Love + Cupcakes :: The Sift Blog

Who among us doesn’t like to treat ourselves once in a while? There’s nothing like picking out a decadent dessert on a top-tier menu to make you feel fancy. However, some of those price points can get a little rich for even our sugar-loving blood. So we like to live vicariously by finding the most lavish, daydream-worthy desserts to think about having someday. If you want to be “extra,” as the kids say, these are your best bet.

The world is full of strange and wonderful things, including desserts. It’s always a blast to take a virtual “world tour” to see what the rest of the planet is enjoying. Here are a few of the most unusual desserts we found, but even at their weirdest, we still want a bite.

We love keeping an eye on what’s new in the dessert world, and these were some of our very favorite trends! Lots of bright colors, interesting flavors, and sweets piled to the rafters. Delicious!

The craft beer movement is strong in the Bay Area (and everywhere else), so we’d be seriously remiss if we skipped out on pondering over the best beer and dessert pairings. Most people don’t usually consider pairing a bitter IPA or a refreshing blonde ale with something sweet, and that’s a real shame because much like wine, good beer has its own flavor profile that launches it to the next level when it’s paired with the right food. 

Just about everyone’s heard of dessert pairings with wine or beer, but there’s one more unexplored frontier in the world of booze and sweets: cocktails. This is a big challenge considering that cocktails are usually made more for sipping on their own or enjoying with a meal than an after-dinner dessert. However, it’s a challenge we’re totally up for.

We’re no strangers to combining dessert and booze. Our test kitchen is a smorgasbord of experimentation, touching on everything from blueberries and tequila to chocolate and stout to sugar and champagne. That’s why we thought it’d be great to start a Bar Series and talk about how to pair desserts with great drinks.