I think we can all agree that spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on dessert is fairly ludicrous; especially when a couple of scoops of good ice cream will satisfy most of us in the sweet tooth department. As it turns out, however, there are people in the world who take their desserts seriously enough to drop some serious coin on them! I’m not necessarily talking about one-offs – a 2.5-year old slice of William and Kate’s wedding cake recently fetched over $4k at auction – I’m talking about a dessert one could actually walk into a place and purchase, as if it were an everyday item. So, let’s pretend for a moment that you’re friends with a person who is this particular brand of eccentric (and wealthy), and they’re insisting on taking you out for dessert. Which one do you go for? Vote in our poll below.

1. The Golden Opulence Sundae, Serendipity 3, New York City, $1,000

golden-opulence-sundae

Around 50 people per year order this; the most expensive sundae in the world. The chef requires at least 48 hours advance notice, to ensure that he can gather all of the necessary ingredients, sourced from all over the world. From Wikipedia: “The Golden Opulence Sundae is made using three scoops of rich Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23 carat edible gold leaf. The chocolate syrup used is from melted Amedei Porcelana, one of the world’s most expensive chocolates; and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast. The sundae is then adorned with “exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold covered almonds/dragets, chocolate truffles and marzipan cherries.” Added to the dessert is a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. Edible gold leaf is made from pure gold that is compressed or rolled into very thin sheets that are only a few micrometers thick and contain no other metals or impurities. It is finally topped off with a gilded sugar flower and sprinkled with small flakes of more edible gold.” Um, cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela? Wow. Talk about overboard! Or, you could just by a Venezuelan Chuao chocolate bar, starting at around $14 per bar.

2. Strawberries Arnaud, Arnaud’s, New Orleans, $1.4M

strawberries-arnaud

Yup, that’s 1.4 MILLION dollars. To be fair, dessert comes with a 4.7 carat pink diamond ring and your very own New Orleans jazz quartet. As for the strawberries themselves, they’re marinated in the very best port wine and burgundy, then cooked in lime, orange, sugar, cinnamon, mint, and served with vanilla ice cream and fresh whipped cream. If you just want the dessert and not the fancy ring and the jazz band, you can hook yourself up for a modest $8.75. Or, you could bring your own ring and talk them into making your proposal extra special!

3. Decadence D’Or Cupcake, Sweet Surrender (Palazzo), Las Vegas, $750

decadence-dor

Welcome to the most expensive cupcake in the world! Made from only the finest ingredients; including 100 year-old Louis XIII de Remy Martin Cognac (yup, that’s around $3k per bottle), Palmira Single Estate Chocolate from the rare Porcelain Crillo bean, Tahita Gold Vanilla Caviar, and edible gold flakes. The delicious and extremely luxurious cupcake is baked and assembled by the executive pastry chef of The Palazzo, Chef Long Nguyen, and served in a crystal goblet from Baccarat Harcourt. I wonder if you get to keep the goblet! If you have a taste for fancy cupcakes and a thinner wallet, Chef Nguyen makes a number of “regular Joe” options, too.

4. Brownie Extraordinaire, Brule, Atlantic City, $1000

the-brownie-extraordinaire

Hey, big spender! This extremely fancy brownie is made out of dark chocolate that is then covered with Italian hazelnuts and served with a scoop of ice cream. Along with the sweet dessert, customers are also given a very rare and highly expensive port wine, Quinta do Novel Nicional, from Portugal, which, by itself, might set you back around $1500 per bottle. The wine is poured and served in a St. Louis Crystal atomizer. I must admit; I don’t really understand the atomizer. Are you supposed to spritz wine directly into your mouth? Or over the brownie? Or simply mist yourself with it, like a perfume? This is why I’m not a bajillionaire, I guess. They didn’t cover this in public school.

5. The Sultan’s Golden Cake, Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, $1000

201202-w-strange-desserts-sultan_s-golden-cake

Made by request only (or for the Sultan himself), this cake is made of figs, pears, apricot, and quince that are then put into a Jamaican Rum and soaked for two years. To finish, the cake is topped with French Polynesian vanilla bean, caramel, black truffles, and a 24 carat gold leaf. It is said that the cake takes about 72-hours to make. Well, plus the two years that they marinated the fruit in rum. At least it looks like this cake is several servings!

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Emily Parker is a musician, writer, and avid reader who started Bucket List Book Reviews, the ‘1,001 Books to Read Before You Die’ project. For Sweatpants & Coffee, Emily hopes to inspire the reading of the classics by a whole new audience by only reviewing the really good stuff.

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