Luxe desserts incorporate gold flakes, wearable jewelry, and more

BY TOM O’CONNELL

When the taste buds demand a rich after-dinner dessert, sometimes only the most opulent will do. With some of the highest-end treats, diners have to be careful to not chip a tooth on a diamond or two—or 2,000.

The Valentine Diamond chocolate dessert, said to have been created by a Tokyo chef, allegedly is adorned with just that many of this sparkling gemstone, and will set you back $50 million, making it the most expensive dessert on the planet (no one has actually bought one, so the Guinness Book of World Records hasn’t yet come calling).

Of course, more sensible options exist for those who feel the need to impress and indulge.

At the lower end, headline-worthy sweet eats start at a relatively paltry $1,000. One could finish off a meal with the Golden Opulence Sundae at famed Serendipity 3 in New York City, one-time favorite haunt of the late Andy Warhol. This ice cream concoction once held the Guinness record as the world’s most expensive dessert, with its mixture of the most exotic cocoas, chocolates and candied fruits straight from Paris. Its most striking feature is a crown of edible 23-karat gold leaf, but it also comes with a spoon of Grand Passion dessert caviar and almonds dipped in gold. It must be ordered 48 hours in advance.

Serendipity later beat its own Guinness record with the $25,000 “Frrrozen Haute Chocolate,” which comes with a bracelet made of 18-karat gold and a carat of white diamonds. It currently holds the Guinness record for desserts, but is about to get beat out by an entry from England.

These outlandish culinary baubles slid largely under the radar after the 2008 economic meltdown, but made headlines and controversy when gold-flecked desserts were served at the Golden Globe awards in January 2012. The dessert, described as “a chocolate delice, almond crunch terrine, garnished with acacia honey, caramel and fresh berries,” was made with gold flakes costing $135 per gram.

The previous month, British diamond trader Carl Weininger made headlines in U.K. tabloids when he tucked into a $34,700 “pudding” (Bill Cosby would not recognize it as such) as a way to soothe a broken heart after his girlfriend of three years dumped him. Weininger devoured the dessert, draped in chocolate, caviar, gold leaf and a 2-carat diamond, in just 15 minutes with the help of fellow diners. The dessert, available at Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel, is as of yet waiting for official recognition from Guinness.

For a more sensible (after airfare) après-meal treat, head to Bangkok’s Mezzaluna Italian eatery at the Lebua at State Tower hotel for its $640 Chocolate Variation, featuring gold flake and a Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2000 champagne sherbet, and paired with a glass of ultra-rare Moyet Tres Vieille Grande Champagne No. 7.

Luxury dessert bargain hunters can stay stateside and drop by the Knipschildt Chocolatier of Norwalk, Conn., for a Madeleine Truffle. Each goes for a mere $250, topping Forbe’s list as the most expensive piece of chocolate in the world.

-September 2012