THE YEAR 2016 is coming up fast. January and February are looming. And what we all need is a handy list of incredible desserts to motivate ourselves through the bleak midwinter.
Read this, pin it to your wall, cross off the ones you’ve had.
1. A milkshake at Sweet Republic
Cookie milkshakes. Marshmallow caramel milkshakes. Milkshakes that you have to eat with a spoon. LOOK AT THEM ALL.
2. A doughnut from the Dublin Doughnut Company
Made by Hilary Quinn in Drumcondra, these are hands down the best doughnuts we’ve ever tasted. Get them in the new Wigwam, 147 Deli, or directly from source. Taste test here.
Made at this chipper owned by a Meath couple in Sydney. They also do battered black and white pudding, but the battered jam sanger is their signature dessert.
3. A hot chocolate from O’Conaill’s Chocolate Shop
A Cork institution. The peppermint dark chocolate pictured is just one of the varieties on offer. A most wonderful way to spend a winter’s afternoon.
4. A Bulmers slush puppy
An April Fools prank by Bulmers Ireland that became a reality. Is there anything you want more on a sunny day? Can you even imagine a sunny day right now? One day, one will come… and then you’ll be glad you read this recipe.
5. A custom chocolate bar made from the melted chocolate taps at Coco Bo
https://vine.co/v/ejmqbJXFQWp
Yes, you can make your own custom chocolate bar at this new chocolate cafe on O’Connell Street in Dublin. But more importantly: TAPS POURING FORTH MELTED CHOCOLATE.
6. Churros from Cava Bodega
Fresh and hot with hot chocolate sauce and honeycomb. The closest approximation of crack in dessert form, and available in Galway.
7. A wedge of cheesecake in Foam
Universally acclaimed by our in-house tasting team as “massive and delicious”, two of the greatest qualities a dessert can have. Foam Cafe is also one of the most Instagrammable places in Dublin.
8. A slice of ginger cake at the Fumbally Café
A more restrained dessert than some of the others on this list, but you know, sometimes that’s what you need. Best eaten with one of the Fumbally’s excellent coffees.
9. A serving of deep fried ice cream from Acapulco
This veteran Mexican joint with a clientele of tourists and twentysomethings has an ace up its sleeve: deep fried ice cream, cooked in a butterscotch batter shell, with caramel and chocolate sauce. Get it.
10. A Guinness float
A heavenly-sounding concoction of Guinness, chocolate, caramel, whipped cream and Jameson, served in a pint glass. Here’s all you need to know.
BONUS: A deep-fried jam sandwich
Not currently available in Ireland, but the creation of a Meath couple running an Irish chipper in Sydney. Their signature dessert is exactly what it says on the tin: a big wedge of jam sanger, battered and deep fried.
It’s terrible to admit it but it looks kind of… amazing?
ENJOY EATING YOUR WAY THROUGH 2016, EVERYONE!
