Desserts are the sweetest part of life and I have two rules where they’re concerned. One: it’s never too cold for ice cream. Two: there’s always room in your stomach for dessert. With that in mind, allow me to tell you five of the best places in Melbourne to get your sweet fix.
Gânache
Not exactly ground-breaking news, but Gânache has some of the top chocolate treats in Melbourne. The owner, and former head chocolatier at Koko Black, Arno Backes has three stores, one on Collins Street, one in South Yarra and another in Essendon. Their specialty chocolates are amazing and their cakes are to die for – you can also get those real chocolate hot-chocolates. My personal favourite is their Hazelnut Fan cake. Go and try a slice or buy the whole cake, I wont judge.
Don’t Lose Your Temper
The savoury menu at Don’t Lose Your Temper is really great but, honestly, I can’t bring myself to buy anything but their cakes and pastries because they’re just that damn good. The little individual cakes are handmade from scratch and change regularly, but they’re all winners. When I make the trip to Fitzroy for these cakes, I usually buy one of each flavour, eat as many as I can with whoever I’ve dragged along with me, and then take the rest home. They’re like the Pokémon of desserts – you gotta try them all.
Burch & Purchase Sweet Studio
If you go into the Sweet Studio in South Yarra, you’ll often find co-owner Darren Purchase in the open kitchen helping to whip up the glorious sweets. The oh so sweet sales assistants will offer you a sample of a cake or biscuit to try when you walk in – which I always end up buying. These desserts change up often, but there’s a few semi-staple favourites like their parfaits or, my personal favourite, the Ruby Chocolate Cookie. You can also get some chocolates or even buy one of Purchase’s books (and he’ll sign it if you ask nicely).
Syracuse
Look, it’s a little boujee, but Philippa Sibley’s revamp of Syracuse has really made the restaurant something special. Yeah, it’s not exactly a dessert place per se, but when you’ve got the Queen of Desserts signed on, the dessert game is going to be amazing. My recommendation is to enjoy a glass of their many spectacular wines and try a dessert – or two, if you want to share with someone.
