Tour de dessert: Swiss Bliss

Cheesy, I know. But it’s Swiss, so I’m allowed to be cheesy. And I’ll stop before it gets worse.

Lonely Planet recently had this piece on Europe’s most delicious pastries, cakes and tarts – some usual suspects like the Italian Cannoli, some surprises like voting for the Fächertorte over the Sachertorte in Austria. But overall, enough to make you want to never think of the word diet ever again (unless you are, of course, talking about a high sugar diet).

So, been there, done some of that – Cannoli in Rome, Trdelnik (and not Medovnik, since I’m not too fond of creamy fillings, what with being calorie-conscious and all that) and Sachertorte. And oh, I also went through death by dessert in Belgium.

Most recently, in Zurich, I had an experience with little bites of heaven. Luxemburgerli in salted caramel and dark chocolate with champagne fillings at the legendary Sprüngli.

Confiserie Sprüngli, which, according to their website, has been leading people off the straight and narrow since 1836. Their window displays wink at you in the most efficiently Swiss manner and you walk in without a clue to what awaits.

I love how naive the Swiss are, to send you off with a little sticker like this. Really, do they expect people to sit and stare at these devils instead of enjoying them immediately? Sprüngli also has all the chocolates and pastries you would want but I walked past them all towards the Luxembergerli. And the next day, I found their outlet at the airport and made another human being happy by introducing him to its delights. That’s me, always spreading the joy. And the calories.

Just in case you think Switzerland is just about sinful chocolates and homegrown versions of macaroons, pause and look at the Nusstorte, or the nut pastry from the Graubünden region. I’m glad to say the Nusstorte I had contained no cream but mmmmelted in the mouth.

And one evening in Chur, Switzerland’s oldest town, this twin ice cream scoop – of almond flavoured Amaretto, and Röteli, the local cherry liqueur with hints of cinnamon, vanilla and clove.