Sections
  • Best of Washington
  • News & Politics
    • Washingtonian Today
  • Things to Do
    • DC Welcome Guide
    • This Week
    • 100 Best Things to Do in DC
    • Neighborhood Guides
    • DC-Area Events Calender
    • Washingtonian Events
  • Food & Drink
    • 100 Very Best Restaurants
    • The Hot List
    • Brunch
    • New Restaurants
    • Restaurant Finder
  • Home & Style
    • Health
    • Parenting
  • Shopping
    • Gift Guides
  • Real Estate
    • Top Realtors
    • Listings We Love
    • Rave Worthy Rentals
  • Weddings
    • Real Weddings
    • Wedding Vendor Finder
    • Submit Your Wedding
  • Travel
    • DC Welcome Guide
    • Best Airbnbs Around DC
    • 3 Days in DC
  • Best of DC
    • Doctors
    • Apartment Rentals
    • Dentists
    • Financial Advisors
    • Industry Leaders
    • Lawyers
    • Mortgage Pros
    • Pet Care
    • Private Schools
    • Realtors
    • Wedding Vendors
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Subscription
    • Current & Past Issues
    • Features and Longreads
    • Newsletters
    • Newsstand Locations
Reader Favorites
  • 100 Very Best Restaurants
  • DC-Area Events Calendar
  • Brunch
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
Washington’s Best
  • Apartment Rentals
  • DC Travel Guide
  • Dentists
  • Doctors
  • Financial Advisers
  • Health Experts
  • Home Improvement Experts
  • Industry Leaders
  • Lawyers
  • Mortgage Professionals
  • Pet Care
  • Private Schools
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Restaurants
  • Retirement Communities
  • Wedding Vendors
Privacy Policy |  Rss
© 2025 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Skip to content
  • Menu

Your Guide to Desserts in the DC Area

From homey cakes and pies to Korean shaved ice and fancy soft-serve.

Written by Ann Limpert
, Jessica Sidman
, Ike Allen
and Nevin Martell
| Published on September 5, 2024
Tweet Share
Honey Semifreddo at Lutece. Photograph by Alex Lau.

Your Guide to Desserts in the DC Area

From homey cakes and pies to Korean shaved ice and fancy soft-serve.

Written by Ann Limpert
, Jessica Sidman
, Ike Allen
and Nevin Martell
| Published on September 5, 2024
Tweet Share
Contents
  1. Craving a Sweet Treat? Here Are the Best Desserts in the DC-Area.
  2. Welcome to Apple Fritter Season, DC
  3. Recipe: How to Bake Lemon Cookies Like Paola Velez
  4. 4 Bakers Who Craft Gorgeous Special Occasion Cakes Around DC

 

Craving a Sweet Treat? Here Are the Best Desserts in the DC-Area.

Our favorite desserts and pastries around Washington include decadent sundaes, cakes, and pies.

 


Back to Top

Welcome to Apple Fritter Season, DC

Here is where you can get your hands on the sticky, deep-fried dessert.

 


Back to Top

Recipe: How to Bake Lemon Cookies Like Paola Velez

In her new cookbook, the DC pastry chef calls these a cross between sugar cookies and lemonade.

 


Back to Top

4 Bakers Who Craft Gorgeous Special Occasion Cakes Around DC

Whether you want wow factor for a wedding or a showy centerpiece for a birthday bash, these bakers create cakes that pop on Instagram–and your palate.

More: FeaturesDessert
Join the conversation!
Share Tweet
Ann Limpert
Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.

Jessica Sidman
Jessica Sidman
Food Editor

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.

Ike Allen
Ike Allen
Assistant Editor
Nevin Martell
Parenting writer

Nevin Martell is a parenting, food, and travel writer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Saveur, Men’s Journal, Fortune, Travel + Leisure, Runner’s World, and many other publications. He is author of eight books, including It’s So Good: 100 Real Food Recipes for Kids, Red Truck Bakery Cookbook: Gold-Standard Recipes from America’s Favorite Rural Bakery, and the small-press smash Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. When he isn’t working, he loves spending time with his wife and their six-year-old son, who already runs faster than he does.

Longreads

Perfect for your commute

Does Eleanor Holmes Norton Still Have What It Takes to Fight for DC?

Why PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk Is Still Getting in Our Faces

Human Decomposition Has Been a Mystery–Until Now

Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s Way Through

Related

Dolcezza Is Opening an H Street Gelateria—With Soft-Serve

Craving a Sweet Treat? Here Are the Best Desserts in the DC Area.

Welcome to Apple Fritter Season, DC

4 Bakers Who Craft Gorgeous Special Occasion Cakes Around DC

© 2025 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Washingtonian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Privacy Policy and Opt-Out
 Rss
Get the best news, delivered weekly.
By signing up, you agree to our terms.
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs