Humble breakfast items like waffles, doughnuts and croissants are too often relegated to the early hours of the day when my tastebuds are often feeling a little delicate to take a massive hit of sugar. These sugary breakfast items are taking back the night in truly divine desserts all around town, proving their natural fit in the meal spectrum. Here’s where to get five of the best breakfast-for-dessert dishes in Houston:
Dulce de Leche Crepes at Hugo’s
Chef Ruben Ortega says the inspiration for his dulce de leche crepes came from a trip to Argentina when he was offered a slice of buttered bread with dulce de leche lavished on top. After tracking down the source of the decadent caramel sauce, he realized how simple it was to make and has since brought his homemade dulce de leche to Hugo’s. It’s not only drizzled inside each fold of the tender, warmed crepes, but also dolloped throughout his homemade ice cream served alongside.
Waffle Sundaes at Cloud 10 Creamery
Waffle Cone Wednesday is so passé — every Wednesday, Cloud 10 Creamery serves up ice cream sundaes on top of actual waffles — brown butter waffles, to be exact. This special starts at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and runs until they sell out. The current fall-inspired sundae incarnation is butter ice cream with apple pie filling garnished with a rye crumble, candied pumpkin seeds, toasted pumpkin seed powder and whipped cream.
Coffee n’ Donut Holes at Roost
The classic morning duo of doughnuts with a cup of joe is translated deliciously into dessert with Roost’s popular coffee n’ donut holes dessert. Deeply fried doughnut holes topped with Cloud 10 Creamery coffee ice cream, salted caramel and crushed pistachios are a perfect finish to any meal.
Croissant bread pudding at Shade
Topped with housemade ice cream, Shade’s croissant bread pudding changes flavors regularly (the current flavor is apricot). With caramelized edges, a gooey interior and garnishes of streusel and caramel, Shade elevates the croissant to entirely new heights.
Block Toast at SnowBlock Shavery
Toast is transformed into swoon-worthy dessert at SnowBlock Shavery: Touted as its version of bread pudding, block toast is simply a thick slab of Texas Toast soaked in a “secret batter” and baked until golden. You can get it plain, in all of its rich, custardy-centered glory with just a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or garnished with Nutella, Speculoos, fruit, ice cream or any number other of toppings.
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2015.
