The perfect dessert is the cherry on top of every meal. You probably have your favorites, but if you’re in Brooklyn you get sweet treats that are tastier, sweeter and more iconic than anywhere else. We even have desserts people haven’t even heard of in the rest of the world, but to us they are comfort food. And worth every calorie!
Cannoli from Villabate Alba
“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli” …especially if that cannoli is from Villabate Alba in Bensonhurst. Villabate Alba cannoli are as Italian as it gets. They use sheep’s milk ricotta imported from Sicily, where cannoli were invented, to keep that authentic Italian flavor! The hand-made shell has just the right amount of crunch and it’s topped with a sweet candied cherry and orange peel. Ask any Brooklynite and they’ll tell you, Villabate Alba cannoli are a true Brooklyn tradition.
Egg Cream from Brooklyn Farmacy
The Egg Cream is the quintessential Brooklyn dessert, except it doesn’t contain eggs or cream! Some say the name comes from the Yiddish phrase, “echt keem” which means “pure sweetness” and sounds similar to egg cream. Others say it’s because the top would froth up like egg whites when mixed properly. This delicious drink is a combination of milk, seltzer and chocolate syrup. And not just ANY chocolate syrup. It has to be Fox’s U-Bet made right here in Brooklyn since 1895. If it’s not U-Bet chocolate syrup then FUHGETTABOUDIT! Brooklyn Farmacy gives you that old school soda shop experience.
Chocolate Cake from The Chocolate Room
The chocolate cake at The Chocolate Room in Cobble Hill has been described as “the best chocolate cake in the universe.” It’s a luscious 3-layer blackout cake that’s rich yet light (no wonder Oprah herself picked it as one of her favorite things in 2007)! For Brooklynites it fills the void left behind when we lost Ebinger’s. Their Blackout cake was a big part of growing up in Brooklyn. When they went out of business in 1972 it left a whole in people’s hearts. Brooklynites who grew up with it still talk about it nostalgically. You’ll sample The Chocolate Room chocolate cake on our Chocolate Tour!
The World’s Most Fabulous Cheesecake from Junior’s
Cheesecake and Junior’s go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly, pen and paper, and Cher and Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck. Ask anyone in NYC where to get the best cheesecake and they will direct you to Junior’s. Their cheesecake is world famous, after all. Like they say, “You haven’t really lived until you’ve had cheesecake at Junior’s.” And you get to experience both the cheesecake AND an egg cream at Junior’s on our Neighborhood Tour!
Spumoni from L&B Spumoni Gardens
Spumoni is a classic Italian dessert made of 3-layers of ice cream: pistachio, almond and chocolate. And the best is found at L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. Ludovico Barbati, the L&B in the name, started selling spumoni door to door from a horse-drawn wagon throughout Brooklyn in the 1930s before opening the storefront in 1939. It’s the quintessential Summer treat you can enjoy year round, and most folks don’t think twice of indulging in a spumoni while they’re at L&B on our Pizza Tour.
