Close out the holiday season and the end of 2023 by indulging in some of the most photoworthy and absolutely delicious sweet treats available on the Las Vegas Strip. We’ve done the research (read: we ate them all!), and we tempt you here to peruse these sugary delights and then hit the Strip and try them all for yourself. Happy Eating—oops, we mean happy holidays!
Donutique
The Venetian, 702.414.9000
Chef Keris Kuwana has created Donutique—a boutique shop serving gourmet doughnuts that’ll knock your socks off. Plus, they look so darn cute! Using the classic Bismarck doughnut recipe, which is essentially a yeast-raised doughnut, she creates mini masterpieces: The Choco Honey Donut is topped with black truffle-infused honey, royal icing, honey buttercream, honey brown butter tuile and a hand-painted chocolate bumblebee; the Birthday Cake Donut (you get a free one if it’s your birthday!) is topped with a little mini confetti cake slice made with a cotton candy buttercream, vanilla icing and handmade sprinkles; and the beautiful Chocolate Mousse Donut is filled with made-in-house mousse and topped with raspberry jam, also made in house, and fresh berries and powdered sugar.
Carlo’s Bakery
The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian, 702.430.2625
Chef Buddy Valastro helped put Hoboken, N.J., on the map when he shared with the world his flair for baking, and he brings those talents to Las Vegas with Carlo’s Bakery. Inside the small shop, inspired by the one in his hometown, you’ll find all his signature goodies. Two classic Italian desserts really shine here: the Lobster Tail, made with a crispy, flaky crust and filled with a French cream made with a little touch of Bailey’s; and the classic Cannolis, all filled with a made-in-house sweet ricotta cheese with a hint of cinnamon and chocolate chips (take your choice of assorted flavors like birthday cake, peanut butter chocolate and classic). And, of course, there’s perhaps Buddy’s most famous baked treat, his Vanilla Rainbow Cake, where each layer of vanilla cake is a different color. It’s frosted with a vanilla buttercream.
Hershey’s Chocolate World
New York-New York, 702.740.6969
Most people visit Hershey’s Chocolate World to, well, check out the world of candies and chocolates that the brand makes—and man, oh man, there are a lot of options and even special editions of your favorites. But the real treat here is the bakery section of the massive store. This writer personally can’t visit without perusing the bakery cases and leaving with something. The sweet treats that line the cases look so irresistible and delicious you might not want to choose just one, so we’ve helped you out by picking three yummy choices: The Hershey’s Chocolate Brownie Sandwich is filled with decadent chocolate cream; the Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme Cookie Sandwich version is filled with crunchy chocolate cookie pieces; and the marriage of peanut butter and chocolate live a sweet life in the Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie, loaded with peanut butter and Hershey’s chocolate and topped with Reese’s Pieces.
Dominique Ansel Las Vegas
Caesars Palace, 702.731.7865
The chef made the Cronut a household name, but the rest of Dominique Ansel’s creations at Dominique Ansel Las Vegas deserve your attention. Ansel makes baked goods that look too good to eat but you’ll be over the moon that you bit into each and every one. “There’s something amazing about being able to turn just a few simple ingredients—flour, butter, sugar, and eggs—into croissants, cookies, ice cream, pastries, cakes of all shapes and flavors,” Ansel said. “The possibilities are endless if you have great ingredients and foundations and a bit of imagination.”
That imagination is shown in the Banana Split, a classic dessert transformed into a cake made with banana bread, raspberry jam, chocolate and banana whipped ganache, cherry crémeux and vanilla sable. Another nostalgic treat transformed is the Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich, made with chocolate chip sablés and filled with vanilla bavarois with a flourless chocolate biscuit, salted caramel and cookie dough ganache. And lastly, one of Ansel’s personal fave desserts, the Kakigori, a traditional Japanese shaved ice made with different fresh fruits, is re-created here with “ice” made of lychee strawberry mousse in addition to strawberry compote, fresh strawberries, vanilla Chantilly cream and an almond biscuit.
Café Lola
The Forum Shops at Caesars, 725.696.5658
Talk about one of the most Instagrammable spaces in all of Las Vegas—Café Lola is a darling, gardenlike café, and its menu is filled with photoworthy yet totally delicious treats. Mainly known for its giant list of unbelievably delicious and unique coffee and drink treats, we found yummy desserts, too, all made fresh daily and in house: the signature Rose Cookie, a sugar cookie topped with a rose made of sweet vanilla frosting; the rich Oreo Donut, a chocolate doughnut topped with crushed chocolate sandwich cookies (perfect for vegans); and the best-selling Basque Cheesecake, a mini cheesecake topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries with raspberry jam on the bottom and a sprinkling of gold flakes.
Hello Kitty Café
FSLV—Fashion Show Las Vegas, 702.369.8382
Instagram loves Hello Kitty Café. There are so many cute things here to post about, from the décor to the merch to the sweet treats. But let’s pause on the sweet treats, because you’ll not only want to upload pictures of them to Insta and TikTok, you’ll also want to munch on the treats created especially for the world’s most famous cat! (Is she really a cat, though?) Go classic with the Hello Kitty Cupcake, a rich red velvet cupcake topped with cream cheese frosting, pink and white chocolate shavings and edible glitter and an edible character made out of fondant. The Keroppi Donut, based on a favorite character of many, is a fluffy pastry filled with a light custardlike pastry cream and topped with a sugar glaze and fondant character. Our favorite is the Taiyaki Waffle Cone, filled with creamy vanilla and strawberry soft serve, which pairs divinely with the mochi-based waffle cone that is chewy and crunchy and lip-smacking delicious.
Zeppola Café
The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian, 702.204.6569
Every recipe at Zeppola Café is an Italian family recipe. The owners set up shop first in New York City with their bakery and then expanded to Las Vegas. Now Zeppola offers other eats besides sweet baked goods. (Can we stop for a minute and mention that they offer one of the best espresso martinis you will ever have?!) But at 4 a.m. every day, the staff is up in Zeppola Café’s kitchen whipping up those fresh-made desserts, and we’ve picked three of our favorites: the Custard and Berries Croissant, with a creamy custard inside a flaky buttery croissant and topped with fresh berries; the popular Pistachio Croissant, filled with a pistachio cream imported from Italy; and, let’s just say it, the droolworthy Cube Croissant, shaped into a cube and filled with mascarpone cream from Italy, topped with cocoa powder, white chocolate and a lady finger biscotti. This dessert is inspired by the classic tiramisu and each bite is to die for! Seriously!
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