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Want to know the secret to customizing your desserts without having to mess with the recipe? Want to feel confident knowing how to add that random pantry ingredient you need to use up into a dessert?
Meet mix-ins, fillings and toppings. Adding or substituting mix-ins, fillings and toppings improves flavour, texture, and even appearance.
When choosing a mix-in, filling or topping, consider if the texture and flavour will complement or contrast the existing flavours and textures. Additionally, consider if the mix-in will increase or decrease the sweetness level of the dessert.
For example, let’s say we’re making filled chocolate shortbread cookies.
- For texture enhancement, we can add a crunchy peanut butter filling. The crunchiness of the peanuts complements the crisp texture of the cookies.
- For textural contrast, we can add jam. Soft jam contrasts the crisp texture of the cookies.
- To complement the chocolate flavour, we can use a chocolate ganache. The addition of chocolate will make the chocolate flavour even stronger.
- To contrast the chocolate flavour, we can also add jam. The freshness of the jam contrasts the rich chocolate flavour.
- To increase the sweetness, we can use a milk or white chocolate ganache.
- To decrease the sweetness, we can use a bittersweet chocolate ganache. The bitterness balances out the sweetness of the cookies.
Mix-ins
Mix-ins, also known as add-ins, are ingredients mixed into a dough or batter before baking. Think carrots in carrot cake, or chocolate chips in a chocolate chip cookie. While these ingredients might seem fixed, you can actually substitute them for another mix-in, or add other mix-ins on top of the existing ones in the recipe. They’re perfect for cookies, cakes, bars and quick breads.
Generally, mix-ins won’t affect the dough or batter, unless it contains moisture, like fruit. If adding ingredients with moisture, you may need to increase the bake time a little bit to compensate for a wetter dough or batter. If removing ingredients with moisture, you may need to increase the ratio of wet to dry ingredients to compensate for the lose of moisture.
The method of adding the mix-in depends on the type of mix-in. If the mix-in is in pieces or chunks, mix in at the end of the mixing process until just combined, then bake. If the mix-in is liquid, gently fold in until streaky or swirl on top of the dessert before baking.
| Fruity | Nutty | Rich | Other |
| Fresh, frozen or dried fruit | Chopped nuts | Chocolate chips or chunks | Sprinkles |
| Fruit pie filling | Caramelized nuts | Marshmallows | Candy |
| Jam | Nut or seed butter | Caramel | Cookies |
| Citrus curd | Praline paste | Toffee | Pretzels |
| Citrus zest | Black sesame paste | Hazelnut cocoa spread | Another flavour of dough or batter |
| Grated carrots or zucchini | Peanut butter chips | Cookie butter | |
| Sweetened shredded coconut | Cheesecake filling |
Fillings
Fillings are pretty self-explanatory. They are ingredients that can fill desserts that are added after baking.
When choosing a filling, consider the moisture content. The more moist the filling, the faster it will soften the dessert. For example, if you fill a cookie with jam, it will soften more quickly than if it were filled with chocolate ganache.
Fillings are commonly used in cookies and cakes. For cookies, sandwich the filling in between 2 cookies. You can cut out the top of one cookie to make it reminiscent of linzer cookies if desired. For layer cakes, use a layer of the filling between each cake layer. If the filling is soft or liquid, pipe a ring of buttercream around the edges, then pipe the filling in the middle. This will prevent the filling from leaking out.
| Creamy | Fruity | Rich |
| Buttercream | Citrus curd | Caramel sauce |
| Cream cheese frosting | Cooked fruit | Edible cookie dough |
| Cheesecake filling (eggless) | Fresh fruit | Ganache |
| Ice cream | Jam | Nut or seed butter |
| Mousse | Praline paste | |
| Pastry cream | Black sesame paste | |
| Whipped cream | Whipped or regular ganache |
Toppings
Toppings are simply ingredients that top a dessert. They’re perfect for cookies, cakes and bars.
Generally, toppings are adding after baking, but for the toppings in the “bake” category, they are sprinkled on top of the dessert evenly before baking. For the toppings in the sprinkle category (excluding powdered sugar), they should be sprinkled on before baking as well if the dessert isn’t frosted. If it is, frost the dessert, then sprinkle the topping on top!
| Pipe | Drizzle | Sprinkle | Bake | Other |
| Buttercream | Glaze | Sprinkles | Streusel | Ice cream |
| Cream cheese frosting | Caramel sauce | Powdered sugar | Coarse sugar | Fondant |
| Whipped cream | Citrus curd | Candy | Granulated sugar (to brulee) | Marzipan |
| Meringue | Ganache | Chocolate chips or chunks | Chocolate decorations | |
| Whipped ganache | Melted chocolate | Chopped nuts | ||
| Royal icing | Seeds | |||
| Mini marshmallows |
Mix-ins, fillings and toppings are the simplest way to customize desserts to make them have the exact textures and flavours you want. To learn even more ways to customize your desserts, read this post.
With love,
Your baking friend Sherene ❤️
