Sweet endings: These quintessential Palm Beach desserts are worth the splurge

If you’re going to splurge and devour a sweet ending while dining out, choose something worthy: a quintessential Palm Beach dessert.

Many restaurants on the island have one.

It might be a hallmark dessert and years-long menu mainstay. Or it might be an indulgence that veteran staffers or regular guests insist is simply a must when dining at a particular restaurant.

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Consider Ta-boo: Loyalists at the storied 80-plus-year-old restaurant will tell you a dining experience there isn’t complete without at least a taste of Ta-boo Lust.

The crust-based dessert ($11), laden with thick coconut cream and whipped cream, is a variation of coconut-cream pie.

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It’s been a menu favorite since the restaurant introduced it in 1991 and as far as Ta-boo owner Franklyn de Marco is concerned, it’s a “Palm Beach classic.”

Elsewhere, a traditional Italian dessert reigns at Renato’s.

The tiramisu there features espresso-soaked lady fingers, Kahlua and sweet mascarpone cheese filling.

The dessert “is loved by everyone” and employs “the same recipe that has been here for years,” executive pastry chef Vesna Capric told the Daily News.

“I have seen some restaurants take shortcuts with tiramisu,” she said, “but there are no shortcuts with anything at Renato’s and the tiramisu is a great example of that. Even the espresso in the dessert — we make that fresh for every order.”

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An ignited dessert is a must at La Goulue.

According to manager Mathieu Potelle, Crepes Suzette ($15) topped with flambéed Grand Marnier is a “quintessential” part of getting the full experience at La Goulue.

“With Grand Marnier lit on fire before being poured atop the delicious crèpes warmed in butter, sugar and fresh orange juice, it’s a perfect way to cap off a decadent meal at La Goulue.”

The dessert evokes “childhood memories of the comfort and pleasure of eating homemade crèpes,” Potelle told the Daily News. That the dessert is “flame-boyant,” he said, also is pleasurable.

At Café L’Europe, versions of the Café Soufflé dessert have never gone out of style at the 43-year-old dining establishment, which was remodeled in 2020 under new ownership.

The chocolate soufflé and Grand Marnier soufflé are $26 each and, if possible, should be ordered when you’re first seated.

When served at table, warm chocolate sauce is poured atop the chocolate soufflé and Grand Marnier is poured on its namesake soufflé. Crème anglaise is served on the side.

“These classic desserts are amazing when done right and we do them right,” Café L’Europe co-owner Emanuela Marcello said. “We put a lot of French heart and soul into these sweet and delicate puffed treats.”

Elsewhere in town, a visit to Sant Ambroeus isn’t complete without taste of one of its cakes, which are rooted in a legacy spanning back to when two pastry chefs in Milan, Italy opened a confectionery in 1936, steps from opera house Teatro La Scala.

The queen of Sant Ambroeus’ cakes? The Principessa (or princess cake; $17 a serving): lemon sponge cake layered with vanilla cream and whipped cream and topped with almond marzipan.

At Le Bilboquet, France’s traditional tarte tatin — an upside-down caramelized apple tart — is a “classic,” executive chef Camille Martin said.

“It enough to share — or not — and definitely the star highlighting the end of a dinner at Bilboquet,” she said.

Le Bilboquet’s tarte tatin, served with vanilla ice cream, is $15.

Among other restaurants with quintessential Palm Beach confections: Café Boulud, which this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Though the French restaurant offers its beloved complimentary Madeleines after guests finish their entrees, the warm upside-down Guanaja chocolate cake ($18) is a perennial favorite.

The dish, served with pistachio ice cream, is the creation of none other than Café Boulud’s mastermind, renowned chef-restaurateur Daniel Boulud, according to executive pastry chef Julie Franceschini.

“Everyone loves this chocolate cake,” she said. “It has been on the menu for as long as I can remember — probably for the last 20 years and I’m sure it will be on the menu for the next 20 years.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: These desserts are the perfect sweet ending when dining in Palm Beach