, steady hand when removing the stencil.