There are a lot of great desserts being served in restaurants throughout the state, but only a handful of them are so good they’re legendary.
The coconut cake at Bottega in Birmingham is one of ’em, at least according to a recent list of “the South’s most legendary desserts” released by Southern Living.
“In the South, we don’t play around when it comes to dessert,” Southern Living stated. “Our layer cakes are the tallest, our pies are the flakiest, and our portions are the largest. That’s why so many iconic sweets were either born here, or made famous in our region, like this list of famous desserts from Southern restaurants. All of these places are notable—many have won national and local awards—but their desserts are what draw people from around the country, and even the world.”
Bottega’s former pastry chef and James Beard Award winner Dolester Miles, who became the full-time pastry chef around the time Bottega restaurant opened in 1988, created the beloved cake, which has been described as “heaven on a plate.”
Before her retirement in 2022, Miles estimated she baked thousands of the popular cakes for every occasion possible, saying “people tell me that they don’t even like coconut and they like that cake.”
Dolester Miles’ coconut-pecan cake is a contemporary masterpiece, a celestial confection of finely ground toasted coconut and pecans, enhanced with cream of coconut, coconut milk and coconut extract.(Tamika Moore/tmoore@al.com)
Despite sharing the name, Southern Living noted that the decadent dessert isn’t like other coconut cakes you might find at restaurants throughout the South.
“There are many famous coconut cakes throughout the South (in fact, there is another one on this very list) but few are as celebrated as the one served at Bottega and its sister restaurant Chez Fonfon,” wrote Southern Living about the cake. “Don’t expect the traditional white-on-white layers and frosting…the cake itself is speckled with ground pecans, which add texture and sweetness, which are brushed with simple syrup. In between the layers is a rich filling made with shredded coconut, cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk. Then the whole thing is covered in a light coconut frosting and topped with more shredded coconut. If that wasn’t enough, each slice is served with a pool of creme anglaise. It’s the kind of dessert that makes your eyes roll back with pleasure, or evokes tears when it’s sold out for the night.”
Other desserts that made the list include bananas foster from Brennan’s in New Orleans; Black Bottom Pie from Weidmann’s in Meridian, Miss.; Peach Cobbler from Paschal’s in Atlanta; Tennessee Waltz Cake from City House in Nashville; Texas Trash Pie from Royers Round Top Cafe in Round Top, Texas and more.
You can see the full list on Southern Living’s website.
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Dining and Cooking