Halloween and sweets go together like witches and brooms. When I was younger, I anticipated the excitement of trick-or-treating with friends and filling a plastic jack-o-lantern with candy. As a rambunctious teenager, I often participated in unwelcome tricks – mostly of the soaped window and toilet-paper-festooning variety. Today, I still get my fill of treats, but I anticipate hand-crafted delicacies rather than candy. Instead of going door to door, my friends and I go table to table. To table. We visited a few of the gayborhood’s dessert palaces where we found several outstanding treats, and a few disappointing tricks.
Babycakes, 3766 Fifth Ave., specializes in custom cakes, gourmet cookies, tarts, cheesecakes and cupcakes. The lunch/brunch/munch menu offers fresh salads, hot stuffed croissants, grilled paninis and other savory selections, but we were there for the sweet stuff. The friendly staff served us quickly, and we found our seats on one of three patios. There’s also a full bar which opens daily at five o’clock. The treat: the Red Velvet Brownie unites the delicate crumb of red velvet with a dense chocolate and walnut brownie. A layer of cream cheese frosting provides a tart counterpoint to the sugary composition. Red velvet crumbs and a chocolate drizzle complete the presentation. The trick: the Black Bottom cupcake, with a white chocolate and raspberry puree center, was unexpectedly dry.
Extraordinary Desserts, 2929 Fifth Ave., is where you’ll find exquisite cakes, pastries and sweets in Bankers Hill. Since 1989, pastry chef and author Karen Krasne has prepared globally-inspired gourmet desserts using the finest ingredients. We placed our orders before finding a seat outdoors away from the busy street. The treat: the flourless chocolate truffle banana cake is an individual bundt with a velvety texture, filled with a well-balanced chocolate sauce – not too sweet or bitter, with a hint of Grand Marnier. The trick: the desserts were served warm, which was lovely, but a few seconds in the microwave turned the flaky pastry dough of the caramelized crème brûlée bun into a rubbery chew.
Heaven Sent Desserts, 3001 University Ave., is the divine realization of Lachlan Oliver’s lifelong dream. Oliver conjured the comfortable Eden after retiring from the United States Air Force. He believes desserts make people feel better and put them in a “good place.” The treats: we ordered the Chocolate Trinity Cake and the Strawberry Fraise. Zagat says the Chocolate Trinity Cake is one of the “eight most decadent chocolate desserts in San Diego”, and who am I to argue with Zagat? The chocolate ganache frosted cake is striated with layers of silky milk chocolate, atop a white chocolate angel food, atop a darker Mexican chocolate with a wonderful trace of cinnamon. To die for! The fraise is a light, spongy chiffon cake with a center of strawberries and bakers cream, topped with whipped cream frosting. So delicate and refreshing. The tricks: there weren’t any. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, especially Aya “who may or may not” have been the frosting czarina, and I’m thankful for her time and insights.
Halloween is a great time to grab your friends and gather over amazing confections. Maybe we’ve outgrown trick-or-treating, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get our sugar fix; we just have to be more sophisticated in our approach and tastes. Be sure to visit the featured web addresses for full menus, catering information and online ordering.
