The D Blogger Does Dessert - ReDux

First and foremost, thank you for reading this. Tonight, I saw that after one short month of Dabbling in blogging, I've had 4500+ page views.  I am so grateful for the support and feel honored that you've stopped by!  Thank you!  Really.  :)

Cutie Pies at Simple Things Sandwich and Pie Shop in my neighborhood

Many of my Darling friends with whom I share meals would just as soon skip the first course to Drool over the Desserts more quickly.  Not me.  When I indulge, it feels more like succumbing to an old addiction.  Desserts are like my habitual bucket of popcorn in a movie.  I Don't want it but my inner little girl needs to have it.  Equal feelings of satisfaction and regret emerge.  For what it's worth, my Dessert-avert is unrelated to fear of calories.  To the contrary (and please Don't hate me), I've been trying to gain weight my whole life.  I've weighed the same 100 pounds since I'm 15, whether I eat a bone-in rib-eye steak with a caramel coated ice cream sundae or a soup with salad.  (Consequently, I rarely order the latter!)  My body levels itself.  I used to hate it and now just feel guilty that it's not that easy for most.

Since most of us had our first tastes of sugar as babies and felt like the adults had been hiding the good Drugs, our Desires for confections are old and run Deep.  We are often less Dessert-y Discriminating than we are about our sushi, our burgers, our pizzas, our steaks.  It's taken me longer to sort out the quality Differences among ice creams and pastries.  For 40 years, sweet was sweet to me.

Sherry Yard's Kaiserschmarrn

And now I'm in the big city of Dreams and Dreamy Doughnuts, cupcakes, tarts, tortes, gelato, budino, soufflé, and creme brulée. The finest chefs Devoted to Dessert are lovers of precision as well as artists.  I admire the patience of a baker.  My idea of cooking is standing over the stove top and making it up as I sauce along, a little this, a little that until it palate-pleases.  The idea of putting together exact ingredients and then hiding them behind a dark oven door waiting to see if I did it just right is a kitchen torture to me.  All the more reason to be in awe of the likes of Karen Hatfield (Hatfield's), Sherry Yard (formerly Spago and the Puck dynasty), Daniel Shapiro (Modern Bite) and Adrian Vasquez (Providence).

My D-licious C-word Survival Cake named for me by Modern Bite!

I'm turning to you, the readers, to help create a list of the best Desserts. Do tell about any to-Die-for confections!

Here are some that stopped me in my tracks:

1. Coconut Gelato Pie at Gusto Restaurant
2. Chocolate Budino Tart at Bestia
3. Butterscotch Budino at Pizzeria Mozza
4. Carrot Cake at Providence
5. Panna Cotta by Suzanne Goin (Tavern, AOC)
6. Apple, caramel, shortbread, burnt wood semifreddo at ink Restaurant (Yes, the lower case "i" is purposeful!)
7. A custom birthday cake by Daniel Shapiro (Modern Bite)
8. Kaiserschmarrn by Sherry Yard (formerly Spago - soon to be opening her own bake shop in Culver City)
9. Coconut Bavarois or Green Strawberry at Red Medicine
10. ANYTHING by Karen Hatfield (Hatfield's, Sycamore Kitchen) - though I used to have a sick attachment to her original Chocolate Molten Peanut Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Chocolate Gelato Pie (Gusto)

PLEASE check in by email or in a comment and let's put some more Desserts out there that Angelenos or visiting sugar-holics must taste!  I'd love to know, you Deserve to know and let's eat them guiltlessly!