‘Every chef knows that women and desserts are a winning combination,’ writes Stefan Chomka for British publication, Olive. ‘…which is why the last course tends to be a feminine affair.’

Our local chefs aren’t quite so cynical. Margot Janse, chef at The Tasting Room, says that she doesn’t design her desserts with any particular gender in mind. ‘Instead I think about the experience I want to create,’ she says. ‘And personally, I don’t like things that are too sweet, desserts should have everything, every other dish has: balance, texture, flavour and acidity. I enjoy playing with savoury elements in my desserts too.’ (Margots naartjie cannelloni with buttermilk filling , pictured.)

‘Desserts are about textural play and flavour,’ says chef Richard Carstens. ‘I don’t create my desserts for the feminine market.’ He, too, likes to experiment with savoury touches in his desserts.

Chomka also writes that women are more responsive to recommendations than men are, and this is why waiters ‘tend to gush about a particular dessert’.

Well, if that’s true, ladies (and gentlemen) – try these heart-stoppingly good after-dinner treats.

Cape Town

Anatoli, honey-drenched baklava
Beluga, chocolate truffle cake
Bird’s Boutique Café, cake and moerkoffie
Blue Water Café, lemon meringue
Café Orca, The Mozart – meringue and hazelnut praline
Cargill’s, pot au chocolat
Ciao Baby Cucina, zuccotto drenched in Amaretto
HQ, dark chocolate tart
Jardine, apple crumble
Marika’s Restaurant, nougatine cake
Maze, roast hazelnut and Amarula panna cotta
Miss K, marshmallow cupcakes
Nobu, cold passion-fruit brûlée
Queen of Tarts, chocolate meringue, or any of the tarts on offer
The Greenhouse, peanut butter parfait
Trattoria Luigi, tiramisu

Winelands

Franschhoek

Kalfi’s, baked peach pud
Mange Tout, rice pudding
Rickety Bridge, Malva pudding
The Tasting Room, naartjie cannelloni with buttermilk filling

Paarl

Bosman’s, flambéed pineapple
Café Juno, gorgeous sticky pancakes
De Leuwen Jagt, honey and rooibos crème brûlée
Kikka, cake and coffee
Noop, chocolate cassata
Pontac Manor, rich orange malva pudding served with bourbon treacle
Proviant, apricot pudding

Stellenbosch

Bead’s Restaurant, chocolate millionaire cake
Cuvee at Simonsig, Vin de Liza sorbet and Cap Classique jelly with flowers
Delaire Graff Estate Restaurant , rose-geranium ice cream
Overture, chocolate mousse topped with ginger foam and served with banana-poppy seed ice cream.

Pretoria

Al Dente Ristorante & Pizzeria, white chocolate mousse
Brasserie de Paris, hot chocolate velvet cake
Boston Kitchen, lemon posset
Cynthia’s Indigo Moon, chocolate mousse
Karoo Café, roosterkoek with condensed milk
La Madeleine, Grand Marnier soufflé
La Pentola, Granny Smith fritters
Mosaic Restaurant, gardenia-infused poached peach with red muscat reduction
Pachas, Amaretto-almond crème brûlée

Johannesburg

Bellgables Country Restaurant, plate of miniatures – crème brûlée, chocolate mousse and a sorbet
Café del Sol, Pavlova, sorbet or affogato
Casalinga Ristorante, granadilla pulp Pavlova
Coachman’s Inn, malva pudding with custard
Contessa, chocolate caramel cake
De Hoek Country house, semolina cake
Dino’s Restaurant, crêpe Suzette
DW eleven 13, carrot sticky toffee pudding with carrot fudge sauce
Faff, warm apple rhubarb crisp with cinnamon gelato
George’s on Fourth, bread-and-butter pudding
La Cucina di Ciro, plum-and-almond pudding
Le Canard, pecan-nut crêpe Lekgotla, milk tart Life, almond meringue roulade
Linger Longer, chocolate ganâche in a brandy-snap basket
Metro, Belgian chocolate cake
Mythos, pistachio-and-halva ice cream
Roots, chocolate landscape, beetroot ice cream, by Philippe Wagenfuhrer (pictured, centre)

Durban

9th Avenue Bistro, bread-and-butter pudding
Gateway to India, gulab jamun – fried milk dough balls drenched in syrup
Ile Maurice, crème brûlée
Jam Restaurant, pear-and-ginger crumble with nougat ice cream
Plaka, baklava

This is by no means a definitive list of all the delicious and gooey desserts available around the country. If you feel we’ve made a grave error in leaving out your favourite dessert, let us know at web@eatout.co.za.