There’s something nostalgic about going to the local ice cream shop or bakery when in the mood for a sweet treat. Let’s face it, everyone has their go-to dessert shops and local businesses they like to support.
But sometimes, it’s fun to explore. And there are places across the Denver metro area that serve up delicious desserts for anyone’s preference.
With unique desserts being discovered all over the area, it would be nearly impossible to list every dessert shop. Here are a few that have made their way into people’s hearts and stomachs over the years as well as one to look forward to.
Bahama Buck’s
8204 S University Blvd., Centennial, CO 80122
3003 W 104th Ave., Suite 500, Westminster, CO 80031
There are not many dessert spots in the metro area that specialize in shaved ice, making Bahama Buck’s unique, especially with the original flavor pairings the business plays with.
It’s more than a place to get a brightly-colored sweet treat. It’s a place for people to leave their troubles at the door, enjoy themselves in a low-pressure atmosphere and hang out with friends, said Adam Cotton, owner of the Centennial location.
“It’s kind of a mini vacation for all our guests,” Cotton said.
Bahama Buck’s encourages people to get creative by choosing from over 100 original gourmet flavors and toppings. The company’s flavor team has even worked with different companies to incorporate Oreo’s and candies such as Nerds with their desserts.
Staying true to the island vibe, common flavors include mango, peach and blue coconut. One of the signature “snos” is the Shark Attack Sno, which is a berry colada flavor with Sour Patch Sauce in the middle.
Just as guests can get creative and build their own by choosing what flavors and toppings they want, the Centennial employees have the authority to play around and come up with different concoctions, which often become flavors of the week.
Bahama Buck’s can’t share its secrets to its perfectly smooth shaved ice, other than the fact that the ice is made on site and there was a lot of time put into the shaving process, Cotton said.
Bahama Buck’s encourages friendly gatherings by offering card and board games to play. The business also has island smoothies in which guests can choose from a variety of cream blends, or if they want a healthier substitution, fresh fruit blends.
Other menu items include Acai Bowls, Red Bull Infusions and Bahama Sodas.
For Cotton, what makes Bahama Buck’s successful are the people who help make the island experience come alive.
“What makes our product excellent and what makes our place excellent are the people we have working for us,” Cotton said.
Heaven Creamery
6955 S York St. #420, Centennial, CO 80122
7181 W. Alaska Drive, Lakewood, CO 80226
Heaven Creamery first opened its doors in 2020 on the Streets at SouthGlenn in Centennial and has gained millennial and Gen Z attention. Since then, the store has expanded to include locations at Cherry Creek North, Five Points, Lakewood, Avon, Boulder and coming soon to Arvada.
With over 500 flavors in constant rotation for customers to try, Heaven Creamery aims to educate and introduce people to healthier frozen desserts, according to its website. Heaven Creamery doesn’t use processed sugar or artificial colors, flavors, additives or ice cream fillers, according to its website.
Instead, stevia, monk sugar, agave, cane sugar and/or honey are used as sweeteners for the ice cream, gelato, fruit pops, vegan gelato and sorbet.
“Our gelato, ice cream and sorbet is made with 70% less sugar than traditional ice cream,” the website states.
Each Heaven Creamery location has unique specialty desserts, including ice cream served with crepes, in a pineapple or coconut and more.
Mochinut
7530 S. University Blvd., Centennial, CO 80122
2222 S. Havana St., Unit A2, Aurora, CO 80014
At Mochinut, it’s about bringing diversity to American desserts.
The Mochinut franchise originated in Los Angeles and is popular for its Korean hotdogs and bubble tea, but it is also known for its mochi donuts. The franchise came to Aurora nearly three years ago and recently opened a second location in Centennial.
“I think that they’re a little bit more special than other donuts because they’re made with rice flour,” said Erin Chung, manager of the Aurora location. “If you taste it, it’s very chewy like mochi, but then you can also feel the donut as well.”
A mochi donut is a fusion of the Japanese rice cake, also known as mochi, and American-style donuts.
Constructed with eight small, round dough balls in the shape of a circle, the mochi donut has a crisp exterior, but a soft and chewy inside due to the main ingredient: sticky sweet rice flour.
They are then coated and glazed with rotating flavors and toppings such as cookies and fruits.
One of the most popular flavors is Ube, which is a sweet potato base, topped with fruity pebbles. Other popular flavors are the caramel churro, chocolate churro and the strawberry funnel.
With flavors changing weekly, Chung said there are so many to choose from.
“A lot of people like to try different flavors every week,” Chung said.
Customers can get a single mochi donut or a box of three, six or a dozen. Additionally, the Aurora location serves mochinut balls as well as soft serve in a cone or bowl.
Mango Mango Desserts
1133 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80246
From a classic tiramisu to waffles to hot desserts, Mango Mango Desserts’ mission is “to make edible incredible.” Mango Mango Desserts in Denver is a franchise from New York’s Chinatown.
While dining in an elegant store, guests can partake in sophisticated desserts utilizing the mango. Some of the most popular dishes include Mango Mochi, Durian Dessert Bowl, Green Tea Mille Crepe and the Coconut Mango Infused Smoothie.
In addition to uniquely layered crepe cakes, Mango Mango Desserts have traditional flavors mixed with modern desserts.
Mango ice cream can be paired with snow white mango juice sago and pomelo or strawberry mango juice sago and lychee jelly. Other dishes include a rice or watermelon ball, herbal jelly, mustang king durian, black rice and more.
Yonutz!
7939 E Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village, CO 80112
Having to choose between ice cream or donuts won’t have to be an option thanks to Yonutz!, a colorful dessert shop that smashes the two desserts together. Yonutz opened its Greenwood Village location March 15.
The now-viral sensation, Yonutz SMASHED Donut, was created in 2018 in South Florida when someone asked Tony Bahu how he was going to make his dessert shop different from others.
“We ended up creating the smashed donut,” said Bahum Founder and CEO of Yonutz. “We’ve done donuts and ice cream before, but we never did it like this. It’s so decadent and fun and grand.”
It’s simple. You slice it, fill it, smash it, top it and eat it.
The donuts are made fresh in the store and then sliced in half. Guests can choose which flavor of ice cream they want inside the donut before it’s smashed in a hot press and topped with any toppings such as chocolate sauce or candy.
“We know that people are looking for an experience, looking for something different, something fun, and so it just kind of all came together,” said Bahu.
After winning multiple Dessert Wars – even winning the national championships – and being featured on CNN’s Great Big Story, Bahu said the store was on people’s bucket lists, inspiring them to continue to expand their brand.
Some of the most popular flavors are the Nutella Crunch, which was the creation that helped them win Dessert Wars, as well as Strawberry Shortcake and Biscoff Cookie Butter.
Bahu wanted to come up with something more simple and recently came up with the Simple Smashed Donut. It is a smashed donut with any flavor of ice cream inside, but instead of cutting it in half and decorating it with toppings, the donut is rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Although the ice cream is not homemade, Bahu said Yonutz! typically finds something that’s local or regional and works with that brand. The menu also includes Yonutz SMASHED Shakes and mini donuts.
“We’re really excited to be able to expand in Colorado,” Bahu said. “There’s so much liveliness and action going on there.”