The Nine Best Sweet Treats in Brisbane

In the post most likely to give you diabetes, we present the nine best desserts and sweet indulgences in Brisbane. Not for the faint-hearted, or the sugar-free, these nine Brisbane experiences will give you a sugar hit so high you'll have a hangover on the way down.

And what will cure such a hangover? A hair of the dog — follow your milkshake crawl with a dessert degustation, then kick the next day off with a boozy brunch and croissant on the go. We dare you.

Bacchus five-course dessert degustation

Ulmer famously said "life is uncertain; eat dessert first", but we say screw dinner and just eat dessert. Those with a serious sweet tooth and a penchant for fine dining should head to Bacchus for the five-course dessert degustation. Possibly also Brisbane's cheapest degustation (and also in one of its fanciest restaurants), the dishes star everything from raspberry, lemon and chocolate to sticky date and a souffle. The decadent menu will give you change for a $50 and a tummy so full you'll roll down Grey Street afterwards. Take care not to fall in the pool.

High tea at Passiontree Velvet

Brisbane's newest place for high tea, Passiontree Velvet is here to feed your inner aristocrat, without the pretentiousness. The Carindale store brings more to the bustling shopping centre than just a mid-shop hunger buster; it's an English tea house, Parisian patisserie and a Belgian chocolatier rolled into one, making it a perfect place for a decadent high tea.

Everything from Flour & Chocolate

Owner/baker Lachlan knows what's up and will have you salivating from the comfort of your bed at 7am on a weekday. Following these guys on Instagram is torture, but often the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing there may be F&C baked goods on my horizon. The only reason I've started doing the Couch to 5k is to run to this bakery and justify a cronut, or brownie, or croissant (depending on the day). Yes, you have to go in on specific days for specific things — Wednesdays is gonuts (cronuts), Thursdays for donuts, Fridays for brownies, and the weekend is a free for all. The suspense.

Marshmallow martini or boozy brunch at Cowch

Flaunting itself as Brisbane's first and only dessert bar, Cowch takes the role very seriously. With a freshly launched breakfast menu, it now offers churros from 7am until late every single day. If you're there in the evening, kick on with the Mello Martini. Think cinnamon-infused vodka, Patron XO Dark Cafe and vanilla, topped with cream and finished with toasted marshmallows. Not for the faint-hearted.

Desserts till late at Chester St Bakery

Desserts till midnight, 'erynight. We know, we're sorry — because now at 10.30pm on a Tuesday you'll know where to satisfy those cravings. Besides the glass cabinets filled with epic amount of delicious cakes, the dessert menu is dishing up Nutella pizza with caramelised banana and toasted marshmallow, waffles with candied bacon and maple syrup ice cream, and honeycomb parfait with a brownie and warm chocolate sauce to name a few. The pastry chefs at Chester Street make everything on site, including all the cakes, fillings, sauces and garnishes from scratch using quality ingredients. We know if you’ve been drinking, well, there is no stopping you or how much cake you’ll devour.

Concrete Playground's Milkshake Crawl

At the start of the year we wrote about our #milkshakecrawl to uncover the best of Brisbane's milkshakes. Since then we've happily learnt through the grapevine that quite a few of you have been following your destiny and going an expedition yourselves. Go on, get yourself more milk-drunk than a newborn baby and see if you can beat our record of six between three people in one afternoon.

La Macelleria Gelato classes

Eating gelato is great, but what if you learnt how to make your own? Every Monday night from 5.30-7pm the new La Macelleria Gelateria in Newstead hosts workshops in the Art of Gelato with a Bolognese man. The two owners, both named Matteo, both from Bologna, have the gelato magic inside them that will transport you to the Italian summer of '12. Roll up your sleeves, listen in and become your own gelato-maestro. Best of all, you get to take home the fruits of your labour — gelato for the week!

Dello Mano Brownies

The claim to fame is that Ashton Kutcher ordered these Brisbane-made luxury brownies to celebrate his birthday in Paris a few years back. But truly, these brownies are divine. Perch yourself atop a padded tin drum stool, a classic French bistro chair or at the coffee bar and you're guaranteed to feel like you too have just stumbled across a corner cafe in Paris. Crunchy on the outside with an intensely gooey centre, these brownies have that wonderful 'not quite cooked through' texture that leaves you in a state of chocolate bliss.

Noosa Chocolate Factory

One side of the skinny space at The Dark Chocolatier on Adelaide Street is stacked eye-level to floor with little wooden crates holding everything from the pick and mix to small slabs and rocky road. All chocolate is made at the factory in, you guessed it, Noosa by a small team. Worth a sweet $4.50 per 100g, our top picks include the dark chocolate coated freeze-dried strawberries (have to be tasted the be believed), milk chocolate hazelnuts, dark cocoa-dusted almonds, dark chocolate blueberries and the mango-infused white chocolate coated macadamias.

Header image: Cowch