It might be known as The Big Apple, but New York City is definitely the place to visit to fulfill your sweet tooth cravings.

Whether you're an admitted chocoholic or you need a cake to see you through, you can taste your way around the city with an array of desserts, unlike anywhere else in the world.

Sure, other cities have cake, doughnuts, and milkshakes, but just like NYC pizza, nothing beats the original versions you'll find in the city.

Read on for our top 12 delicious desserts you need to eat in New York City!

Top 12 Tastiest Treats You Need to Eat In New York City

1. Over-the-Top Milkshakes

Once upon a time, milkshakes were merely mixtures of milk and ice cream served up in a frosty glass with a straw or two, to share with someone special at the ice cream shop or diner.

These days, if you're having a plain old milkshake, you're living in the past!

Step up your milkshake by topping it with a slice of cake, cupcakes, s' mores, and the kid-like dessert fantasies of your dreams. Plenty of places are doing this now, turning milkshakes into a dessert extravaganza rather than a simple, drinkable dessert.

In NYC, the place to be to try out the first purveyors of over-the-top milkshakes in Black Tap. You'll find creative toppings on each 16-ounce shake.

From heavenly slices of chocolate cake or birthday cake to donuts and beyond, this iconic place really knows how to shake things up. Choose from the list of steady offerings or go for one of the rotating specials. And if you feel like anchoring it with a meal, they do have some award-winning burgers you can sink your teeth into.

2. Cronuts

Cronuts officially broke the internet in 2013 when Dominique Ansel Bakery, owned by the man of the same name, developed a hybrid croissant and donut.

The rest is history because ever since then, New Yorkers will line up around the block to get this treat.

It's worth getting up early for, snatching your place in line before the opening at 8am. Without an early arrival, you might leave without getting a chance to try this light and flaky breakfast treat.

Popular chains like Dunkin Donuts tried their hand at a cronut, but it's just not the same.

Dominique Ansel's special recipe plus his new flavor of the month is an utterly unparalleled experience. You'll only be allowed two maximum per customer, so be sure to savor every bite.

No time to stand in line? You can get on the pre-order list available online for the coming week. It might be a good idea to secure your spot before arriving in NYC just to be sure you don't miss out!

3. New York Cookies

As Cookie Monster famously sang, "C" is for "Cookie." A dessert worthy of such a catchy song, cookies are a staple sweet across the country. But in grand NYC fashion, the cookies here are even better than your Grandma used to make.

Maybe those are fightin' words, or perhaps you need to get to New York and pop in Levain Bakery, the place where New Yorkers flock for perfectly gooey and melty chocolate chip cookies that are double the size and density of the ones you've been loving all your life. There are four flavors you can choose from, including chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chip, dark chocolate peanut butter chip, and oatmeal raisin, and while the list is short, it's clear Levain Bakery sticks to what they are good at in the world of cookies.

You'll find other goodies worth sampling in the bakery too, but the reason you'll find New York natives clamoring at the counter is for these outrageously divine cookies.

4. Mille Crepe Cake

Now for something you might not have in your city. In French, a mille crepe cake simply means it has layer upon layer. Technically, "mille" means "a thousand," but the cakes at Lady M still won't disappoint you even though they have 20 layers.

That's 20 astoundingly elegant layers, each one immaculately constructed from paper-thin crepes all made by hand and layered with light pastry cream. Lady M is so popular that there are five locations around Manhattan to get this soft, fluffy cake. It's light yet creamy for an incredible experience, finished with a caramelized top.

These crepe cakes are so stunning and tantalizing that it might be hard to choose. If you're feeling indulgent, definitely go with their signature cake though you may want to go for the equally as popular green tea or chocolate options too.

5. Banana Pudding

We'd next like to give a shout out to a bakery that has been the go-to shop for all things cupcakes since 1996.

Magnolia Bakery is the place to be for some of the best buttercream-topped cupcakes on the planet. In fact, you should pick some up to enjoy back at your hotel or bring home with you. They make minis, red velvet, chocolate, vanilla, and unique flavors like hummingbird cake and peanut butter and jelly.

We say this because you simply can't ignore those gorgeous cupcakes or the smells wafting up from them when you walk in. But you have to walk into this bakery because every New Yorker will tell you THIS is the place to get the best banana pudding you've ever had in your life. You'll want to try it in original and in chocolate, though the monthly flavor may have you ordering yet another one to sink your spoon into. It's thick and custardy, and quite possibly one of the best desserts anywhere in the entire city.

6. Cheesecake

There's a reason New York-style cheesecake is so famous. Any New Yorker will tell you that while you're in town, you need to grab a slice of it. And the place to do it? Juniors!

Of course, you'll find cheesecakes all over the city. All of which claim that theirs is the best in NYC. And while some of them come quite close, Juniors Restaurant has held the title as the most famous and most fabulous of them all. They stick to the time-tested recipe that they've been serving since the 1950s, hand-blending it the same as they did back then today.

After receiving significant accolades in The Village Voice in 1973, the most famous cheesecake in the city was then recognized by none other than New York Magazine. In a blind taste test, it was called the best cheesecake in all of New York. So, pop in and go for a slice of "The World's Most Fabulous Cheesecake" as they call it!

7. Doughnuts

One of the biggest doughnut lovers anywhere, Homer Simpson, famously used the Lard Lad's giant doughnut-shaped sign to stop the runaway monorail. As the monorail screeched to a halt, he said, "Doughnuts, is there anything they can't do?"

The Doughnut Project hearts doughnuts as much as Homer Simpson himself and makes doughnuts for those that quite simply love this breakfast/dessert treat. You can find doughnuts all over the city, and all over your city, we're sure too. But you don't want to miss the Doughnut Project. That would be criminal.

See, here, the doughnuts are more than what you're used to. Even their plain glaze is touched with Tahitian vanilla. The flavors go into extraordinary territory with some more exotic like Chandonut Rosé made with Chandon sparkling rosé and topped with a garnish of edible rose petals. There are also some so unusual, you'll have to try it.

We suggest the World Famous Everything Doughnut, which combines the best of sweet and savory worlds. It features a delicious cream cheese glaze with the famed seeds from an everything bagel. You will absolutely be hooked on these, no doubt!

8. S'mores

Pop into any of the four locations of The Smith for dinner, but do it right and go for dessert first. If you can't bring yourself to break the rules, Mom always laid out for you, then at least save room for dessert. While many of the dessert options will tempt you, the main reason to be here at all - aside from the indulgent dinner menu - is to order the S' mores in a Jar.

It's a deconstructed version of the favorite dessert for the kid in your heart. The toasted marshmallows sit on a stick on top, waiting to be plunged into the indulgent chocolate pudding and graham cracker below.

9. Ice Cream Sundaes

When visiting New York, you want to see as many legendary sights as you can. That's why you should head to Serendipity 3, the place where legends like Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant popped in during the 1950s. It's where One Fine Day, Trust the Man, and Serendipity were all filmed too

And while the Tiffany-style gorgeous décor is undoubtedly worth a look, the entire place is absolutely worth a taste. Reservations are definitely advised for the menu of comforting food (including the world's most expensive burger) has a long wait time. It's the desserts though that most people are after when heading to Serendipity 3.

Among them, sundaes, some of which fetch a hefty price tag, can be found. You'll find reasonably priced ones with natural ingredients that taste beyond your imagination while still fitting in your budget.

One thing not to miss, though, is the famed Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. It's big enough to share, and share you should for you'll have more room to taste the rest of the city!

10. Macaron Donut

If you thought only the cronut was the latest dessert invention in NYC, think again. Francois Payard has also found a way to craft a new dessert from two highly-adored items. With expertise in French pastry making, this macaron-meets-donut-hybrid is one of the sweetest inventions yet.

It sold out in record time, prompting a two-per-customer limit on all purchases. Stop in any of Francois Payard's five locations and try the pink strawberry-flavored treat filled with strawberry cream and topped with a pretty macaron shell bedazzled in sprinkles.

11. Raindrop Cake

Now, after eating all the indulgences you can find in NYC, you might want to try something a little less filling yet no less extravagant. That's where the raindrop cake comes in. Created by Darren Wong at the Round K Café, this low-calorie dessert is a hit.

We know that low calorie might not be on your radar, but the texture, taste, and experience surely are. If you need something refreshing or to prime you for a big dining extravaganza later, this is just what you need.

For starters, it's so beautiful, looking like a giant raindrop in a dish. Don't mistake it for Jell-O, though, as it's definitely not like that at all. Made with mineral water and agar (a vegan-friendly ingredient), it has a nutty flavor with a unique texture that melts right in your mouth. The experience of eating it is what it's all about, especially if you're looking to experience something genuinely different in NYC.

12. Dessert Bar

Our final stop on the New York City tour of desserts has to be a bar that caters to desserts. That would be ChikaLicious Dessert Bar, an intimate place where about only 20 can dine around the open kitchen, watching the magic of dessert happen.

What's different here is that it applies the multi-course concept to desserts and offers a robust wine list, complete with sommeliers to make your tasting experience fully divine. The menu changes daily, so every visit offers new flavors. You'll find things like coconut sorbet floating in a tiny pool of chocolaty gelee, chocolate tarts with pink peppercorn ice cream, and petit fours, plus much more. You're at the epicenter of indulgence here, and there's truly no better place in the city to take your love affair with desserts to the next echelon.

Still, sitting there? Go on! Book that trip to NYC now, and don't miss out on tasting the best desserts to be found anywhere in the city!

If you’ve visited NYC, what was your favorite place to visit? Let me know in the comment below.

Until next time,

Thanks for stopping by!