Free dessert menu template
Updated October 20, 2026
Open our free dessert menu template, add your desserts and after-dinner drinks, and download a print-ready PDF: it's the Café design in deep plum with a script heading, plated desserts, ice cream and sorbet by the scoop, and espresso, affogato and port to finish. No sign-up, no email and no watermark. Below: when a menu may say "ice cream", which desserts need the raw-egg advisory, and how to price a second scoop.
In short
- The template: Café layout, plum, script heading; Desserts, Ice cream and sorbet, After dinner.
- "Ice cream" has a federal definition: at least 10% milkfat and 4.5 pounds to the gallon (21 CFR 135.110). Use your supplier's product name.
- Raw eggs: tiramisu and mousse made with raw eggs need the consumer advisory, unless the eggs are pasteurized.
- Costs moved: sugar and sweets +5.5%, ice cream −2.4% (12 months to September 2026, BLS).
What's in the dessert menu template
It opens as "Sweet Endings, desserts and after-dinner drinks".
| Section | Example items | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Desserts | Tiramisu, New York cheesecake, Molten chocolate cake (baked to order), Key lime pie | One line each |
| Ice cream and sorbet | Ice cream (1 / 2 scoops), Sorbet (1 / 2 scoops, dairy-free) | Two sizes on one line |
| After dinner | Espresso, Affogato, Port (3 oz) | Drinks that go with dessert |
A separate dessert card, handed over after the main course, gives the course its own moment. Bakery or pastry shop? Use the bakery template. Dessert wines belong on the wine list too.
When can you call it ice cream?
The FDA's standard of identity for ice cream (21 CFR 135.110) sets minimums:
| Ice cream must have | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Milkfat | 10% |
| Total solids | 1.6 pounds per gallon |
| Weight | 4.5 pounds per gallon |
A product that doesn't meet them is sold under another name, such as "frozen dessert". On your menu, use the name on your supplier's tub: if it says "frozen dairy dessert", don't print "ice cream". Gelato has no federal standard of identity of its own, so describe it plainly. Call a sorbet "dairy-free" only if it is made and scooped without milk cross-contact.
Desserts with raw eggs
The FDA Food Code 2026 (§ 3-603.11) asks for a consumer advisory when eggs are served raw or not otherwise processed to eliminate pathogens. On a dessert menu that means:
| Dessert | Raw egg? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Tiramisu, classic recipe | Often raw yolks and whites | Use pasteurized eggs, or star it and add the reminder |
| Chocolate mousse | Often raw whites or yolks | Same |
| Baked cheesecake, key lime pie (baked) | Cooked | No advisory |
| House-made ice cream or custard | Depends: a cooked custard base is cooked; an uncooked egg base isn't | Cook the base, use pasteurized eggs, or star it |
If you star a dessert, put the reminder in the menu maker's foot line, for example: "* Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness." Milk, eggs, wheat, tree nuts and peanuts, all FDA major allergens, are in most desserts; name them.
Worked example: pricing the second scoop
The template sells ice cream at $4 for one scoop and $7 for two. Say a 3-gallon tub costs $48 and gives about 90 scoops of 4 fl oz after waste.
| 1 scoop | 2 scoops | |
|---|---|---|
| Ice cream (example $0.53 a scoop) | $0.53 | $1.07 |
| Dish, spoon, garnish | $0.15 | $0.15 |
| Cost | $0.68 | $1.22 |
| Price | $4.00 | $7.00 |
| Cost % | 17.0% | 17.4% |
| Left after cost | $3.32 | $5.78 |
The second scoop is cheaper for the guest but earns $2.46 more. US ice cream prices fell 2.4% in the 12 months to September 2026, while sugar and sweets rose 5.5% (BLS), so your plated desserts may have moved more than your ice cream. The costs are examples; use the recipe cost calculator.
After-dinner drinks: a 3-oz pour of port at about 17% is one US standard drink, the same as a 5-oz glass of table wine (NIAAA).
Copy-ready dessert menu (Word or Google Docs)
[RESTAURANT NAME] · Desserts
DESSERTS [Dessert] · [three words] .......... $[ ] [Dessert]* · [three words] .......... $[ ]
ICE CREAM & SORBET · 1 scoop / 2 scoops · [flavors] .......... $[ ] / $[ ] AFTER DINNER · Espresso $[ ] · [Coffee drink] $[ ] · Port, 3 oz $[ ]
*Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness. Our desserts contain milk, eggs, wheat and nuts. Please ask about allergies.
Put the dessert menu on the table
A QR code card on the table is a cheap way to keep a dessert list in sight: upload the PDF to the free digital menu creator and print its code on a table QR card. For takeout desserts, create your free ordering page (50 orders a month at 0% commission on Free).
FAQs
Is this dessert menu template free?
Yes. Edit it and download it as a PDF or an image for free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
What is the legal definition of ice cream in the US?
The FDA's standard of identity says ice cream contains at least 10% milkfat, at least 1.6 pounds of total solids per gallon, and weighs at least 4.5 pounds per gallon. Products below that are sold under other names, such as frozen dessert.
Does tiramisu need a consumer advisory?
If it's made with raw eggs, yes, under the FDA Food Code: star it and add a reminder footnote. Made with pasteurized eggs, it doesn't need one.
Should desserts be on a separate menu?
It can help. A separate dessert card handed out after the main course gives each dessert room for a short description and keeps the main menu shorter.
Is there a dessert menu template for Word?
The menu maker downloads PDFs and images, not Word files. Use the copy-ready layout on this page in Word or Google Docs.
Sources (5)
- 21 CFR Part 135 Subpart B section list (no gelato): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/part-135/subpart-B (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- 21 CFR 135.110, Ice cream and frozen custard (10% milkfat; 1.6 lb total solids per gallon; 4.5 lb per gallon), Cornell LII (eCFR blocked automated access). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/135.110 (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Food Code 2026, § 3-603.11. https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2026 (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, What Is A Standard Drink? (fortified wine 3–4 fl oz at about 17%). https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/what-standard-drink (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Table 2, September 2026: sugar and sweets +5.5%, ice cream and related products −2.4%. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm (accessed 20 Oct 2026)