Best Desserts Abroad in Europe

When I was a freshman in college I studied abroad, MY FIRST SEMESTER, in London. It was the single most influential experience of my life so far. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a pastry chef, instead of an actress.

If any of you are planning to go to London, I figured I’d compile some special desserts you can try and have while there. I also went to Scotland and Belgium, so there will be a few treats listed from those lovely cities as well.

If you don’t plan on going, hopefully this list will inspire you to do so. I can’t be sure of the exact addresses of these bakeries/etc., but a quick search on google should do the trick. Honestly I found some of the best stuff simply walking around.

So here it goes…London = Sweets.

Though there is a long history of British puddings dating back to the beginning of time, London contains virtually every kind of dessert one can imagine. France definitely has an influence…

A French crepe in a London cafe!

As does Belgium…

Brown bananas and orange pith! Horrible!

And Italy via gelato. This is the Banana Royale sundae from Morelli’s Gelato on the ground floor of Harrod’s department store. It is absolutely essential that you visit this place. The clothes are not really geared towards young women, but the food halls sure are. Room upon room of different foods, from chocolates to baked goods to coffee to cheese…god I miss it so much. Anyway, just go for the sundaes, if anything. The Banana Royale is made with vanilla ice cream, sliced bananas, various sauces, and a chocolate cup filled with caramel to drench your sundae in even more saccharine bliss. Be advised that the average price for one is between 11 and 13 pounds; they’re so large, however, that they can be split easily. Naturally I didn’t go down that path.

Just try to absorb this for a second.

Speaking of ice cream, I demand that you visit Garlic and Shots. Everything about is garlic, from the coffee to the vodka to the garlic ice cream drenched in honey. I dragged my two friends to go there in the freezing cold just to have some, and my friends, it was worth it. It has all of the pleasant mellowness of a garlic clove roasted in the oven, and the honey only helps to increase the lovely taste. The staff is a bit rough around the edges, but ignore them while you follow up your ice cream with a garlic vodka shot .

I swear it's good!

The next two pictures are of more traditional British sweets: Shortbread and a citrus cake for high tea at the fabulous Kensington Palace. It’s not that much money to have well-dressed waiters treat you like a queen and kiss your ass

Chocolate Chips - a somewhat American embellishment but addictive all the same!

Miranda, dahling! Isn't the ball splendid? (a la Elaine)

Now on to Scotland! I stayed in Edinburgh for the weekend, and the desserts were certainly more traditional than what London had to offer. I don’t have a picture, but visit Chocolate Soup! It’s essentially a hot chocolate shop, but the “soups” are very rich, thick, and have a number of flavors to choose from.

Here’s a picture of sticky toffee pudding I had at a pub. It’s probably the most unsightly thing you’ll ever encounter, but it’s delectably sweet and provokes all who eat it to resort to licking the plate clean of the lava-like sauce that encompasses it.

And here we have flourless chocolate cake. Standard by anyone’s definition, I wanted to add it to the post to assure everyone that accessible American-style desserts are to be found in the Scottish highlands. And no doubt, this was a delicious piece of cake.

And a final word on the desserts of Belgium.  Chocolate. Really, there’s little else. In the small city of Brussels, every other store is a chocolate shop, almost all of which feature sweet and creamy handheld replicas of Manneken Pis – that little rascal.

Here’s an example of the numerous piles of chocolat found throughout Brussels.

Ah-rhum truffle, please!

The coupe is another thing found on nearly every Brussels menu (that I could somewhat read, anyway.) Head over to the restaurant Drug Opera and you’ll be happy to read the long list of coupes – essentially ice cream sundaes – on the menu. I was able to ascertain that the coupe I ordered contained mango and vanilla. Other than that, I simply regarded it as a delight to the senses. If any of you go to Brussels, let me know if this wacky place is still there

It looks tremendous, and it was!

That’s it for now on European desserts. I hope this provided a helpful, if not extremely brief, guideline to what you can expect while out there.

And remember, a biscuit is a cookie!