Dessert Surveillance

Grilled Coffee Cake from Southport Grocery and Café – Photo Courtesy of Southport Grocery and Café (Chicago)

Around this time last year I devoted a posting to favorite desserts of mine that, sadly, are no longer available.  I’ll be more optimistic this year, and instead, will focus on desserts which I hope will start receiving the attention they deserve.

Here’s my Dessert Wish List:

Buttercup Bake Shop’s Blueberry Coffee Cake – Photo Courtesy of Buttercup Bake Shop (NYC)

• Coffee Cake:  It’s funny—when I was younger I didn’t give Coffee Cake a second glance.  It was the rich, fancy desserts that captured my fancy.  While I still enjoy gooey desserts, now I often find myself craving Coffee Cake.  And lest anyone think Coffee Cake is only a “Plain Jane” dessert, the image at the top of this posting, of Southport Grocery’s Grilled Coffee Cake, shows that Coffee Cake can certainly be gussied up. My wish is to see Coffee Cake appear more frequently on restaurant/bakery menus and to change its image—from that of a brunch/breakfast food only to one of a Dessert that can be enjoyed any time.  (Also see the Dessert Surveillance posting on Coffee Cake.)

Graeter’s Mocha Chocolate Chip Ice Cream – Photo Courtesy of Graeter’s (Cincinnati)

• Coffee-Based Desserts:  Granted, this is a very broad category, encompassing Coffee Ice Cream, Mocha Cake, Espresso Cookies and Biscotti, Chocolate Bars with Coffee, and much more.  In addition to relishing the jolt from the java, I adore the taste of Coffee, and think it enhances most desserts.   One of my favorite Coffee Desserts is Graeter’s Mocha Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  Since Coffee pairs so beautifully with so many dessert ingredients, my wish is for the rich tang of Coffee to be found in all manner of desserts—from fancy pastries to homey Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brownies to luxurious cream-based Desserts. 

A Slice of Tres Leches Cake from Ruggles Cafe Bakery – Photo Courtesy of Ruggles Cafe Bakery (Houston)

• Tres Leches Cake:  I can’t overlook one of my favorite Milk/Cream-based Desserts—Tres Leches Cake, a Cake made with three different types of Milk/Cream.  It’s one of these simple Desserts that’s just amazing.  Of course it can be spruced up so it’s no longer simple. My all-time favorite Tres Leches Cake sported a Cheesecake layer, in addition to a Raspberry filling.  And, unfortunately, it’s no longer available at my local Mexican restaurant although a Salted Caramel Tres Leches Cake is on the menu.  My wish is for Tres Leches Cakes to be available at most bakeries and restaurants.

Tiny Tarts from Dufflet Pastries – Photo Courtesy of Dufflet Pastries (Toronto)

• Smaller-Size Portions of Desserts:  Anyone who reads the Dessert Surveillance blog knows that I’m a Dessert Glutton—I just love Desserts and can’t get enough of them.  To prevent my cholesterol level and weight from skyrocketing, I try to ration my dessert intake.  (Of course during the holidays, I’ve been a bit, shall we say, lax, in my rationing, but I digress.) That’s why I welcome the smaller-size dessert trend.  It saves me from having to cut a Dessert in half and either enjoying the 2nd half the next day or trashing the 2nd half.  To be brutally honest—it’s not so much that the smaller size saves me fat, calories, and sugar.  It’s more that I can indulge in two desserts instead of one!

Small Pastries from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky – Photo Courtesy of Wanda’s Pie in the Sky (Toronto)

All the best wishes for a wonderful 2015 filled with delicious Desserts!