It’s been my experience that most students love desserts! Fancy Dessert Collages is a project where students can learn about many different types of fancy
desserts as they create and share information around an assigned or chosen dessert! As the teacher, you can decide, whether you want to run a “Fancy Dessert Challenge” for students to try their hand at preparing different desserts or just offer up a lab or two around a select few desserts. Either way, your students will get to experience fancy desserts in a variety of ways.
Set
- Play the Elimination Game: Set a timer and have students brainstorm as many different fancy desserts as they can. When the timer goes off, students will share examples one at a time. If another person has the dessert, they must cross it off their list. If no one else has the dessert, they get a point. The person or team with the most points at the end is deemed the winner!
- Explain to students that they will be learning more about fancy desserts in the upcoming assignment.
Materials
- iPads or Laptops
- Poster Supplies (Paper Version)
- Google Slides or Canva (Digital Version)
Activities
- First decide on the version of the assignment you will be doing with your students and then decide if it will be an individual or partner project.
- Cut apart the list of fancy desserts and place in a container for students to select from.
- Go over the collage guidelines/criteria:
- Research interesting or significant facts about the dessert. Consider aspects such as its origin, ingredients, cultural significance, or unique preparation methods.
- Create a paper or digital collage that includes the following elements:
- Title: Dessert Name
- Dessert Picture: Hand drawn if doing the paper version
- Five Interesting Facts: List at least five significant or interesting facts about the dessert.
- Five Key Words/Phrases: Identify five key words, phrases, or short statements that describe the dessert (e.g., “Elegant layers,” “Light and airy,” “Rich chocolate filling”).
- Five Pictures or Symbols: Find or create five additional images or symbols that represent the facts you found (e.g., a whisk to represent baking, a flag for the dessert’s origin, specific ingredients, etc.). Be prepared to explain their significance if necessary.
- Color Usage: Incorporate at least five distinct colors in your collage for visual appeal.
- Tips: Pay attention to layout, ensuring all elements are balanced and font/color choices are easy to read.
- Here’s a SAMPLE of a digital poster if you need an example:
- In addition to making the collage, students will generate clues about their dessert that will be used to create an assignment. On composition paper have them create 3 separate clue statements about their dessert using the information learned while researching. The clues must NOT directly mention the name of the dessert–see the below sample. Use the prompt: What dessert would I be if…
- Clue 1: This dessert is known for its layered structure of coffee, cheese and whipped cream.
- Clue 2: A garnish of cocoa powder on top.
- Clue 3: This treat’s name translates to mean a boost of energy, because of its stimulating properties
- After collages are completed, students will share them with the class.
- Once you’ve turned the clues into an assignment, set up the posters around the room as a gallery walk. Even the digital versions can be printed out or put into a slide show or Padlet for all students to access. Students will circulate or use the slide show/Padlet to determine the answers to the clues. These can then be gone over in class or collected for grading…your call. If you end up printing them, use them as a bulletin board feature! Desserts are sure to draw attention!
- As a concluding activity, assign students the Crime Scene Kitchen Dessert digital worksheet. In this assignment, producers of the show have asked students for their help in selecting four fancy desserts for contestants on the upcoming season to prepare. Students must select four desserts from the class presentations, add a photo as well as a brief explanation of their choices. Once students are finished, it’s fun to do a class survey to see which four desserts are most selected by the class!
- If you want to extend this topic, there are a couple of options. One, you could set up a Fancy Dessert Challenge where kitchen groups select a fancy dessert to be prepared, garnished and plated for judges to sample. I did this challenge early on in my teaching career and my students and judges loved it! Just be sure they run their ideas by you first to be sure they are doable in the allotted time and to be sure you can get all of the ingredients. Some areas, like mine, are small and stores just don’t carry obscure ingredients.
- If you didn’t want to offer a Dessert Challenge, you could always choose a couple of fancy desserts to make in class such as Cream Puffs, Galettes or Easy Tiramisu. This will give students an opportunity to not only prepare a fancy dessert, but to sample several as well.
Attachments
- List of Fancy Desserts (PDF)
- Fancy Dessert Collage Assignment (PDF)
- Crime Scene Kitchen Desserts (PDF)
Additional Dessert Resources
Photo by Serghei Savchiuc on Unsplash
