Dessert hybrids prove that you can never have too much of a good thing.
From fluffy, flaky croissants piped with custard, shaped like muffins and served hot out the oven to cookies with a sugary French twist, combining delicious desserts together is a trend that boomed in 2013, but has remained popular over the years.
One of the most famous hybrid desserts came from the ovens of the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. The dessert was first sold in 2013 and had people lining up around the block to get a taste of the legendary ‘cronut’, a cross between a doughnut and croissant. Since then, the trend has certainly taken off with weird and wacky spinoffs hitting confectionery stands across the globe, even reaching the shores of South Africa.
9 Hybrid desserts to try in Cape Town, Durban and Joburg:
Cape Town
Dessert doughnuts
My Sugar
Every item is hand-crafted in house using the finest local and global ingredients with a whimsical ‘My Sugar’ twist. One of their newest treats is Inspired by everyone’s favourite nostalgic desserts. This range of doughnuts is sure to satisfy those with a sweet tooth. Eton mess, banoffee, tiramisu, peppermint tart and apple crumble are comfort food classics recreated.
Crème Brûlée Cookie
Jason Bakery
From the minds of a brother and sister owned and operated Artisan Bakery situated in Green Point and the city centre, this next indulgent hybrid is the perfect weekend treat. The cookie is covered in sugar granules, brûléed to golden, caramelised perfection and stuffed with a vanilla custard creme to be sold as part of the bakery’s Saturday Pleasure Packs.
Banana Bread Bunny Chow
Honest Chocolate Café
Combining the bunny chow, a famous South African street food, with dessert, the traditional half or quarter loaf of bread which is hollowed out and brimming with curry is replaced by sweet treats. One of their specialities, the banana bread bunny chow, features a banana bread mini loaf filled with chocolate spread, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and an assortment of spiced nuts on the side.
Durban
Macaron ice cream sandwiches
Sugarliscious
Delicate, tender and sweet, macarons are delectable as it is, but Sugarlicious, a dessert bar, takes things to a whole new level. They boast a wide range of ice creams wrapped in French macaron shells and a signature range that’s been dipped in premium couverture chocolate. From Jalebi & Sev to Koeksister, Milo and Bombay Crush, the most enticing aspect of this dessertery is their unusual flavours inspired by local tastes.
Snowball Courtssants
The Dough Girl
With tasty baked goods selling out like hot cakes, The Dough Girl has become a must-visit destination on the Durban food scene over the past year. With an ever-changing menu of treats, their creations are always exciting and somewhat unexpected - like their fruit loop marshmallow taco filled with yoghurt cheesecake. One of their more recent hybrid desserts is their signature ‘Courtssant’ pastry crossed with a snowball. Topped with the mini pink coconut covered cake and strawberry glaze, the circular dessert is filled with coconut custard too.
Conenut
Old Town Italy
Founded on a passion for all things authentically Italian, a love of great food and an intrigue in Café Culture, Old Town Italy is a slice of Europe situated on Meridian Drive in Umhlanga Rocks. Tables and chairs spill out onto the pavement where patrons sip cappuccinos and indulge in food selected from the Italian Street Food and deli section. Another favourite at the cafe is their gelato bar serving up scoops of all different flavours in waffle cones or their famous ‘conenuts’. In place of a cone, you can indulge in a doubly delicious treat - a doughnut shaped cone covered in sugar, chocolate d and chopped peanuts.
Joburg
S’mores Taco
Moody Cow
An American campfire favourite, s’more are a melting mess of gooey fire roasted marshmallows and silky milk chocolate sandwiched between two cookies. Moody Cow takes things up a notch by combining the s’mores with tacos for a taste adventure. In place of a corn taco shell, they use a taco shaped waffle cone to hold all the toasted goodness inside.
Cruffin
Lucky Bread Company
A cruffin is a hybrid of a croissant and a muffin. The paste is flaky and buttery like a croissant whilst adopting the shape of a muffin, and is made by baking laminated dough in a muffin tin. The baked goods are then piped with a variety of creams, jams, crème pâtissières or curds, and then garnished. This particular version is filled with a vanilla custard that peeks out at the top.
Ice cream cake
Paul’s Homemade Ice cream
What’s better than ice cream? N ice cream cake, of course. The creamiest milk chocolate ice cream with ripples of rich Nutella and pieces of Oreo cookies. The cake, frosted with homemade buttercream in white, milk, and dark chocolate, is an ode to everyone’s favourite flavour - chocolate. According to the creamery, it’s the single best gift you can give to any chocoholic that can be ordered via their website.