This year is definitely not complete without the traditional and much-awaited Inquirer Lifestyle Best Desserts list. So, grab a fork and dig into these delightful sweets!
Choco Tower
Come-on: When your sweet tooth craves for rich, deep chocolate-y goodness, go for this Choco Tower that has layers of moist chocolate cake with ganache filling and fudge frosting.
Creator: Rina Silayan Go, Nic’s Gourmet
Cost: P990/whole, P445/mini. Order two days in advance. For pick-up and delivery for a fee.
Contact: G/F Phase 1B UP Town Center, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City. Call 9585574, 3549081, 3549082,
0998-9933234, 0999-9948131, 0917-7002513.
Visit www.nics.com.ph.
Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Come-on: Here’s a stunning dessert to awe your guests any time. It’s a hybrid carrot cake and New York Cheesecake; in between layers of carrot cake is the creamy cheesecake. It’s topped with cream cheese icing, candied carrots, pistachio nuts.
Creator: Ginny Roces de Guzman, Tilde Hand Craft Café
Cost: P1,400 for a 9-inch cake. Order a day in advance. For pick-up and delivery for a fee.
Contact: 5417 Matilde St., corner Gen. Luna, Poblacion, Makati City, tels. 7712764, 0917-8350820; ginnyguz@gmail.com
Caramel Butter Cake Bars
Come-on: Small in size but big on flavor! Heavenly layers of hand-churned caramel butter, caramel butter cake, chocolate almond cake and caramel mousse all held together by a milk chocolate-nut hard glaze. These treats are topped with milk chocolate whipped cream.
Creator: Dessert du Jour by Mara de La Rama-Poblete
Cost: P800/box of 6 bars, serves 8-10 people. Call two days in advance. For pick-up only.
Contact: Makati City,
tel. 4052580, 0917-8116272, 0917-8036272.
Mango Creme Brulee Cake
Come-on: Light and fluffy, this two-layer sponge cake has a rich and thick cream filling around the middle of the cake, which is beautifully dotted with sweet ripe mango chunks and topped with caramelized yema.
Creator: Dean & Deluca, chef Megan Ong
Cost: Creme Brulee Cake, P1,760/whole cake, P220/slice.
Contact: G/F, Edades Tower 18 Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati City,
tel. 0917-3202715; G/F, Eton Tower, 128 dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village, Makati City, tel. 0917-3020297
Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Come-on: One bite of these sweet red babies with a slight chocolate-y flavor and your day is made. They’re perfectly moist and crowned with cream cheese frosting.
Another must-try from this sweet baker are the Cream Cheese Brownies, a combo of decadent brownies and cream cheese.
Creator: Pia Mercado, What’s for Dessert?
Cost: Red Velvet Cupcake, P50/piece, minimum order of one dozen. Cream Cheese Brownies, P580 for a box of 16 pieces. Call two days in advance. For pick-up and delivery for a fee.
Contact: Quezon City,
tel. 0908-8633813,
0915-1350886; whatsfordessert19@gmail.com; Facebook: whatsfordessert
Ube Leche Flan Ice Cream
Come-on: It’s always interesting to put two favorite Filipino flavors into one refreshing dessert, such as this ube ice cream with generous chunks of frozen leche flan. It’s creamy and quite filling at the same time.
Another must-try is the calamansi cookie dotted with white chocolate chips and cheddar cheese chunks.
Creator: Bellefleur by Beatrix, Beatrix Atienza
Cost: Ube Leche Flan Ice Cream, P400/pint. Available for pre-order only. Call three days in advance. Calamansi White Chocolate Cheddar Chunk Cookie, P60/piece if individually wrapped, P330 for a box of 6 pieces. Available daily. For pick-up and delivery for a fee.
Contact: G/F, Unimart Greenhills, Club Filipino
Avenue, San Juan City, tel. 0945-1234577, 0917-8258730 and 0917-8128730. Facebook: bellefleurbybeatrix
Basque Burnt Cheesecake
Come-on: This is the much-talked about cheesecake of chef Miko Aspiras that’s neither dense nor cloyingly sweet. Extra light in texture and absolutely creamy in every bite, it has a scorched caramelized top but has a custard-like consistency when you slice all the way through the middle of the cake. It’s best eaten when freshly baked.
Another must-try is the 17-Layer Cake, layers of moist chocolate cake and dark Valrhona ganache with dark chocolate glaze topping.
Creator: Chefs Miko Aspiras and Kristine Lotilla, Le Petit Soufflé and Workshop
Cost: P1,300 for a 7-inch round cake. 17-Layer Cake, P1,900. For dine-in and pick-up.
Contact: Le Petit Soufflé,
Century City Mall, Kalayaan Ave., Makati City, tel. 8863056, and SM Megamall Building B, Mandaluyong City, tel. 944 6541; Workshop, 2/F, SM Mega Fashion Hall, Mandaluyong City, tel. 9446541.
Original Orange Rum Cake
Come-on: If you’ve yet to indulge yourself in a zesty, fruity treat, then have a slice or two of this moist and buttery orange cake brushed with rum, glazed with orange juice and sugar, and garnished with candied oranges.
If you’re a chocoholic, try the Brouffle—a half brownie and half chocolate truffle that comes in classic, green tea and blondie white flavors.
Creator: Joseph de Roxas, Brown Baker Manila
Cost: Orange Rum Cake, P650 for a 9-inch round cake, P200/small loaf; P250/large loaf; Special Orange Rum Cake with Belgian Chocolate, P250/small loaf, P300/large loaf
Brouffles, P170-P195 for a box of 4 assorted bruffles (depending on flavor combination, minimum of 8 boxes). For pick-up and delivery (LBC and City Delivery). Free delivery for bulk orders.
Contact: Pick-up places in Bulacan and Ortigas Center near Valle Verde Country Club, Pasig City, tel. 0905-3568640 and 044-796-0145;
Facebook: brownbaker; follow @brownbakerph on Instagram.
Green Tea Opera Cake
Come-on: Green tea lovers will drool over this Green Tea Opera Cake made with layers of green tea sponge (ground almond and green tea powder), Italian butter cream, dark chocolate ganache and green tea glaze.
Creator: Sinfully at Circles Event Café
Cost: P2,500/order. For dine-in and take out.
Contact: Makati Shangri-La, Manila, Makati Avenue corner Ayala Avenue, Makati City, tels. 8138888 ext 7463.
Cashew Butter Sans Rival
Come-on: This 50-plus-year-old classic sans rival is all about toasted cashew goodness. The three-layer dessert has a rich, creamy and buttery taste that cashew lovers out there will love.
Creator: Kris Alcantara Mendoza, Cipriano
Cost: P900 for a 9-inch cake, P600 for a 7-inch cake. Call two days in advance. For pick-up and delivery for a fee.
Contact: 39 Firefly St., Valle Verde 6, Pasig City, tel. 0917-5836833
Calamansi Pie
Come-on: If you go for the sweet-tangy kind of dessert, this calamansi pie makes an ideal holiday dessert. It has a graham cracker crust with calamansi curd filling cloaked in whipped cream.
Another holiday dessert is the Chocolate Pecan Pie with chocolate espresso pecan filing on a shortbread crust.
Creator: Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto, Classic Confections
Cost: Calamansi Pie, P895. Chocolate Pecan Pie, P1,150
Contact: 2/F, Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City, tel. 0917-8245892; 0917-5245892
Chilled Almond Pudding with Lychee Sorbet
Come-on: Enjoy this light and refreshing dessert that’s perfect after a big meal. This Chinese almond pudding is as light as panna cotta and topped with a scoop of fragrant lychee sorbet. But, that’s not all—right before serving, the pudding is drizzled with popping candies and garnished with a crispy ube stick.
Creator: China Blue by Jereme Leung, chef Eng Yew Khor
Cost: P290/order. Available daily. For dine-in only.
Contact: Conrad Manila, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, tel. 8339999