All stories about "Desserts"

Pittsburgh tends to be several years behind on most trends (like dropping that outlawed "h"), so the recent onslaught of, you guessed it, cupcake bakeries should come as no surprise. Speaking of the tardy factor, though, if you are ever in need of a successful business concept, take a look at what the "cool" cities are doing, copy them, and then haul your ass to the steel town and set up shop. Anyway, cupcakes! Last year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the prominent newspaper in town, conducted a taste test of the city's cupcake offerings, utilizing a panel of "judges" from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. The results? A supermarket chain's mass-produced version, reeking of chemicals, beat out most of the other offerings. That's Pittsburgh for you! Luckily, there are plenty of other alternatives for discerning palates, from the old, traditional mom-and-pop bakeries to the glitzier cafes run by a younger breed of newcomers. They do indeed take the cake. (photo)

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Good Mexican food can be exceedingly hard to find in NYC . . . but a delicious Tres Leches cake is perhaps even harder. This deceivingly simple milk-soaked butter cake includes three types of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and either whole milk or cream. Essentially it's Mexico's answer to Italian tiramisu or Grand Cayman rum cake. Despite all the lactose, a great Tres Leches slice is typically light, savory and cooling -- an ideal afterthought to the fiery enchiladas verdes you just ingested. After the jump, where to head for a great one. (photo)

For mysterious reasons, many upscale LA restaurants with wonderfully innovative appetizers and entrees drop the ball when it comes to desserts. Instead of an intriguing array of sugary fantasies, the potential gorger is faced, yet again, with the tired trio of apple tart, flourless chocolate torte, and creme brulee. With choices like these, you might as well eat at the Marriott. Fortunately, there are pastry chefs in our midst who avoid this rut. Their dessert menus dazzle both the eye and the taste buds. Here are the most impressive.

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"Because I'm known for desserts and sweets, people are always asking me where to go -- especially in the Marais," says popular Paris-based American food blogger David Lebovitz, a former Chez Panisse pastry cook who now lives on the edge of the Marais near the Bastille. Lebovitz spends most of his time writing cookbooks, but he also gives periodic chocolate tours of the city and and writes about food and Paris travel on his blog. "The Marais is a destination for a lot of tourists, but a lot of the well-known sweet shops are across the river in the 6th," he says. Here, Lebovitz shares his favorite places in the Marais for visitors with a sweet tooth.

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Prepare yourself, then dig in to this breakdown of the world's most expensive deserts. At the top of the list is strawberries Arnaud, served at the 90-year-old Arnaud's restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter. Thanks to it's 4.7-carat pink diamond garnish, not to mention the $24,850 bottle port they pour on top, it'll cost you a whopping $1.4 million. At a relatively less outrageous price of $14,500, you can taste the "Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence" at its namesake Sri Lankan luxury resort. [Forbes Traveler]

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Bread pudding was originally a resourceful and frugal response to the uselessness of stale bread (besides using it as a doorstop or burglar-defeating projectile). Nowadays, it's uncertain how many bread pudding-makers are actually utilizing old bread, but nonetheless, combining bread with some kitchen staples (milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon) and baking the sopping load turns out to be an incredibly rich and tasty dessert. However, it seems to be one of those foods you either absolutely love or vehemently hate. Perhaps obviously, I am in the former category, perpetually on a search for bread pudding, high and low, near and far. That search has lead me to many fine and not-so-fine establishments in my home borough of Brooklyn, and hence, the following guide shall direct you to bread pudding goodness.

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Yes of course, it's crème brûlée, but how many diacritics do you need in a title. None, says your editor. Anyway: Burnt cream, yum! Why do Washingtonians love it so? Because it's the dessert you make with a blowtorch, that's why. Also, because it has a hardtack coating that cracks under pressure to reveal a delicious mushy underside of goodness (nope, not a metaphor). As a gourmet classic, crème brûlée poses a serious Catch 22 to chefs. If it's missing from the menu, your restaurant is neither French nor sophisticated; but make it wrong, and you'll be mocked forever. When it comes to crème brûlée, the folks in this town get picky. True connoisseurs know there's one right way to do it and a million ways to screw it up. Frankly, I like mine plain and vanilla, unhindered by fancy infusions or presented as some odd dessert hybrid. Just burn me some cream, man. The following list represents the most painful research of my career: to discern the diamonds from the cubic zirconia of this beloved French dessert.

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This shit is quite literally bananas. When you think of Valentine's Day, a few things come immediately to mind: chocolate, flowers, naughty negligees. But, let's pretend for a moment that I'm Alton Brown. Bananas are not only insanely phallic but also brimming with potassium and B vitamins, which are necessary for keeping your sex drive going. Take that, Viagra. Bananas are America's favorite fruit, and act as a natural aphrodisiac (which maybe explains why they are America's favorite fruit). Plus, they're quite versatile, just like that yoga instructor you made out with. So instead of handing your significant other a tired heart-shaped box of chocolates, hit these spots for yummy banana goodness and high-test love fuel. Further B-A-N-A-N-A-S welcome in the comments or tips.

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Food trends come and go, but red velvet is forever. Or so I choose to believe, anyway. I'm usually pretty anti-cake, but I think Jesus and Lucifer came together to create this wondrous, evil concoction and spread it across the land and into LA, where it ruins carefully structured meal plans left and right. Of course, people get all crazy about where to find the best version (it's almost as bad as pizza!) , but most neighborhoods have one or two solid offerings. Here's my humble list of crowd-pleasers; add your own in the comments or tips.

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Harriet the Spy loved them, Jungle Fever featured them, and Lou Reed even wrote a song about them. It's the egg cream, everyone's favorite New York beverage (besides coffee or anything containing booze). Never have milk, seltzer, and chocolate syrup achieved such acclaim or sparked so much controversy. Whether it's about ingredients, the proper way to make them, or where to get the best one, New Yorkers will never agree when it comes to egg creams. Check out this list of top contenders to decide for yourself, and weigh in with your own nominations in the comments or tips.

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The French love their Catholic holidays if only as an excuse to take the day off or indulge in a hallowed food-related ritual. So when Epiphany rolls around January 6, the Galette des Roi is consumed with religious fervor all over France. Already in the pâtisserie windows now, and available for the next few weeks, Sunday is nevertheless the official day to eat one of the round, closed puff pastry disks stuffed with frangipane (almond paste cut with crème pâtissière) and a little token charm called a fève that brings luck to those who get the winning piece (along with the chance to proudly wear a gold paper crown that's included).

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I'm all about overindulgence, and there's no better way to indulge your taste buds than with ample doses of buttermilk, cocoa, and cream cheese or vanilla frosting. Yes, I'm talking about red velvet, the most satisfying cakegasm your mouth will ever experience. Earlier this year, the New York Times published an article on how to make your own red velvet and accompanying frosting, but sometimes you want to let someone else do all the baking. These places will give you a perfect sugar rush, but if you know of any others, be sure to sound off in the comments or tips.

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Lumps of congealed, brandy-soaked dried fruit do not a dessert make. Enter the Bûche de Noël, gastronomic savior à la française. Traditionally a log-shaped dessert made from chocolate-frosted Génoise cake filled with chocolate buttercream, the modern bûche now encompasses everything from expensive designer offerings with rich mousse fillings and coated in a luxurious ganache, to ice-cream cake variations, or elegant, single-serving mini-bûches. Though available to order from just about every neighborhood pâtisserie, it's worth looking to the following addresses for a truly impressive finish to your Christmas meal.

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Even the avid pastry junkie in Paris may tire of the usual tarte du jour and seek teatime refuge in wagashi, the equally stylized, ancient pastry of Japan. And while Japanese-influenced green tea macarons and other pastries are now de rigeur at French pastry houses like Ladurée and Pierre Hermé, Paris has a handful of elegant Japanese tea salons and pâtisseries where you can enjoy authentic Japanese tea and pastries in an exotic setting far from the everyday ambiance of your local café.

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Within the last few years, Algerian pastries have experienced a new vogue in Paris, thanks in no small part to the popularity of La Bague de Kenza, a pâtisserie located on the rue Saint Maur in the 11th arrondissement. While La Bague de Kenza may be in the forefront of the trend with three other locations in the city, it is by no means the only option for those seeking pâtisseries orientales (as North African and Middle Eastern pastries are called in France). In particular, you can find the Algerian version of these sweet treats -- often consisting of a combination of honey, nuts, and delicate pastry -- in a number of places around town. But let the buyer beware, as these dainty morsels can be habit-forming.

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Acquiring an appreciation for new flavors is a welcome part of the restaurant experience. But gaining design insights alongside your dessert? Consider it a deliciously surprising extra. For the past two years, the Parisian institution Café de la Paix has been bringing fashion designers and pastry chefs together to create its Fashion Pastries series. On tables right now is Claude Montana's "Passion Victim," a scrumptious mix of passion fruit cream with a coconut-flavored praline, covered in a graphic mound of white chocolate mousse. Just the kind of minimalist design you would expect from a man famed for his sculptural fashion creations. Forget reading tea leaves -- these sweets will provide all the insight you need into six of the city's noteworthy fashion leaders.

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