As this year’s awards season edges closer, we thought we’d shine some light on the nominees and winners of last year’s Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards. Colleagues and friends often come up to members of the Eat Out team and announce that they’ll be going to one of these top restaurants. After performing a happy dance (we can’t help getting excited about our stars), we like to give them recommendations on what to order from their magnificent menus. This time, it’s all about afters. Here’s what to eat for dessert at South Africa’s best restaurants.

The Top 10

The Test Kitchen
Assiette of chocolate with grilled white chocolate cinnamon sponge, caramelia cremeux and guaja parfait (R85). Served on the à la carte menu for lunch or an option on the three-course and discovery menus for dinner.

The Tasting Room
The menu is a surprise, but expect a dish of this calibre: coconut ice cream, served in a fluorescent ball of coconut sugar that shatters into shards when warm caramel is poured over it, revealing a ball of coconut ice cream with a baobab heart on a bed of crushed macadamia nuts.

Jordan
Honey and poppy seed soufflé, served with crème anglaise and vanilla ice cream. The dish is part of the menu, which comes as two course for R275 and a three course for R320.

Overture
White chocolate mousse with poached pear and vanilla ice cream. The dessert is part of the four-course menu for R295.

Rust en Vrede
Chocolate fondant, popcorn ice cream and passion fruit or apple mousse, Rooibos crème, buchu and yoghurt sorbet, rhubarb and quinoa shard. Both served as part of the four-course menu for R550.

DW Eleven-13
Valrhona ganache, coconut sorbet, banana ice cream, chocolate banana soil, milk tart macaroon, salted peanut caramel sauce; or vanilla pavlova with vanilla chantilly, raspberry sorbet, strawberry parisians, frosted blueberry frozen berries and berry dust.

La Colombe
Toasted German apple cake, caramelised apple purée, sous vide apples, poached walnuts, spiced Catalane rolled in walnut-nutmeg crumble, fresh celery, pickled sultanas and oatmeal-cinnamon ice cream (R70); or pumpkin three ways (genoise, gelato and confiture), Valrhona Guanaja cremeux, candied pumpkin seed, dehydrated chocolate mousse, liquorice-marinated orange and micro coriander (R75).

The Greenhouse
Camembert cheesecake with roast pineapple ice cream and compote, pine nut biscotti, melba and sage. Served as part of the four-course menu for R465.

Terroir
Roasted banana and yoghurt parfait with cherry almond crumble, dulce de leche ice cream, gin foam and milk chocolate croquant. Served as part of two-courses menu at R225 with a glass of Kleine Zalze wine or R250 for three courses and a glass of Kleine Zalze Wine.

Hartford House
White asparagus panna cotta with kumquat sorbet; thick four-hour boiled caramel sauce, popcorn crumble and fig leaf jelly. Served as part of the five-course menu for R390.

The nominees

Babel
Dark chocolate fondant with clotted cream and a Babylonstoren Shiraz drizzle (R65).

Bizerca
Valrhona chocolate pudding, served with crème brûlée (R55).

Delaire Graff Restaurant
Crème brûlée, served with salted caramel (R60).

Makaron
50 shades of chocolate for R45.

Pierneef à La Motte
Dessert nostalgia: a plate filled with all-time favourites such as pancake, bread-and-butter pudding and steamed ginger pudding, served with the La Motte Straw Wine (R59); or pistachio waffle, sultana and green apple compote and toasted cocoa nib parfait (R65).

Planet Restaurant at The Mount Nelson Hotel
Fresh fruit terrine with sorbet (R65).

Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient
A walk though the sweet graden: Scents of jasmine inspired by Michel Bras at R72.

The Roundhouse
Banana soufflé with caramel ice cream (flavours of the soufflé and ice cream change regularly). Served as part of the four-course à la carte menu for R520 per person (R760 with wine).

Tokara
Chocolate handkerchief with chocolate aero, chocolate cremeaux, chocolate chiboust, chocolate streusel, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, white chocolate mousse, chocolate branches, brandy jellies and pistachio powder (R55).

The best…

Italian

Café Del Sol
Pavlova with cream and assorted berries (R55).

Asian

Saigon (Cape Town)
Deep fried ice cream.

Steakhouse

Carne SA
Dark Italian chocolate fondant with liquid chocolate centre. (Price on request.)

Country-style

Fresh at Paul Cluver
Deconstructed lemon meringue: meringue base, whipped cream and homemade lemon granadilla curd. (Price on request.)

Bistro

9^th Avenue Bistro
Trio of chocolate mousses: white, dark and milk chocolate mousses, topped with shaved chocolate (R52); vanilla bean crème brûlée (R52); or a selection of seasonal sorbets with ginger gelée and spiced tuiles (R52).

Boschendal Style Award

Green House at Babylonstoren
Freshly bakes cakes or tarts served daily (R45); or freshly baked buttermilk scones with clotted cream and preserve (R30).

Eat Out, in partnership with Monis, is in search of SA’s favourite dessert. Vote for yours and the restaurant that makes it, and you could win R500, plus a mixed case of Monis sherry, including three bottles of Medium Cream, three bottles bottles of Pale Dry and three bottles of Full Cream. Also check out our Facebook album of some of our reader’s favourite desserts.

By Kelly Pluke