Take a budget-friendly trip to France with the elegant desserts at Rose Street Patisserie, from cakes and tarts to eclairs and macarons.  While the flavors change with the season, the glossy domed rose petit gateaux are always picture-perfect.

The Instagrammable ice cream parlor is geared towards adults, with inventive flavors like Cereal Killers (orange coriander milk with candied fruity pebbles), and creative sundae toppings like rum butterscotch, honeycomb candy, and caramelized rice krispies.  Looking for a buzz? Opt for one of the boozy floats, malts, and shakes. Otherwise, enjoy a scoop sandwiched in a Glam Doll donut.

Skip straight to dessert with a chocolate chip skillet cookie served straight from the oven with vanilla ice cream and caramel.  Other highlights include fruit hand pies, cupcakes, and tiny cakes baked in Mason jars—some of which come with a pipette of liquor for an adults-only treat.  

A meal at Spoon and Stable would be incomplete without one of pastry chef Diane Moua’s dessert masterpieces.  A feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds, the attention to detail is impeccable, from the tiny edible flowers that serve as garnishes to the thoughtful balance of flavors.

Pastry chef Emily Marks often features local ingredients in the restaurant’s desserts and the cafe’s pastries, such as croissants made with locally milled flour.  Other items evoke the North and Minnesota’s Scandinavian heritage, like a lemon tart with lingonberries.

Pastry chef Carrie Riggs creates imaginative desserts for the restaurant’s seasonal menu, as well as pastries for the cafe’s bakery case.  The flavors and influences span the globe—for instance, a frozen mango lassi with green tea streusel, a citrus upside-down cake with grapefruit mezcal caramel, and a caramel coffee pot du creme with a black sesame meringue.  

Indulge in edible cookie dough by the scoop at Dough Dough’s Mall of America outpost.  Flavors include chocolate chip, monster, s’more, and sprinkle-laden “Celebration,” plus a handful of gluten-free and seasonal flavors.  Can’t decide? Opt for a flight of mini scoops.

The giant slices of cake at the bustling cafeteria would serve two, but are delicious enough to eat single-handedly.  Chocolate lovers will appreciate the turtle cake or the dense richness of Michael’s Fudge Cake (which happens to be gluten-free).  For something fruity, try the intensely citrus lemon torte. Other options include cheesecakes and tortes.

Critically acclaimed pastry chef Michelle Gayer creates pastries, cakes, cupcakes, and cookies that taste as lovely as they look.  The coconut macaroons are the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. Savor a couple with one of the cafe’s seasonal lattes, and linger for a while in the sunny, elegant setting.