There are moments in life when we must put aside the diets, stifle our super egos, embrace our ids and grab spoons.

The kids inside us want something sweet.

Fortunately, some of the greatest culinary geniuses in our region have dedicated themselves to the art of confection. You want a treat or two, you’ll find plenty worth the caloric splurge.

The key to doing this without guilt is to be selective. Forgo the day-old doughnuts your co-worker put out on the conference table. Instead, go for the best.

To help you out, the GO! Tasting Team put their taste buds and stomachs on the line, sampling delights both snooty and common to bring you the dessert tray of your dreams. Here are a few of the highlights:

Key Lime Parfait

The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave.

Price: $9

Served in a high-ball glass, filled with key lime, a tangerine sorbet and black pepper graham cracker and topped with a chocolate fan, this fluffy, beautiful dessert by Rèmy Fünfrock, The Broadmoor’s executive restaurant pastry chef,  combines so many things we look for in a dessert. (It’s pictured on the front of the section.) It’s creamy, not too heavy, and the tang from the tangerine explodes in your mouth. Fünfrock oversees the desserts for all The Broadmoor’s restaurants, and his talents hardly end with the parfait. The vanilla bean crème brûlée at Charles Court may be the best in the region, and his many wonderful ways with chocolate are on display in his Chocolate Symphony dessert at the Penrose Room.

RECIPE:

Key Lime Parfait

Black Pepper Graham Cracker, Tangerine Sorbet

Serving 8

Caramel Orange Vanilla Gelee

Caramelized Sugar                   5.29 oz

Orange Juice                   17.63 oz

Lemon juice                             2.64 oz

Vanilla Bean                   2 each

Gelatin Sheets                4 each

Orange                           2 each

Raspberry                       4 oz

Place gelatin sheets in a bowl cover with very cold water. In a medium sauce pot over high heat stir sugar until golden brown color. Add slowly orange juice, lemon juice and vanilla bean. Boil to let sugar dissolve about 2 minutes. Remove pot from the heat. Squeeze gelatin to remove water and add to the pot. Stir well, strain and set a side. 

Over a cutting board, cut each extremity of the orange. With a sharp knife, peel the orange making sure you remove enough peel to have the flesh apparent. Cut between each membrane to release segments. Cut each segment in three pieces. Cut raspberry in half. Gently combine orange and raspberry together.

Set 8 glasses on a tray. Divide evenly the fruits on the bottom of each glass. Pour caramel orange gelee to cover fruits. Refrigerate until gelee set.

Black Pepper Graham Cracker

Lime Zest                                0.28 oz

Butter room temperature           5.98 oz

Confectioner Sugar                   2.96 oz

Almond Flour                           4.64 oz

Graham Cracker Crumb           4.64 oz

Fresh Crush Black Pepper        0.14 oz

Egg White                               0.84 oz

In the bowl of a kitchenaid fitted with paddle attachment, mix all ingredients to combine. Stretch mixture between two sheets of parchment paper, using a rolling pin. About 1/8 of an inche. Refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven at 330Ëš F. Peel off the top parchment paper. Bake until golden brown color. Set a side to cool.

Lime Custard

Yolks                    3 each

Whole Eggs                   3 each

Key Lime juice     4.14oz

Sugar                    3.65 oz

Butter diced                   8.81 oz

Tangerine Sorbet

Sugar                              7.05 oz

Water                                      1.76 oz

Tangerine Juice               17.63 oz

In a sauce pot combine sugar and water. Over medium heat stir until sugar dissolved. Remove from heat. Add tangerine juice and zest. Stir well.

Freeze in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer instruction. Keep in the freezer until needed. 

Serving

Crush black pepper graham cracker and divide evenly in each glass over the custard. Dust with confectioner sugar. Top with a scoop of tangerine sorbet.

Use a garnish of your choice to decorate and serve immediately.

Pot De Creme

Nosh, 121 S. Tejon St.

Price: $4

It comes in a little dish with Nosh written in white chocolate on top, center above. This dish takes the chocolate pudding from our childhood and kicks it up several notches. It was created by Alicia Prescott, a rising star on the local culinary scene. She does sweets for Nosh, Blue Star and La’au’s Taco Shop, and you may find her taking more chances than most pastry chefs. For instance, she does a Bacon Fluff Sandwich, a dish that mixes bacon and chocolate in very weird ways. Those not so adventurous should stick to her pot de creme, cheesecakes and killer cobbler.

RECIPE:

Yield: About 6 (6-ounce) ramekins

8 ounces half & half8 ounces heavy cream4 ounces granulated sugar7 ounces egg yolks, slightly beaten4 ounces dark chocolate

Procedure:1. Scald half & half with heavy cream and sugar in a medium sized pot over medium-high heat.  Then turn heat down to medium-low.2. Take about a cup of the scalded cream and slowly pour it into a mixing bowl with the eggs yolks while whisking constantly to temper the egg yolks.3. Pour the egg yolk and cream mixture back into the pot while whisking to prevent cooking the yolks.  Keep whisking until the mixture thickens.  Be careful not to overcook, or the eggs will curdle.4. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips and whisk until fully incorporated. Immediately pour into ramekins and chill for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Ultimate Apple

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, four area locations

Price: $5.99

You can just pick it up on the stick and start eating, like at the fair. But you might ask them to slice it up for you. Then you can savor every crunchy bite without getting caramel all over your face. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has plenty of great caramel apples, which all pair tart Granny Smiths with yummy toppings, but we recommend the Ultimate Apple, loaded with caramel, chocolate, nuts … and maybe a few calories here and there.

Lemon Bars

Otho’s Cookies and Brownies, Chapel Hills Mall, 1710 Briargate Blvd.

Price: $2.75

Otho Spencer bakes like nobody’s business. His lemon bars took top dessert awards at this year’s Chef’s Gala, and if you’ve tried them you’ll understand. The dynamic lemon flavor bursts through every creamy bite.

Carrot Cake

Marigold Cafe & Bakery, 4605 Centennial Blvd.

Price: $3.95 a slice

Marigold does fine dining so well, you sometimes forget how magnificent the bakery end can be. Several of the  cakes here are divine, but the moist and nutty carrot cake, topped by a ridiculously generous layer of cream cheese frosting, is our fave.

Blackberry Sour Cream Pie

Smiley’s Bakery & Cafe, 323 N. Tejon St.

Price: $4.25 a slice

Best known for her breakfast, Amy Graham also bakes pies like your grandma used to make. We put one of her cherry pies on the newsroom snack table last week, and in 10 minutes, it looked like a crime scene. Our favorite variety is her Blackberry Sour Cream, but you can’t go wrong with the apple, either. Her crusts are perfect: flaky, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth good.

RECIPE:

2 cups fresh blackberries or 16-ounce package frozen (blueberries may be substituted)1 9-inch pie pastry shell, unbaked1 cup granulated sugar1/4 cup all-purpose flour1 1/3 cups sour cream3 tablespoons butter3 tablespoons granulated sugar1 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs … or you can use white bread crumbs)

Procedure:1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.2. Spread blackberries evenly over pie shell. Combine 1 cup sugar and flour in medium bowl. Mix sour cream into sugar/flour mixture and pour, to spread evenly, over berries.3. Melt butter in small pan. Add 3 tablespoons sugar to Panko in bowl or plastic bag. Pour melted butter over crumbs and mix. Sprinkle crumbs over pie.4. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until you can tell it has slightly set. Cool on wire rack. Serve chilled.

Rocky Mountain Road Ice Cream

Josh & John’s, 111 E. Pikes Peak Ave., 5152 N. Academy Blvd.

Price: $4.51 for one scoop in a waffle cone

The Ben and Jerry’s of local ice creamers, Josh & John’s is facing some hot competition in the frozen treat biz. The Colorado Custard Company in Manitou Springs, for instance, serves a delicious eggy confection that’s even richer than ice cream. Italian gelato, which packs in more flavor and less fat, also provides a tasty alternative at Dogtooth Coffee Co., Nocon’s Gelatoria and Monument’s newly opened Pikes Peak Ice Cream and Gelato. But sometimes, you just want plain old ice cream — perfectly creamy and almost taffy like, with funky flavors and all the mix-ins. And nobody does it better in the Pikes Peak region than Josh & John’s.

Black Forest Torte

Edelweiss German Restaurant, 34 E. Romana Ave.

Price: $4.50 a slice

The strudels might yodel to you, and they’re terrific. But we suggest you hold out for the Black Forest Torte, a moist, delicious chocolate-topped spin on the traditional Black Forest Cake.

RECIPE:

2 (10-inch diameter) layers of chocolate cake, cut in 1/2-inch thick3 ounces Kirschwasser brandy2 ounces raspberry jam8 ounces canned sour cherries, well drained1 1/2 pounds whipped creamChocolate shavingsMaraschino cherries, well drained

Procedure:1. Place 1 layer of chocolate cake on serving platter. Dribble with about 1 ounce Kirschwasser, then top with about a third of the raspberry jam. Spread with whipped cream and add cherries in center and around edges; it should look like a target.2. Add second layer and repeat.3. Add third layer and repeat.4. Coat whole cake with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries.

Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE

Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE

Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE