click to enlarge The Gansito from Earth Plant Based Cuisine is a vegan revelation. Allison Young Did you know that stressed spelled backwards are desserts? Not that you should smother your stress in caramel sauce, but what could be nicer than ending an epic restaurant meal on a (sugar) high note? Or skip dinner altogether and go straight to dessert. Either way, this is where you’ll find the best restaurant desserts and dessert menus in Phoenix. Earth Plant Based Cuisine 1325 Grand AvenueEarth’s vegan dessert menu is a dairy-free revelation. Let’s start with the gansito, a Mexican twinkie with a spongy white cake filled with a creamy jam on the inside and coated with knockable chocolate and sprinkles. A pleasure that tastes like childhood. Then there is the churro ice cream sandwich, a two-handed beast surrounded by deep fried dough rolls filled with organic soy ice cream. And we haven’t even mentioned the real Monster Shakes yet, more than a pint of sips in flavors like Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel and Crazy Churro, piled with cookies, candy, fruit, and even popcorn toppers. All insta and instant faves. click to enlarge Belly’s sweet potato donuts swim in pandan sauce. Allison Young Belly 4971 North 7th Avenue Belly is on the corner of Camelback and 7th Avenues, but the posh store on the second floor feels like sitting over a steaming pork belly clay pot or sharing soft-skinned crab bao buns in trendy Singapore busy Barcelona. It’s that exotic – and so are the sweet potato donuts. The crunchy-outside-rich-and-doughy-fried inside is calming like a donut, but slightly refined. Add galactic green pandan sauce to its pool, an otherworldly blend of creamy coconut with the earthy, vanilla note of pandan leaves, and you’ll soak up every drop of green – wondering, “Why aren’t desserts green anymore?” click to enlarge The PB bomb from Elements is the bomb! Allison Young Elements at the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa 5700 East McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley The highlight of Element’s seasonal dessert menu is the PB bomb. As the name suggests, there is nothing subtle: a dome of creamy chocolate ganache sits on a crunchy macadamia nut base, surrounded by homemade Cracker Jack, candied hazelnuts and a hint of chocolate pearls, with an artful dash of chocolate over the plate and chocolate spiral wrap above. But the real magic is in diving in, slicing the fork through the ganache, and revealing the peanut butter mousse inside – it’s like the rich and nifty aunt of Reese’s peanut butter cup. Best eaten with a sigh with your eyes closed. I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times clear. click to enlarge Dilla Libre churros are a must. Allison Young Dilla Libre 1339 East Northern Avenue 8018 East Thomas Road, Scottsdale Sometimes all you want is a dessert that gets back to basics, something sweet, and done right, it’s right. For these times there are the Dilla Libre churros. Ordered a la carte (one order gets you two 5-inch delicacies for three dollars), these cinnamon sugar-coated sticks of crispy, deep-fried batter are just right on the outside, all crispy and gold-colored and tender and cajeta-filled on the inside. Every bite is crispy and creamy at the same time, totally delicious on its own, but the Mexican chocolate sauce side for dipping is well worth the extra money. Click to enlarge Tratto Hazelnut Praline Cake by Pastry Chef Mark Chacón Allison Young Tratto 1505 East Van Buren Street Scroll up Mark Chacón’s Instagram and you’ll be waiting for a sweet treat. As a pastry chef for Chris Bianco’s restaurants (Tratto, Pizzeria Bianco and Pane Bianco), Chacón posts picture after picture of perfectly glazed apple and heather crostadas, tempting maple bourbon pecan tarts ready for close-up, perfect profiled horchata cake, toasted hazelnut brown butter beauties wrapped in cognac ganache and candied nuts, all fabulously photogenic and rustic-royal. Chacón comes from a patisserie family tree, with stations at Tartine and Chez Panisse in San Francisco and Noma in Copenhagen. As droolable as his creations look, they taste even better. click to enlarge Angel’s Trumpet Homemade Pop Tarts Allison Young Angel’s Trumpet Ale House 810 North 2nd Street Granted, a gastropub isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of dessert, but Angel’s Trumpet has a cute highlight that will soon catch your eye change all of that. In addition to 31 draft beers, outstanding burgers, wings and briskets, and one of the best dog-friendly terraces in downtown Phoenix, the rotating list of homemade pop tarts tastes like heavenly nostalgia. Much fancier than the toaster type, with buttery puff pastry and drizzled with glassy goodness, two per order come, served hot and glazed. Flavors come and go, with outstanding products like lemon lavender, s’mores, apple strudel and pumpkin churro that even hopscotch for more. Click to enlarge Pumpkin bread pudding at The Mission is a must. Allison Young The Mission 7122 East Greenway Parkway Ste 140, Scottsdale 3815 North Brown Avenue, Scottsdale Pumpkin bread pudding at The Mission takes you on a texture adventure. What starts with homemade pumpkin bread is baked into bread pudding and bathed in a scotch skewer caramel sauce for an immensely moist, but by no means mushy, bite with a hint of pumpkin spice. The sour pop of the pomegranate seeds, the nutty pepitas and the luscious mouthfeel of Sweet Republic vanilla ice cream elevate everything and give it color, crispness and creaminess. There is a beautiful Guatemalan chocolate pasilla and espresso churros with a Mexican chocolate milkshake to sip or dip. In other words, save space for dessert. click to enlarge Cornish Pasty Co’s Banoffee is bananas! Allison Young Cornish Pasty Co. Multiple Locations Banoffee (as in Bananas and Toffee) isn’t just fun to say, it’s fun to eat too. The classic English dessert cake served at Cornish Pasty layers banana slices, thick whipped cream, and decadent dulce de leche on a more than ample buttery graham cracker crust for a mammoth dessert that’s not just for one or two people – four people armed with spoons will race to the finish, each of which gets more than enough. The dessert menu includes a peanut butter and jelly pie with bananas and raspberry jelly and a toffee-soaked sticky pudding served hot with crème anglaise. Not that you have to share any of the above. click to enlarge Tarbell’s cheesecake with rosemary caramel is a masterpiece in taste and appearance. Allison Young Tarbells 3213 East Camelback Road Art on a plate. This is your first impression of Tarbell’s Cheesecake, a sculptural lady sitting tall and proud on her delicate graham cracker crust, drizzled with a fancy curlicue of bronzed caramel. The avant-garde coating looks too good to eat … for a second. Take a moment to appreciate its sublime silhouette and then give it all up: you are greeted with a dense, gorgeous texture that envelops your mouth in the most disarming way possible. You’ll taste the subtle but welcome touch of rosemary in the caramel, and don’t be surprised if you mumble something like, “This is the best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted.” You won’t be the first. click to enlarge Pomos Tiramisu is more than the sum of its parts. Allison Young Pomo Pizzaria Multiple Locations The secret of Pomo’s outstanding and steadfast tiramisu lies in Italy itself. The mascarpone is a small, artisanal series that comes directly from lo Stivale (the boot). The same goes for the incredibly dark cocoa that’s dusted over it like an opaque chocolate veil, and the imported ladyfingers soaked in a brandy espresso bath for a spongy, sinewy texture. Not to forget, Stefano Fabbri, the owner from the motherland, not only knows real Neapolitan pizza, but also grew up in his grandfather’s Italian bakery. Put it all together and you have a deliciously layered light and fluffy feast that can’t be finished.
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