Every December, we take a look back at our favorite dishes of the past year. This week, we’re skipping dinner and going for dessert. Here are the five most decadent desserts we tried in 2016.

Back Forty Bar & Grill – Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Tortes

Our dinner at Back Forty Bar & Grill was OK, but our dessert was fantastic. The chocolate raspberry truffle tortes were amazing with layers of chocolate cake, mousse and ganache topped with raspberry puree and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Did we need it after a big meal? No. Were we glad we got it? Absolutely. Read Review

Dan’s at Green Hills – Chocolate Bread Pudding

The chocolate bread pudding that Julie enjoyed during her birthday dinner at Dan’s at Green Hills was definitely a highlight. Start with a delicious bread pudding, add chunks of Godiva dark chocolate and a dollop of caramel ice cream and you’ve got a recipe for a memorable dessert. Read Review

Gatsby’s at Sunnybrook Ballroom – Tiramisu Crepe

When your dessert menu is made up almost entirely of crepes, you better do them well. Gatsyb’s does them well. My tiramisu crepe was perfect. The crepe was filled with coffee mascarpone and topped with chocolate sauce and cocoa powder. I absolutely loved it. Read Review

Stony Run Inn – Apple Strudel

When you eat at a restaurant that specializes in German cuisine, how can you pass on the apple strudel? You can’t. And at the Stony Run Inn, they do apple strudel right. The dough is so thin and flaky, the apples were seasoned to perfection and the whole dish was enjoyable from first bite to last. Read Review

Sweet Ride Ice Cream – Ice Cream Sandwich

There’s nothing wrong with simple. Sweet Ride’s ice cream sandwich is as simple as it gets: two cookies and a big scoop of ice cream. But everything about it is great. The soft, fresh-baked cookies melt in your mouth just like the Nelson’s ice cream. It’s hard to go wrong with those ingredients. Read Review

December is a time to look back and reflect on the year that was. Berks County Eats is taking a look back at the best of the best from more than 50 restaurants that we visited in 2015. This week: Our Top Five Favorite Desserts. 

Dessert is the part of the meal worth waiting for. No matter how much food you eat, there’s always room to squeeze in something sweet at the end. Especially when dessert is as good as these five that I found this year.

Heirloom – Homemade S’more

Apparently S’mores are not just something to eat around the campfire. They are a gourmet dessert, at least at Heirloom, where they made everything from scratch, including the marshmallow. That marshmallow sat atop a base of chili-infused chocolate ice cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup and dusted in graham cracker. Don’t try this at home. Read Full Post

Salute – Almond Parfait

Our Valentine’s Day dinner at Salute was certainly memorable, but nothing stood out quite like the Almond Parfait. It started with almond ice cream — I could eat a scoop of that any day — that was topped with chocolate syrup and crushed almonds. And they didn’t cheat on the portion size either. Read Full Post

Anthony’s Trattoria – Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake is boring, right? Not when it’s layered with chocolate mousse and chocolate cake, and iced with a smooth chocolate shell. It may not have resembled the light, airy cake that is so familiar, but it was certainly heavenly. Read Full Post

Plein Air – Angel Food Cake and Pistachio Sorbet

This was more like the angel food cake you expect, but it was kicked up a notch by the strawberry reduction drizzled on top. The real star though was the pistachio sorbet. It was so sweet and creamy. My only wish was for there to be more of it. Read Full Post

Cafe Sweet Street – Turtle Bundt Cake

When you visit Cafe Sweet Street, you should get dessert. And by dessert, I mean you should get the turtle Bundt cake. The rich chocolate cake is topped with crushed pecans, a gooey glob of caramel and a chocolatey shell. With dessert this good, who needs lunch? Read Full Post

December is a time to look back and reflect on the year that was. Berks County Eats is taking a look back at the best of the best from more than 50 restaurants and 10 festivals we visited in 2014. This week: Our Top Five Favorite Desserts. 

Appetizers make the first impression, but dessert creates a lasting memory. It’s the last thing you eat, but certainly not the least important part of your meal. Here’s a look back at five of the sweetest, most creative desserts we tried in the past year:

Banana Cream Delight – Austin’s Restaurant and Bar

Imagine a banana cream pie turned inside-out. That’s the best description I have for Austin’s banana cream delight. It starts with a bed of graham cracker crumbs. Then you add on sliced bananas, a heaping helping of custard and a dollop of whipped cream. The custard was good enough to eat on its own, but together with everything else, it was incredible.

Banana Split Arctic Swirl – Schell’s Dairy Swirl

Dairy Queen has their Blizzards, but if you want a soft serve treat in Berks County, it has to be an Arctic Swirl at Schell’s. The banana split version includes vanilla soft serve, fresh banana and bits of strawberry to create a cool treat. It’s the perfect dessert for a retro eatery like Schell’s.

Key Lime Tart and Banans Foster Cheesecake – Viva Bistro & Lounge

The only thing better than dessert is two desserts. With Viva’s Duets menu, the $35.99 dinner for two included your choice of two mini desserts. The key lime tart was sweet enough to make my mouth pucker and the cheesecake was extra moist. This was a case where we were served both quantity and quality.

Orange Creamsicle Crème Brulee – The Hitching Post Restaurant and Bar

It looked like traditional crème brulee, but it tasted like a popsicle from childhood. The Hitching Post’s orange creamsicle crème brulee was beautifully caramelized with a heaping helping of whipped cream. But it was the citrus twist that took this dessert from delicious to divine.

Vietnamese Banana Cake – Hong Thanh

A cake that was nothing like a cake. With a flaky top crust, layers of bananas and a thick custard, Hong Thanh’s Vietnamese banana cake looked and tasted more like a pie. And a darn good one at that. Add on a dip of ginger ice cream and you have a sweet and spicy dessert that was one of my all-time favorites.