These boozy Utah desserts take indulgence to a whole new level

Dessert is already special. But the trick to really taking it over the top? Adding just a little bit of liquor to the mix.

The following Utah desserts all have at least some alcohol in them, from a little to a lot. So if you like a nip of something with your sweets, read on.

Most of the confections on this list — including the chocolates, the peaches and cream cheesecake, and the bread pudding — have just enough alcohol that you get only a hint of the flavor when you take a bite.

Romina Rasmussen, owner and chocolatier of Chez Nibs, and Adalberto Diaz, founder and executive chef of Fillings & Emulsions, both told me they use the same amount of alcohol in a dessert that they would use vanilla — it’s not like you could get inebriated off of one of their treats. Instead, the role of the alcohol is to boost flavors in whatever they’re making, they said.

“Alcohol is prevalent in our desserts — in amounts that are legal to be sold as a dessert,” Diaz said of Fillings & Emulsions’ menu.

“State law recognizes that a small amount of alcohol is required in some cooking recipes,” said Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services spokesperson Michelle Schmitt. “Businesses are bound by state law, which says a very small amount of alcohol is allowed in food preparation and the food product cannot contain more than 0.5% alcohol by volume.”

Rasmussen said that she likes to add a bit of alcohol to many of her desserts. Just as people tend to layer flavors when they cook, she said, she does that with her desserts as well, “because then they taste more well-rounded.”

For example, if she’s making an orange-based dessert, she said she would typically add some Grand Marnier, an orange-flavored liqueur, along with the zest or juice of the orange, “so that I’ve got orange flavor coming in a couple of different ways.”

So indulge in this list and live a little — we won’t tell.

Bread pudding — Just a smidge

If you want to partake in something truly decadent while you watch a burlesque show at speakeasy bar Prohibition (151 E. 6100 South, Murray), order the bourbon caramel bread pudding and maybe not share it.

Chef de cuisine Miriam Alcala said this super-sweet dessert takes about a day and a half to make, and involves soaking thick-cut brioche bread in a mixture of heavy cream, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar and almond extract for over 24 hours.

Once the bread has soaked up all that goodness, it’s baked for a couple of hours, then chilled, Alcala said. After that, it’s cut into triangles, then it’s warmed and drizzled with bourbon caramel sauce, which is made in-house (the bourbon “cooks off” in the process). Then it’s topped with fresh sliced strawberries, whipped cream and housemade candied pecans, which are a little bit sweet and a little bit salty.

Eating this treat is a lot like eating thick, soft French toast. And there’s just a hint of bourbon flavor when you take a bite.

Peaches and cream cheesecake — Just a hint

You probably wouldn’t guess it, but the seasonal peaches and cream cheesecake from bakery Fillings & Emulsions has liquor in three of its components. Dotted with bits of toasted almonds, the cheesecake itself — which is creamier and softer than typical New York-style cheesecake, Adalberto Diaz said — contains amaretto, an Italian liqueur made with almonds and apricot kernels. The brightly flavored peach “marmalade” on top contains peach schnapps in addition to diced fresh peaches. And the luxurious cream wrapped around the cake contains a small amount of rum.

Diaz said the schnapps is meant to “enhance the flavor of the peaches,” but the peach preserves will probably just taste peachy to most people. The amaretto in the cheesecake is cooked off in the baking process, Diaz said, which means the cheesecake will just taste like almonds. But Diaz said the rum flavor in the cream should be detectable.

This special confection will be available at both Fillings & Emulsions locations (one in Salt Lake City at 1475 S. Main St., and one in West Valley City at 1980 W. 3500 South) until about mid-September, Diaz said.

Bonbons and a Drunken Turtle — Just a splash

Romina Rasmussen likes to add liqueurs to a lot of the bonbons she sells at her sweet shop Chez Nibs (212 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City), including the coconut and the bourbon pecan.

She said the coconut bonbon, which is vegan, is filled with a plant-based white chocolate made with powdered rice milk and coconut milk, mixed with a bit of Malibu, a coconut-flavored liqueur made with white rum. The shell is a 67% dark chocolate (meaning that 67% of the chocolate is made up of cocoa solids and cocoa butter).

The first half of the filling in the bourbon pecan bonbon has two kinds of chocolate in it: One is a 65% dark chocolate that’s a little smoky, and the second is a 35% milk chocolate, and the two are mixed together to form a ganache, which has a touch of bourbon from Sugar House Distillery added to it. The second inner layer is a pecan praliné, which is a nut paste (made with pecans in this case) combined with caramel, which then has some milk chocolate added to it.

In addition to her bonbons, Rasmussen has come out with a new lightly boozy treat in the past month or so, the Drunken Turtle. This perfectly cubed-shaped confection conceals four distinct layers in a shell of dark chocolate: Soft caramel, pecan nougat, bourbon ganache and pecan praliné. The same smoky ganache that’s used in the bourbon bonbon is used in the Drunken Turtle, she said.

And don’t let its size fool you: At an inch and a half square, the Drunken Turtle is three times the size of Rasmussen’s bonbons, and an indulgence all on its own.

Boozy milkshake — Moderately boozy

The boozy milkshakes at Hub & Spoke Diner (1291 S. 1100 East, Salt Lake City) are so unique, the only other place I’ve had one is a very dark, vibey bar in Milwaukee called Bryant’s. But these are the real deal; you have to show I.D. to order one, even if you’re also getting eggs Benedict for brunch.

You can choose from four different regular flavors, each $9.99 and made with vanilla ice cream: salted caramel (bourbon, caramel and sea salt), Irish coffee (Irish whiskey, brown sugar and coffee), dirty chai (rum, espresso and chai concentrate) and grasshopper (peppermint simple syrup, creme de menthe and creme de cacao). There’s also a special flavor, strawberry Oreo, which is only occasionally on the menu as a special and is made with creme de cacao, vodka, Oreos and strawberry syrup.

Anne Brings, Hub & Spoke’s front-of-house manager, said the boozy milkshakes are part of the diner’s original menu, so they’ve been around for about eight years. Diners “love them,” she said. They’re one of Hub & Spoke’s best-selling items, “and they go fast.”

As far as Brings knows, Hub & Spoke is the only place in town that does boozy milkshakes, and they’re especially a draw for locals in the neighborhood, she said. “A lot of them love to come down for a little afternoon treat with their spouse or partner,” Brings said.

During a recent lunch, I ordered the salted caramel, and thought it was a perfectly balanced dessert in a glass. It had just the right amount of sweetness and the right amount of bourbon — I could definitely taste that smokiness, but it wasn’t overpowering. It was just enough booze to make this milkshake into a once-in-a-while treat.

Amaro float — The booziest

The amaro float from bar Copper Common (111 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City) is so boozy that it’s as much a drink as it is a dessert.

Simplicity itself, each float is made up of soft-serve ice cream, with one of three Italian liqueurs poured over the top. You can choose from three combinations: Cappelletti and vanilla ice cream, Branca Menta and chocolate ice cream, or CioCiaro and swirl.

Tim Burt, Copper Common’s beverage manager, said he was inspired to create the amaro float by thinking about affogato, which means “drowned” in Italian and is made by pouring hot espresso over vanilla gelato or ice cream and sometimes adding in a shot of liqueur. He said he wanted to highlight Copper Common’s amari selection while doing something “fun and dessert-y.”

If you’re unfamiliar with these liqueurs, he said Cappelletti would be put in the same category as Aperol or Campari, which is a red bitter with a strong citrus-y, orange component. Since Cappelleti is wine-based, which is unusual for a lot of amari, Burt said, it has a “tanginess” to it. It also a “strong vanilla characteristic,” which gives the entire float the “vibe” of an orange creamsicle, he said. Of the three amaro floats, the Cappelletti and vanilla ice cream is “the most light and the most citrus-y,” he said.

Branca Menta is made by the same manufacturer that makes Fernet-Branca, a liqueur made with multiple herbs and spices, Burt said. But where that amaro is bitter, Branca Menta “amps up the mintiness” as well as sweetness, giving the float the feel of mint chocolate chip ice cream, but with more complexity and bitterness, he explained.

CioCiaro almost tastes like a chocolate-covered orange, Burt said. He said the team at Copper Common did a lot of testing with different amari and ice cream combinations, and “that one worked really well with both vanilla and chocolate,” which is why they went with the swirl soft-serve. Of the three options, the CioCiaro is the most bitter and medicinal tasting, he said.

I like the amaro float a lot because you get that boozy punch, but it’s tempered by the sweet and creamy ice cream. You’ll scoop up then sip every last drop.