Desserts Du Jour: 10 Sweet Treats We're Obsessed With Right Now

It was a conversation on halo-halo, held between Toyo Eatery’s Chef Jordy Navarra and Florilège’s Chef Hiroyasu Kawate, that eventually led to the opening of their collaboration kakigori spot, AzukiToyo. So you can think of the hybrid Halo-Halo Kakigori as a bit of a full-circle dessert of sorts. It perfectly captures the colorful, multi-textured makeup of the Filipino samalamig, injected with that sense of Japanese refinement we’re all for. Its towering figure aside, this dessert flaunts an especially delicate body starting from the gossamer shaved ice—a special clarified ice shaved so fine it lands like feathers on the tongue.

Unlike regular halo-halo, this treat is meant not to be halo’d, instead consumed from top to bottom—not an issue as AzukiToyo engineers their desserts such that every layer and every spoonful reveals a surprise. In this case, they go whimsical, layering in and adorning the dessert with a rainbow of halo-halo ingredients: silky-smooth leche flan; four iterations of ube (chip, foam, milk drizzle, and a paste that goes in the middle); langka sauce; saba bananas; pandan, roselle, and melon jelly cubes; coconut milk; leche flan milk; and candied pinipig.

One is always in for a dreamy hour or so when inside By Sonja in Makati. Things get even dreamier when faced with a dessert one hasn’t tried—which for us is the Hojicha Crêpe (P490), which could threaten our devotion to the Catalan (Valrhona chocolate with extra virgin olive oil) in the café’s 10-strong crêpes list. This Japanese-meets-French entry is a whole ensemble consisting of house-made hojicha ice cream, a scoop of chantilly cream beside it, and By Sonja’s perfectly soft and chewy crêpe glistening in the afternoon sun thanks to the slathering of melted Bordier butter and drizzle of hojicha salted caramel. It’s a creamy and rich combo that’s surprisingly balanced in flavor and mouthfeel—as chic and sophisticated as a true-blue Parisienne who knows exactly when to step back. 

And if you’re a hojicha fan, you’ll love the roasted green tea flavor of this one. “Both the caramel and ice cream are slowly steeped in Kiku Hojicha stems, which we bring in from Ippodo Tea in Kyoto,” By Sonja owner and pastry chef Sonja Ocampo herself tells us. “This particular hojicha is more robust and full-bodied, with a round, hearty flavor, soft umami, and a crisp finish.” But it’s still the crêpe that makes us giddy. Asked why her crêpes are so good, Sonja says simply: “We try to use the best ingredients we can find and don’t really do any shortcuts in the process. Everything gets the time and care it needs, which really makes all the difference.” The Hojicha Crêpe has become one of By Sonja’s most ordered dessert crêpes and for good reason: it looks like a labor of love and tastes like a dream. Also, it’s just what titas like to order: “hindi masyado matamis.” 

If you’ve heard anything about Kier Ibañez and his residency at Bibio, you’ve probably only heard good things; we have no intention of breaking that pattern. But what might best exemplify the way he cooks (and the way Bibio is evolving) is the Dark Chocolate Rosemary Tart (P380). Don’t let its approachable appearance fool you—it’s all playful misdirection. The rich, creamy, bittersweet chocolate isn’t aided only by the light sprinkle of salt and a well-executed shortbread crust; there's also the almost-minty, not-quite fruity, hardy leafiness of rosemary.

It’s a dish you’d never think of on your own, which is only one of its draws; the real trick is that it finds the common roots of its sweet and savory ingredients, making full and proper use of the (often maligned) bitter notes. This tart has all the indulgent components of any beloved chocolate dessert, with a little trill of herbaceousness, a touch of fruitiness from extra-virgin olive oil, and a pop of salt at the very end. 

They may hail from different parts of the globe—churros are a treat largely believed to be of Spanish origin and are well-loved in Mexico, eclairs are a French pâtisserie staple—but the two are united by their use of choux pastry as pastry base. Chef Miko Calo's Taqueria Franco marries these desserts in the Churro Eclair (P180), one of its recently introduced desserts and whose union of influences echoes the restaurant's own.

Developed by Franco’s head chef Julie Templo (who also enjoys making pastries, Calo tells us), this two-to-three biter uses a churro-choux pastry base that’s rightfully chewy yet tender. It holds a velvety filling of peanut cremeux, with what seems to be a hint of cocoa—for that bit of Choc Nut-esque moment. A dusting of cinnamon completes the experience.

Chef Chele Gonzalez gives us a taste of cheesecake as it’s enjoyed in Spain by way of Cheesecake by Chele, which he helms together with his wife Teri Gonzalez. Apart from its flagship Basque burnt cheesecake characterized by its burnt top and molten soufflé-like center, the shop also introduced the Tarta de Queso last year—essentially its sultrier sibling with a lighter toasted top and creamier, more velvety feel on the tongue.

In June, Cheesecake by Chele added a nutty new number to his lineup: the Pistachio Tarta de Queso (P1,500/seven inches, P2,600/nine inches). It's not an attempt at banking on the Dubai chocolate trend; rather a treat that came about as pistachios are common in southern Spain, Gonzalez tells us. It took Chele and his team four whole months to finalize the recipe and find the best flavor balance of dairy to nut, but the fruits of their hard work are very much evident in the result. Denser on the edges yet lighter and airier toward the center, the cheesecake flaunts the distinct taste of pistachio (from pistachio paste), enhanced—but not overshadowed—by the three cheeses in its Tarta de Queso base. It sure doesn’t hurt that the sweetness level is at a just-right minimum that makes it hard to resist going back for another slice.

Ladurée is back in Manila with a vengeance—and along with it the brand’s signature pastries, said to come straight from their master Swiss bakers. They’re best known for their macarons of course—but if you love yourself a balanced sweet, you ought not to miss the confection known as Eugénie (P155). Each dainty piece comes slightly domed and about one and a half inches in diameter, not dissimilar to the shells of their famous macarons, and in colors that correspond to different flavors: Chocolat (chocolate), Pistache (pistachio), Vanille (vanilla), Fraise (strawberry), Caramel, Thé Marie-Antoinette, Noisette (hazelnut), and our favorite, Rose.

There are three parts to every Eugénie: a crisp biscuit base, mildly sweet with a buttery undertone; a “melting heart”, essentially a syrupy center of sorts that carries the main flavor; and a thin, glossy, properly tempered chocolate coating that melts and becomes one with its interior as you take a bite. If you’ve ever had Arnott’s Caramel Crowns, this is pretty much its more sophisticated sibling—one that’s perfect with a cup of tea. (Or milk—it’s a free country.)

Safe to say that the Dubai chocolate still has Manila in a chokehold, and we’re still seeing all sorts of spinoff desserts pop up around the city. As far as cakes go, however, one of our favorites has to be Leonisa’s Kitchen’s Sugar Free Belgian Chocolate Kataifi Cake (P2,950). As the name implies, this is one of the purveyor’s sugar-free offerings, said to be created to “elevate the sugar free options of our clients.” But trust us when we say it’s one of those things that you wouldn’t even realize had zero sugar.

Slice into the cake and you’ll find layers upon layers (upon layers) of chocolate and pistachio in different forms: pistachio cream, sugarfree Belgian milk chocolate, pistachios, chocolate sponge, Belgian dark chocolate ganache, Belgian dark chocolate mousse, and crisp-crackly pistachio kataifi. It is decadent alright, but Leonisa’s Kitchen keeps things surprisingly balanced in the sweetness department—and oh, are we obsessed with the contrasting textures.

Is it just a Ferrero bar? Is it just a pun that someone ran too far with? Whatever the case may be, the Gold Digger bar from Bubu has something important to say about textural experiences.

We love a dessert that takes messy eaters into consideration; the thick Auro chocolate coating somehow doesn’t melt as easily as the ice cream. The dairy-free chocolate ice cream within gives off a brownie-batter richness, so this is the bar for you if you were the type to lick the bowl when someone was baking! Almonds and waffle pieces dot the outer layer—quite large, discernible pieces that add a good, hearty crunch. It might be a bit much for some—if you wanted a quick bite, you could just get an actual Ferrero Rocher—but for those who like it big, bad, bodacious even, the Gold Digger is your best bet.