Listopedia: Melbourne’s most OTT desserts

Calorie counters look away, Expedia’s Listopedia of the OTT desserts will leave you drooling. We’re not just talking about cute little croissants. This is the outrageous, next level stuff Melbourne’s foodies are going gaga over, and you will too when you follow Expedia’s tasty trail of #cheatday treats.

Freakshakes, Demazzi Stone Grill

Head straight to this Essendon café, where they’re shaking things up with supersized shakes. A favourite of body builders out on their #cheatday, Demazzi is making a name for itself by milking the “freakshake”. What may have begun at Patissez in Canberra has taken on a life of its own, but these guys are taking things up a notch with the help of a Streets ice cream. The simple act of sticking a Golden Gaytime upside down in a tall glass dripping in caramel sauce puts this café on our map. Chuck in a Caramello Koala that slowly sinks into the shake and you’re in serious sugar territory a few sips in. If honeycomb and caramel aren’t your thing, the Oreo and Nutella or Ferrero Rocher shakes are just as tempting. 1142 Mount Alexander Rd, Essendon

Pancakes, Pillar of Salt

How do you stand out in a suburb packed with cafes catering to the breakfast crowd? You take the humble pancake and you add a hipster twist. Drizzled in berry compote, dotted with strawberry Callebaut chocolate drops, topped with wafer scrolls and finished of with a few scattered rose petals, the pancakes at this cute café are a work of art. Don’t forget the activated walnuts and micro herbs to make you feel a bit better about yourself. You won’t go hungry after this feast. 541 Church St, Richmond

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Wafflepops, Waffle ‘N’ Shake Food Truck

Move over Mr Whippy! We can’t pinpoint this roving sweet spot on the map but you’ll finding it spreading the sugar at markets, festivals and food truck parks around town. Essentially a Belgium waffle on a stick, the wafflepop hit the big time in Europe and is now being served down under by this dessert truck. There’s 12 different flavours – think Chocolate Party Rainbow and Floss the Pink Fairy.

Doughnuts, Ascot Food Store

Just what the doctor ordered. Sort of. The injectable doughnuts at this hipster eatery are not for the faint hearted. Or those with an aversion to medical equipment. Squirt your custard-filled syringe straight into the dough and watch it ooze out over the iced top – because toppings like macadamia caramel aren’t enough. These decadent doughnuts are made on site each morning but get in quick, they sell out. Your best bet is to arrive before the brunch crowd – grab a table in the front room so you can keep eye on the counter top so you’re ready when they arrive fresh from the kitchen. 320 Ascot Vale Rd, Moonee Ponds

Ice cream sundaes, Huxtaburger

The ultimate cheat meal just took things up a notch. Now you can wash down your burger and fries with an ice cream sundae – sauces like caramel and field strawberry are all made in house and boy are they good! 357 Collins St, Melbourne CBD

Chocolate gone wild, Burchese and Peach

These legendary chocolatiers and pastry kings certainly don’t rest on their laurels. Infamous for churning out choc pops, cakes, custards, cookies and cakes to their sugar obsessed followers, their range of chocolate bars is truly Willy Wonka territory. Flavours like Fruit Salad White Chocolate and Banana Milk Chocolate fly off the shelves. 647 Chapel St, South Yarra

Doughnut Cones, Little Frankies

Yes, that’s right. The latest craze to sweep the sweets counter is this double decker dessert. Forget waffle cones; a cone-shaped cinnamon doughnut is now the vessel of choice for your artisan soft serve ice cream. Adriano Zumbo’s South Yarra café sells around 500 of these babies on an average weekend and shows no sign of slowing down. Pick and choose your toppings – freckles, musk sticks, gummy bears, chocolate shards, pretzels, maybe even a few mini marshmallows. 21 Daly St, South Yarra

Cronuts, Tivoli Road Bakery

Responsible for bringing the cronut to our shores, this iconic bakery is now just as well known for its custard filled doughnuts, but you can’t go to Melbourne without trying one of their legendary dossants. Doughnut meets croissant, still a winning combination every time. 3 Tivoli Rd, South Yarra

Brownie Stack, Yarra Valley Chocolaterie

Chocoholics travel from far and wide to visit the Willy Wonka-esque spot in the Yarra Valley. From giant freckles to artisan truffles, there’s more than 250 different types of chocolate treats but make a beeline for the café out the back. That’s where you’ll find the big brownie stack. Made in house by the pastry chefs, the brownies are bestsellers. Grab a few, stack them up like a giant jenga, drizzle them in the shot of melted chocolate served with every dessert and load them with a scoop of homemade ice cream on top. 35 Old Healesville Rd, Yarra Glen

Scrolls, Scroll Ice Cream

Scooping is so 2015. This is the year of the ice cream Scroll! Currently all the rage in New York, Australia’s first Scroll ice cream store has brought the Thai treat to our shores. Phew, we’re cool again. Using a cold plate kept at a chilly -20 degrees Celsius, the team freezes milk and cream from a local dairy, adds on ingredients like cheesecake, Tim Tams, Nutella and Oreos, flattens them out and rolls them up with a scraper into a pretty scroll. 190 High St, Windsor

Croissant Degustation, Lune Lab

One croissant for breakfast? Pfft. Times have changed! Melbourne’s croissant queen Kate Reid had people queuing up from 4am to try handmade croissants as they came fresh from the oven of her Lune Croissanterie, but these days, one is just not enough. Leaving behind her tiny Elwood bakery, Reid’s new Fitzroy location has its very own Lune Lab, where you’ll get to skip the queue and the early start, arriving at 8.30am to watch the team work their magic inside a glass cube in the centre of the space. You’ll get to try three pastries, one traditional croissant pulled fresh from the oven, one experimental savoury pastry (think confit duck danish) and one wild sweet treat (perhaps a kaya cruffin). An off menu pastry flight – now this sounds like the right way to start the day. 119 Rose St, Fitzroy

Brownie Cookie Sandwiches, Butterbing

We’re not talking about your average Monte Carlo. Oh no, Butterbing is all about being bigger and better. Their brownie cookie sandwiches are sold in markets and more than 80 cafes around the city. Two dark chocolate brownie cookies are joined together with different flavours of buttercream. And then there’s the Butterboom. Weighing in at 1.5kg, this monster that’s literally bigger than your head. Markets around Melbourne 140 Hoddle St, Abbotsford

Donuts, Shortstop Coffee & Donuts

These delicious donuts are keeping city slickers well sugared with their holey creations. Smack bang in the CBD, their donuts have an almost cult following, and with flavours like Maple Walnut, Strawberry Lime and Earl Grey Rose, it’s easy to see why. 12 Sutherland St, Melbourne CBD

Ice Cream Sliders, Cold Rock

It may be time to unbuckle your belt for Cold Rock’s new ice cream sliders. A modern take on the once humble burger, these sliders provide ice-cream aficionados and burger devotees alike with two great things all combined into one. The toasty brioche bun comes filled with your favourite ice cream flavour and mix-in’s, served with your choice of deliciously sweet, premium ‘sauce’. With three flavours to choose from – rich chocolate (BBQ), stick caramel (mustard), sweet raspberry (tomato) – there’s sure to be one to get your taste buds moving. 101 Waterfront Way, Docklands

Soft Serve Time, Aqua S

Ever tried a sea salt soft serve clouded in fairy floss? Well now you can! Sydney’s soft serve sensation Aqua S has come to the CBD. Bright, colourful and creamy soft serve in wild flavours await, like Aqua S’s signature flavour, sea salt. Freshly piped out of the soft serve machine in an irresistible shade of blue, it’s sweet, creamy and tastes a bit like panna cotta. You can have the soft serve on its own (but really, that’s no fun), so splurge on toppings like sweet popcorn, pop-rock candy or flame-grilled marshmallow. 16 Red Cape Lane, Melbourne QV

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