Atlanta | Peach Cobbler - Claiming the top peach cobbler spot in this city takes serious chops. Ivy’s did that. So while you can’t go wrong with any of the cobblers at this small Grant Park bakery (apple, blueberry, or apple-cherry mix), our favorite dessert here has to be peach. The fruit, sourced from local farms, is soft but not mushy. It’s sweet without being cloying. The spice blend, which hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, comes through just enough to let the fruit shine.

Austin | Chocotaco - If you’re over the age of 12, you’ve probably had Klondike’s discontinued Choco Taco (and if you’re younger than that, get back to class). But you probably haven’t had a Choco Taco quite like this one, complete with a housemade chocolate masa shell, peanut caramel, cinnamon semifreddo, and roasted peanuts. It hits every nostalgia nerve at once. The best part: It never comes out smooshed.

Chicago | Ube Banana Pudding - The first time we encountered Kanin’s ube banana pudding, we completely excavated an entire tub, not leaving a streak of purple behind. The trifecta of ube, banana, and vanilla wafers blends together into a harmonious mix that’s rich, nutty, and sweet—but not too sweet. It’s so light and fluffy that even when you’re ready to put it down, it’s easy to have more than a few “last” spoonfuls until it's gone.

Los Angeles | Mango Sticky Rice - Bhan Kanom is basically Circle K for your sweet tooth. The shelves are lined with imported snacks and candy, and behind the counter, glorious mango sticky rice. Served in a takeout box, the mango is soft and slippery and the warm-ish rice is always the perfect temperature. The best nights in Thai Town end on the hood of your car with this beauty and a plastic fork.

Miami | Key Lime Pie - If we’re only picking one key lime pie, it has to be Joe’s. Yes, it’s a nostalgic key lime pie. But it’s also a great one. It’s tart, arrives in the perfect semi-frozen state, and has a crust that snaps (but isn’t as hard as cement). You also don’t have to go through the effort of getting a table at Joe’s to have this. Just go next door to Joe's Take Away. If you order a whole pie to go, it’ll come with an entire can of whipped cream. We like that ratio.

NYC | Egg Tart - Xin Fa makes our favorite Portuguese-style egg tarts in town. The pastry crust is gorgeously flaky. The custard filling is silky, jiggly, and barely set, with a perfectly caramelized surface. There will likely be a line (sometimes all the way out the door) at this Sunset Park spot, but Xin Fa is a well-oiled machine and you won’t have to wait too long. Besides, it’s worth it: Eating one of these egg tarts still hot from the oven is a borderline religious experience.

Philadelphia | Chocolate Mousse Donut - The classic Reading Terminal Market shop has been serving beautifully cakey, hand-rolled donuts for decades. And those years of experience are apparent in each fluffy bite. There are over 40 daily varieties of these warm Pennsylvania Dutch treats, but our favorite is the chocolate mousse. The mousse is airy, the fragrant dough is golden, and the creme icing on top has just a hint of sweet tang.

San Francisco | Coffee Crunch Cake - The layers are spongy and just sturdy enough to hold tiers of stiff coffee cream in between them. The slight bitterness from the coffee is balanced out with a toffee coating. The real question isn’t whether you want a slice, but where to get it: both Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop and Eastern Bakery serve versions of the cake that are worth developing a caffeine addiction for. Just get to either place early and bring cash.

Sea Bright, New Jersey | Cannoli - Anjelica’s in Sea Bright is a red-sauce joint where dessert menus aren’t a thing and seasoned servers passionately rattle off the dozen or so nightly options. And while bomboloni would be a lovely name for a baby boy, nothing beats Anjelica’s cannoli. This beauty is often served with its ends double-dipped in pistachios alongside a scoop of gelato, and is guaranteed to provide a controversy-free final scene to your meal.

Nashville | Kakigori - The kakigori at Locust is the restaurant’s most recognizable dish. The structures of wispy ice hide fillings like custardy black tea or bits of cookie and, depending on the day, it’ll come out topped with dried fruit dust or a milky drizzle and cured egg yolk. Sharing one at the end of the meal is non-negotiable, even if you’re full from too much caviar. No matter how high the snow-like mounds are stacked, you’ll make quick work of it.

Honolulu | Malasadas - A malasada is a Portuguese-style donut that’s covered in sugar. And even though Pipeline Bakeshop & Creamery is a relative newcomer to Honolulu, their fluffy malasadas are already a citywide favorite, right up there with popular progenitor Leonard’s Bakery. They come fried to order, and we like them best with a dusting of puckery-sweet li hing powder. This grab-and-go spot also does a malafrozada ice cream flavor that’s studded with malasada chunks.

Minnepolis | Turtle Cake - The line at Cafe Latte starts with a display of cakes, cheesecakes, and tarts, and the turtle cake is first among equals. Three fluffy layers of chocolate cake are barely held together with chocolate buttercream, and the top glistens with caramel and pecans. Bittersweet chocolate notes and the rich toasted flavor of the caramel counterbalance all the sugar. Even so, eating a whole piece solo is a challenge, so plan to share one of the hefty cut-to-order slices.

New Orleans | Beignets - Beignets are synonymous with New Orleans, and you can find them everywhere you look. Cafe Du Monde is as classic as it gets—they've been serving coffee and beignets in the same location since 1862. And while it’s one of the most touristy spots in the city, standing in the long, unorganized line is an essential part of the New Orleans experience. The beignets are always hot and generously caked in powdered sugar.

Seattle | Ube Cheesecake - If you show any local a photo of these violet swirls and they don’t recognize it, back away slowly. And good news for everyone on this planet—Hood Famous’s mini ube cheesecake is just as delicious as it is adorable, complete with a silky middle and buttery cookie crust. Pair it with the purple-stained iced ube latte for the most iconic of one-two punches.

Jericho, VT | Maple Creemee - Most places call it soft serve, but in Vermont, it's a creemee—not a creamy, though that's the main selling point of the rich, high-butterfat ice cream. Though they’re available pretty much everywhere, you can get a Grade-A creemee at Palmer Lane Maple in Jericho, where the good stuff heads directly from the founders' sugarbush to a local dairy ice-cream base.

Albuquerque | Sopaipillas - New Mexico’s quintessential dessert, the sopaipilla, isn’t necessarily kept for the end of the meal. These golden rounds or squares of fried dough are served at traditional restaurants alongside main dishes like enchiladas or posole. But once they get a drizzle of honey, sopaipillas move into sweet dessert territory. El Patio, around since the ’70s, makes some of the best in the state.

Portland, Oregon | Marionberry Pie - Marionberries, a blackberry-raspberry hybrid, are Oregonian to the core. In the summer, you’ll find this locally celebrated fruit in its optimal form: baked into a pie. Bipartisan Cafe makes an exemplary version, with a flaky crust bursting with fruit—the sweet-tart filling is so thick and juicy it feels like an entire berry patch has been packed in. Grab a whole one and set out for a picnic at nearby Mt. Tabor Park.

Milwaukee | Kopp's Frozen Custard - Frozen custard is Wisconsin’s dairy product crown jewel—and that’s saying a lot for a state that’s obsessed with cheese. The custard is made with egg yolks, plus other ice cream ingredients, and nobody does it better than Kopp’s. This local burger chain has been around since the ’50s, and the workers wear white paper hats as they scoop vanilla, malty chocolate, and a variety of other seasonal flavors from the gigantic custard machines.

DC | Tiramisu Flambé - The tiramisu at L’Ardente arrives as a glossy chocolate orb. A shot of rum is poured over the top and then lit, submerging the bocce ball-sized dome in blue flames like a Hollywood stunt performer. The hard chocolate melts away, revealing layers of soft ladyfingers piled between espresso-infused mascarpone and passion fruit. The result is one of the best, and most original, desserts in DC. Just make sure all the flames are out before you dig in.

Las Vegas | Bananas Foster - If you want a mix of flashy Vegas showmanship and classic swagger, order the bananas foster at Golden Steer. It’s full-on theater, complete with pyrotechnics: A tuxedoed server swirls sliced bananas into a sizzling pan with the panache of someone who’s done this since Sinatra was a regular. Then come the flames, with a dash of cinnamon that sends sparks shooting into the air like mini-fireworks, before the caramelized goodness is spooned over vanilla ice cream.

Baltimore | Snowball - Baltimore’s summer dessert staple is the snowball: shaved ice that’s flavored with all kinds of syrups, with the option to add a thick layer of marshmallow on top. You can find them at various roadside shacks all over the city, but the surroundings and history at The Peggy are particularly notable. They’ve been around since 1922, and the shack is attached to a luscious garden and accompanying store. There are over 40 flavors, all using real cane sugar.

Charleston | Coconut Cake - Peninsula Grill has been a fine dining staple in Charleston for almost 30 years. The restaurant is best known for their decadent, multi-layered coconut cake, which has been on the menu since the second day they opened. The combination of the six fluffy cake layers, chewy shredded coconut, and creamy frosting is what launched this into the pantheon of great Southern desserts.

Boston | Baked Alaska - Boston is known for its cannoli and cream pies, but for our money the baked alaska at Oleana is this city’s most iconic dessert. It would be a standout anywhere, but the whimsical presentation and island-y flavors feel particularly special in a city known for being the opposite of extra. A hockey-puck-sized coconut macaroon is the foundation for a dense, delightfully bittersweet coconut ice cream. It’s then cloaked in a torched meringue before it lands on the table.