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Best Desserts in Miami 2023

 

best desserts in miami 2023, miamicurated
Baked alaska at Queen

 

My best desserts in Miami 2023, start drooling. They’re an internationally inspired group, but thankfully all you can get in Miami. Have a look! To learn more about the restaurants, click on their name. If you missed my best dishes of the year, click here. And there’s a last minute addition to the best list, an extraordinary lasagna corn tortilla with chicken I devoured in Antigua, Guatemala yesterday. Read about it at the end of this post.

best desserts in miami 2023,miamicurated
Top cake is the coconut layer, bottom right is cinco leches and one on the left is the American pavlova, all from Havana Harrys.

 

OMG the desserts. The manager said some people call Havana Harrys  in Coral Gables the “Cuban cheesecake factory” and in the dessert department I can definitely see why. We tried the multiple layer cinco leches cake with three layers of sponge cake, stuffed with dulce de leche and covered with burnt meringue ($9.95);  tres leches coconut cake ($10.45), add $2.95 for ice cream; and the wedding cake ( pavlova) with strawberries, meringues and cream ($10.45). The portion size is huge. Next time I want to try the guava tres leches topped with heath toffee bar ($8.95) Most importantly, if you like meringue, sponge cake and dulce de leche you’ll be in heaven as was I. In fact,next time I have a dinner party I’m going there to get a few slices for dessert. It will definitely be a topic of conversation.

best desserts in miami 2023, miamicurated
American pavlova at Havana Harry’s

 

At Bunbury in Downtown we tried two desserts, panqueque de dulce de leche with vanilla ice cream ($13) and the sticky toffee pudding ($12),  a warm date pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream. Both are winners.

best desserts in miami2023, miamicurated
Panqueque de dulce de leche with vanilla ice cream at Bunbury

 

At Contessa in the Miami Design District  two desserts were standouts, the torta di baci, chocolate cake, hazelnut praline and chocolate mousse ($18) and  the crostata di limone which was like a French lemon tart ($18). There’s also a selection of amari, Italian after dinner drinks, that one finds too seldom in restaurants here ($16).

best desserts in miami 2023, miamicurated
Torta di baci at Contessa

 

More Best Desserts in Miami 2023

Baklava scored high thanks to the new shop on Lincoln Road,  Osmanlizadeler. Baklava was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. Unlike others I was told who have the baklava flown in frozen which means when it’s thawed, it needs to be eaten right away,. They fly their baklava in fresh from Turkey every other day.Find nine kinds such as pistachio from Antep and pistachio from Ankara, chocolate pistachio and nightingale nest along with halvah and lokums  which are an almost sugar free sweet made of fruits,  flowers, nuts and herbs and seven kinds of honey.

 

New Asian spot Street Hibachi  in Aventura stood out for its  banana roti, street food, that’s Thai dough filled with caramelized banana and toffee sauce. Yummy, and definitely worth the calories ($18).

banana roti, street food Thai dough filled with caramelized banana and toffee sauce at Street Hibachi

 

f you think this Molton butter cake looks good wait until you see or even better taste the pretzel toffee inside, and it’s all warmed up. OMG a star at The Henry in Brickell City Centre. They have a ventanita too with amazing pastries like morning buns and coconut muffins.

 

At CHICA in MiMo the show stopper is “The Corn”. Resting on a mini grill out came what I thought was corn on the cob. I put the fork in and lo and behold it was creamy, delicious strawberry flan cheesecake with crunchy graham crackers chili crumble and filled with raspberry tajin.

 

 

best desserts in miami 2023, miamicurated

 

Queen in South Beach gets high marks for its unusual and delicious baked alaska.

 

Rounding out the list of best desserts in Miami 2023 (gifts from friends who bake) are amazing cookies. I’m more a cake than a cookie person but now I’m a convert to cookies. These are not the over the top kind you see these days, but good old traditional recipes, often made with plenty of butter. The yellow are shortbread, the dark are chocolate orange cookies from the Silver Palate Good Times cookbook and the last are pecan balls, also known as Mexican wedding cake cookies. Yummy!!!!

 

Lasagna corn tortilla with chicken from 27 Adentro

 

LAST MINUTE ADDITION TO BEST DISHES OF THE YEAR! It’s a lasagna corn tortilla with chicken. Corn tortillas are laced with corn sauce and the local herb chipilin along with spinach and five different cheeses, all topped with a parmesan crisp. OMG delicious. Enjoyed at 27 Adentro in Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua is shaping up to be a great foodie destination. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

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Karen Escalera

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