MoMo & Coco

NYC’s Best Corn Desserts

Introduction

Winter in NYC…fifty shades of grey…bah. To chase away all that grey, we have been yearning for pops of yellow.  Say hello to NYC’s best corn desserts! Is this or will this be the newest dessert trend to explode with greater intensity in NYC this year 2024? 😀

Korean-French corn mousse cake

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Lysee, Flatiron, Manhattan. 
  • ☑ Budget: $$-$$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Elegantly crafted and very subtly flavoured, this viral trompe l’oeil cake from an acclaimed Korean Michelin-starred pastry chef debuted in 2022 and continues to attract crowds of dessert addicts. See previous reviews, here and here.

Korean corn creme brulee

  • ☑ Dessert destination:
    • Moono, Koreatown, Manhattan.
    • Ariari, East Village, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $$-$$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Since the city sprung back to life in 2022-2023, there has been a tsunami of Korean restaurants popping up. Two of the best ones on the casual end of the dining spectrum are Moono and Ariari. Moono’s corn creme brulee errs more to the traditional side, with a quenelle of burdock ice cream. Ariari’s version is sweeter, with corn nuggets embedded within and shavings of white chocolate gracing the surface. Check out our round-up review of both of these spots (and other excellent modern Korean restaurant desserts) here and here.

Korean corn croffle

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Gonggan, Flushing, Queens.
  • ☑ Budget: $$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Gonggan is one of the most creative dessert spots in NYC, it’s just a pity that it is all the way in Flushing, which is about 1.5 hours away by train from our Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood. 😦 Otherwise, you would likely find us there every weekend. 😀  Gonggan specializes in especially kooky-looking dessert creations (look out for a forthcoming review), but we actually think that the best desserts at Gonggan are not the ones that have generated a billion Tiktok videos. Bypass those, and focus instead on the variety of croissants or croffles on offer. Of the latter, don’t miss the corn croffle that is smothered with two giant orbs of corn ice cream resembling a melting rotund snowman. Yes, it’s looks absolutely crazy, but it is many degrees less sweet than we thought it would be, and a thousand degrees more rave-worthy than we anticipated.

Japanese-Korean corn ice cream

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Konban, Chelsea, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $$-$$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  For when you can’t decide between chocolate or ice cream for dessert, look no further than Konban’s corn icecream, which sees white chocolate moulded into the form of a corn, painted in sunshine yellow and a heart encasing creamy, sweet corn ice cream. Love, love, love, love, love. See here for a previous review. 

Taiwanese roasted corn bubble milk tea

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Machi Machi, various locations, including Koreatown, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  What’s better than bubble tea? Bubble tea served piping hot with dollops of sweet corn puree swirled inside, corn cream foam twirled onto its surface, and a small skewer of roasted grilled corn as the cherry on the top. 

Mexican-style corn cake

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Tan, Midtown East, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Along with Oiji Mi, Zaytina, Le Jardinier, Genesis House, Tan is probably one of our top five restaurant picks for beautiful restaurant ambience. By contrast to Lysee’s subtle corn mousse cake, Tan’s is more assertive, both in terms of corn flavour and sweetness levels. It comes accompanied with caramelized popcorn and dulce de leche.

Mexican corn ice cream taco

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Empellon, Midtown, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $$-$$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  When we first arrived in NYC some seven years ago, the city was in the throes of a renaissance of modern Latin American restaurants. Empellon was one of them, and the other was Cosme (see below). It’s a testament to their enduring appeal that both are still open today. Much has been written about Empellon’s trompe l’oeil avocado dessert, but we actually prefer the corn ice cream taco.

Mexican corn husk meringue

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Cosme, Flatiron, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $$$-$$$$.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Seven years ago, spending $100 pp on a casual dinner at Cosme caused us to have a little heart attack. In 2023, we don’t even blink an eye anymore as almost every dinner out with friends seems to cost at least that much, minimum. Sigh…#inflation. We still however blink an eye at Cosme’s much raved-about corn husk meringue dessert. This will always be a love-hate dessert for us.

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