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The Infatuation
The Best Dessert Spots In LA Right Now
By Nikko DurenSylvio Martins,
3 hours ago
There’s always room for dessert. So we gave the best ones in the city their own guide. It’s got the low-down on fluffy banana pudding, world-class mango sticky rice, and triple berry cheesecake worth booking a reservation for. So whether you need something creamy to cool you down on a hot summer afternoon or a quick stop to curb a post-dinner sweet tooth, prioritize one of these spots.
Fat & Flour is heaven for pie people. Whether you visit the stand in Grand Central Market or the counter-service cafe in Culver City, you’ll be met with a glass case full of fresh-baked slices with shattering, golden crusts. The fruit pies rotate with the seasons, like strawberry rhubarb crumble, sour cherry double crust, and a summer peach pie that sells out quicker than a sneaker release. But the star of the show is the creamy key lime, a menu mainstay that nails the sweet-tart balance. Slices can be picked up the day of, but whole pies must be ordered in advance. If you’re not feeling up for a pie, they also have some impressive cookies, scones, and the occasional quiche and/or sandwich.
If a creme brulee and a crepe had a baby, you’d end up with the masterpieces from Millet Crepe. This Little Tokyo shop serves viral Japanese desserts filled with a thick vanilla custard that’s been torched long enough to form a caramelized sugar shell that cracks on impact. It sits in a soft, thin pancake wrapped up like a cone, which holds its shape surprisingly well against the caramelized sugar syrup that inevitably drips down the side. The original version leans a bit rich, but you can add some strawberries to balance it out. Wait times at their Sawtelle location are consistently long, but the Millet Crepe in Little Tokyo offers a much quicker, smoother experience.
Quarter Sheets makes some of the best pizza in LA, but ignoring their desserts would be a huge mistake. The specials here change weekly, but we’ve never come across a grapefruit tart, apple galette, or triple-berry cheesecake slice we didn’t fall for. Quarter Sheets’ triple-layer princess cake is especially dreamy, with its shockingly light layers of olive oil cake lined with raspberry jam and whipped mascarpone cream. Most slices are only available for dine-in at this Echo Park pizza spot, but you can also pre-order whole cakes for your next party from their website.
Sweet Red Peach is an Inglewood landmark that’s home to LA’s best red velvet cake. Each thick slice is appropriately dense yet implausibly light, giving the silky cream cheese frosting several spongy, ruby-colored layers to cling onto. This strip mall spot is also rightly famous for its German chocolate cake and personal pans of peach cobbler. Don’t be intimidated if the line is out the door—they’re extremely efficient. Sweet Red Peach has been managing crowds of loyal customers (and occasionally Stevie Wonder) for twenty-plus years. Plan to get there before 3pm, when they start selling out of their more popular pastries and cakes.
We wish we had the confidence of The Very Best Cookie In The Whole Wide World. And while we can’t say if this Beverlywood spot’s mouthful of a name is accurate or not, we can say with confidence that their cookies (and gooey rice crispy treats) are worth going out of your way for. Each one is a top-shelf version of a classic recipe, like the pleasantly chewy Cinner snickerdoodle, the cakey Buttah Pecan with a soft, pudgy center, and The OG: a classic chocolate chip that’s heavy on the chips and balanced with a sprinkle flaky salt.
We've waxed poetic about the excellent Filipino food at this family-run takeout counter in Pasadena before, but as much as we love their sinigang and adobo, there's a reason you'll see a sign counting how many crispy, sticky hand-rolled turon (sweet fried lumpia) they've sold since opening in 1987 (the current tally is closing in on 1 million). The classic banana-filled ones are life-changing, but you'll also want some stuffed with custard, jackfruit, or chocolate. There’s a reason they sell them in boxes of five. Consider their creamy ube flan (available in the cold case) and colorful, carefully layered halo-halo mandatory orders, too.
This dessert shop in a Lomita strip mall specializes in French pastries made with Japanese twists, and we've yet to encounter one that hasn't left us wobbly in the knees. True to the shop's name, the delicate pastries packed into their single display case usually involve various whipped mousses, creams, and custards, often layered with seasonal fruits and lighter-than-air sponge cake. Whole cakes and cheesecakes are available, but we love that most of Chantilly's treats are individually sized, including their signature black sesame cream puff that regulars order by the dozen.
It’s normal to spend a few minutes taking in Aurora’s desert case. This modern patisserie in Mid-Wilshire specializes in ornate sweets that are molded and airbrushed to look like miniature sculptures. Glazed bonbons glisten like gemstones, Napoleons are flecked with silver leaf, and tiny St. Honorés have golden threads of caramel dripping from their edges. Although they look over the top, the desserts here are pleasantly not-too-sweet. Order three desserts and a coffee, and you’ll be down $40, so consider Aurora a special occasion patisserie—somewhere you can have a one-on-one meeting over sweets or a place to pick up a box of fancy treats for someone’s birthday.
Do you ever say “cow” when you pass your first cow on a road trip? After one visit to Bhan Kanom Thai, you’ll probably say “Bhan Kanom” every time you pass the East Hollywood strip mall that houses this Thai bakery and mini-mart. At Banh Kanom, delight is at full throttle. For starters, they make the best mango sticky rice in the city (temperature and texture are always spot on). But they also have fresh coconut pancakes, jellies, puddings, cakes, and dumplings. Get some grilled sticky rice with banana or taro, and the gooey, bite-sized taro cakes studded with corn kernels.
The stunning cakes from Flouring Cake Shop put most art galleries to shame. Slices at this small Chinatown bakery often feature a floral mosaic that makes no gravitational sense, with impossibly thin petals cascading along buttercream icing. Beyond aesthetics, the best-tasting dessert we’ve tried is their lavender-lemon marble cake—which is light and airy like an edible trail of (delicious) perfume. We also love the nutty black sesame and ube coconut options. But if you can’t decide on one flavor, get the cake bar box. It’s a nice, non-committal way to sample a few ruler-sized slices (you can choose either six or twelve) or accommodate a picnic full of picky cake eaters.
Sometimes on slow days we slip into a very specific daydream, one where we cut off all our hair, move to the Danish countryside, and go by a new name. Whenever that daydream hits, we head to Copenhagen Pastry. The brightly lit bake shop has more eye-catching Danish goodies than an IKEA showroom, including raspberry kringles, princess cakes, chocolate-dipped macaroons, and, if you come on the weekend, dessert specials like silky apricot chocolate mousse cake by the slice.
One would think finding a first-rate churro in this city wouldn’t be too hard a task, but that would be the wrong assumption. The good news is that Churros Calientes is here to save us from mediocrity. This tiny shop in West LA has been quietly cranking some of the finest Spanish-style churros in the city and shows no signs of slowing down. Head inside, order a fresh batch—crunchy, chewy, lightly sweetened, and slightly puffy—plus a cup of their bittersweet hot chocolate (for dipping, obviously) and die happy.
Some people may think the words “gluten-free” and “vegan” have no business in baked goods. But those people are wrong, and obviously have never been to Just What I Kneaded. Besides excellent puns, this bright and airy Frogtown shop serves dairy-free scones, cookies, turnovers, and galettes, many of which are also gluten-free. Expect giant cinnamon rolls that come with what feels like a pound of icing, and their signature Poptarts decorated with horoscope designs.
To be clear, Giovanni’s is not a restaurant, it’s a tiramisu delivery service that has mastered what is perhaps the most seasonally-appropriate dessert in Los Angeles. The man behind the operation is Giovanni Bolla, a 72-year-old Italian chef who, if you're lucky, might be the one delivering it to your doorstep. But don't be too sad if he's not there—you're still getting a decadent, perfectly balanced tray of chilled tiramisu that'll last you for at least a week.
Yes, this internet-famous bakery on West Third Street is a 90s-era NYC import. And while we’ve tried to rack our brains for reasons to knock this place, there’s no denying that their signature banana cream pudding is a pint of heaven. The cloud-like sweet fluffy starts with a strong banana flavor and then quickly mellows into a creamy finish. It’s best enjoyed alone under your bed sheets watching inspirational three-legged dog videos on YouTube.
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