You know those days when all you feel like having in the day is dessert. Nothing else matters but the urgent need to satiate that sweet tooth that’s gone out of control, and is begging for a slice, scoop, dollop, chunk of something seriously decadent.

Well, on those days, these are some of the many New York bakeries that I’d love to package up and bring back home to Dubai.  

Financier
a French pastry shop, cleverly named after the rich almond cake bar of the same name, as well as its first location in the Financial District.

My first pick of the day was a dense chocolate walnut slab with a thick top coat of thick chocolate ganache, moist to the core in a way that coats your tongue with velvety chocolate cake crumbs, and an occasional salty walnut to further amplify the sweetness till your taste buds are driven to the brink of a colossal chocolate death.

Most people would wash that kind of dessert down with some sort of detoxifying drink. But why take up precious stomach space in a bakery with water or tea? I’d just ‘wash’ it down with a non-chocolate, lighter and fruitier dessert: like this wonderful pastry (whose name I’m blanking on) that was a mix between different pastries I love – the powdery sugar-sprinkled streusel of a crumb cake on top, smooth surface of a well-buttered pound cake, and the glazed syrupy stuffing of an apple galette.

I’d also once been gifted a truly magnificent, raspberry-glazed cake for my birthday by two Financier-crazy girlfriends (Mary and Rads, you ladies rock!) – tangy berry glaze, light layers of cake, and a creamy mousse layer sandwiched in between.

Gotta love the French’s generosity with butter and cream.

Want more sweet stuff? Check out Part 2: A sweet bite of the Big Apple: Sunburst Espresso Bar, NYC

Financier Patisserie
3-4 World Financial Center, Battery Park City,New York, NY 10281 (check website for other locations in Manhattan)
Phone: +1 (212) 786-3220
www.financierpatisserie.com