Have you been to these spots for dessert before? Photos by Maria Deforrest
Have a sweet tooth? Here are 12 places to satisfy it around Delaware’s beautiful beaches.
Frozen custard, fudge and saltwater taffy are essential beach foods—no boardwalk visit is complete without one or more. But locals and visitors can increasingly satisfy a sweet tooth in many ways.
Since the pandemic, the demand for dessert has soared, says Nicole Giannella, the pastry chef for Bethany Blues in Lewes and Bethany Beach, the new Downtown Blues in Rehoboth Beach and The Starboard and Starboard Raw in Dewey. Dessert sales went up 50 percent between 2020 and 2022, which has kept her one-chef pastry department hopping.
Pastry chef Dru Tevis, meanwhile, has a 10-person team to handle SoDel Concepts’ dessert program, and he needs it. You may remember that Tevis won the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship, and variations of his winning creations have been available in select restaurants in the hospitality group.
While there is no shortage of places to get your sugar fix, here are a dozen tasty options.
Hopkins Farm Creamery
First, the cows are back at this famous ice cream stand just off Route 9. The farm had sold the cows to focus on agritourism, but customers wanted to moo at the animals while enjoying a double dip and owners bowed to their wishes. Other enhancements include picnic tables and bathrooms.
18186 Dairy Farm Road, Lewes; 645-7163
Kaisy’s Delights
For something completely different, try the Kaiserschmarrn, a mashup of pancakes, funnel cakes and French toast. Top it with whipped cream, fruit compote, chocolate sauce or all three.
1548 Savannah Road, Lewes; 313-4241; 70 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 212-5360
Edie Bees Confection Shop
Step into this downtown Lewes boutique and you’ll feel like you’re in Paris. Candies are arranged in colorful displays that would make The Home Edit’s owners envious, and the individual chocolates in the back case are almost too beautiful to eat—almost. Michelle Teed purchased the shop from founder Leisa Berlin, and the quality of the confections and the merchandise remains.
115 Second St., Lewes; 645-2337
The Station on Kings
Leisa Berlin also founded this establishment, which is hard to define. The epitome of farmhouse chic sells plants, kitchenware, luxury body products and cheese. But the main attraction is the café and bakery, where you’ll find French macarons in flavors like guava, Key lime and chocolate fudge.
720 Kings Highway, Lewes; 645-0300
Bethany Blues
Nicole Giannella’s lemon-coconut cake complements the restaurant’s barbecue-based menu, but you can’t go wrong with any of her confections, which are also available for pickup or catering. Since the chef works out of the Lewes location, you’ll find the most extensive collection of sweets at that site, which includes a dedicated takeout section.
18385 Coastal Highway, Lewes; 644-2500
Dolle’s Candyland & Ibach’s Candy by the Sea
If you haven’t been to the boardwalk in some time, you might panic when you notice the iconic Dolle’s sign is missing. Not to worry. The famous purveyor of saltwater taffy, fudge, chocolate and caramel has moved 50 feet to join its sibling, Ibach’s. (The sign was relocated to the Rehoboth Museum.)
9 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth; 227-0757
Kohrs Bros. Frozen Custard
One of Delaware’s favorite coastal treats comes from Coney Island, where Archie, Elton and Lester Kohr opened a stand in 1919. The brothers added extra eggs to keep the ice cream cold longer, and “frozen custard” was born. There are locations in Rehoboth, Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island.
Candy Kitchen
Suffice it to say that if you want truffles, gummies, fudge, taffy or anything else that qualifies as a sweet treat, head to one of Candy Kitchen’s locations in Ocean City, where it started, or in Bethany or Rehoboth.
The Ice Cream Store
Chip Hearn is behind many successful ventures, including Peppers—as in hot sauce—and he once owned The Starboard, but this beach-block business is by far his sweetest. The wild flavors are his idea; the ice cream is from Woodside Farm Creamery in Hockessin.
6 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 227-4609
Sazio
If you prefer to drink your dessert, you’re in luck at this restaurant, which specializes in Italian cuisine and seafood. Sweet libations include the Sazpresso Martini—vanilla vodka, Kahlua and espresso with a tonka bean zest. Frantumare is Italian for “shatter,” and Sazio’s Orange Frantumare is an orange crush with class (Tito’s Handmade Vodka, orange liqueur and orange bitters).
32 Lake Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 226-1160
Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar and Catch 54
Come fruit season, these SoDel Concept restaurants will feature award-winning chef Dru Tevis’ warm cream cheese pound cake. Toppings will start with rhubarb and then change with the harvests.
Bluecoast, 30115 Veterans Way, Rehoboth Beach; 278-7395
Catch 54, 8931 Madison Ave., Selbyville; 436-8600
The Café on 26
Owner Maria Fraser has customers who order—and eat—their sweets before their meal. It’s one way of guaranteeing they have room for dessert. A favorite is the Key lime pie with a chocolate cookie crust.
84 Atlantic Ave., Ocean View; 539-2233
Related: 4 Quick and Easy Healthy Recipes to Try at Home in Delaware
