In the world of plated desserts, sauces rarely play a starring role: rather, they are a supporting player to the dessert itself. But savvy pastry chefs know how important this role is-a sauce not only adds color and flavor to a dessert , but texture as well. And with the creative painting and feathering of sauces that is so prevalent in today’s desserts, the sauce contributes greatly to overall presentation. It’s difficult to categorize all the different types of dessert sauces available to the pastry chef, but for the most part, there are 10 classifications. Here is dessert sauce 101.

Custard sauces are generally made by thickening milk, cream, or half and half with eggs. The most common of these sauces is crème anglaise, or English sauce (which is the basis for many other dessert sauces such as ice cream and Bavarian creams). Crème anglaise can be enhanced with flavorings other than its classic vanilla to produce bourbon sauce, coffee or mocha sauce, chocolate sauce, and a variety of others.

Coulis is the sauce of the century. The term originally, say 500 years ago, was used to describe the drained broth of juices from meat. Today, a coulis usually refers to a strained puree of fruits or vegetables. Fruit coulis are generally made with pureed fruits sweetened with a simple syrup, then strained through a chinois or cheesecloth. They are not cooked, which gives them a fresh flavor and appearance but can make their consistency difficult to manage since some fruits contain more starch than water, and vice versa. With the advent of pre-gelatinized starches, this problem is rectified; a pre-gelatinized starch need not be cooked to thicken. The starch is combined with sugar (usually four parts sugar to one part starch) to prevent clumping, and then whisked into the puree.

Reduction is one of the oldest and purest ways to thicken a sauce and develop incredible flavor. Most fruit and wine sauces are appropriate for this technique. Reductions rely on the evaporation of water from the sauce by cooking it in a shallow pan over low heat while stirring frequently. Reductions can dramatically alter the flavor of some fruits (such as kiwis and oranges) and make them either too sweet and candy-like or bitter. There is no better way to intensify the flavor of some sauces than through reduction.

Starch-thickened Sauces are fruit and wine sauces, as well as sauces that are based on liqueur, that are thickened with starches, such as cornstarch or arrowroot. Both of these starches must be mixed with a portion of sugar, dissolved with a portion of liquid, and then cooked quickly to thicken and eliminate a starchy aftertaste. In general, fruit sauces that don't fare well through reduction can be thickened easily with a starch.

Caramel Sauce is made by caramelizing sugar to a golden amber, then adding heavy cream and butter to produce a rich, gooey sauce. Spirits can be added to alter or intensify the flavor. It's best to use the wet method of caramelization (cooking the sugar with water in a three-to-one ratio) with the addition of just a little bit of glucose or corn syrup to prevent crystallization of the sauce later on. Caramel sauces are almost always served hot.

Sabayon is a classic mixture made by thickening egg yolks with sugar and Marsala wine over a bain-marie until light and fluffy. Modern versions use anything from Champagne to orange juice in place of the Marsala. Sabayon can be thickened and fortified with the addition of lightly whipped cream. Sabayon is classically served over fresh fruits that have been tossed in sugar and a spirit of some sort (as in strawberries Romanoff). It can also be served as a dessert by itself.

Preserve-based Sauces are made by thinning preserves with a simple syrup. The mixture is usually heated with the addition of a dash of lemon juice to cut the sweetness. The best-known version of this sauce is the classic raspberry-flavored Melba sauce, created by Auguste Escoffier to adorn the classic peach Melba in honor of Dame Nellie Melba, an opera diva of the time.

chocolate sauces can be made with either chocolate or cocoa and use a sugar syrup for sweetening and thickening. Chocolate sauces can be served hot or cold.

Curds are thick sauces made by whisking sugar, egg yolks, and citrus juices together and cooking them over a bain-marie until they are thick, or nappe consistency (meaning that they are able to coat the back of a spoon).

The sauce (or sauces) used in plating a dessert should round out the flavor and texture of the dessert by either complementing it or contrasting with it. Sauces are also one of the simplest and most elegant ways to add color to a plate. Many chefs feather and paint sauces to create a dramatic effect.

It's important in these techniques to use sauces that are of similar consistencies that will not "bleed" into one another. Chocolate, ganache, fruit gels, and thickened sauces all can be used to create patterns on the plate and to retain the sauce within that pattern.

Another quick way to create a pattern with a sauce, particularly for large parties, is to freeze, a thin layer of fruit sauce on a silicone mat-lined sheetpan, then cut shapes from the pan and transfer while still frozen to the plate. Smart chefs always keep a par of commonly use sauces on hand as part of their everyday mise en place.

Dessert sauces provide endless possibilities for today's pastry chefs. Rather than allowing them to take a back seat to the other components of plating, chefs should explore the potential that sauces create for providing visual, textural, and flavorful desserts.