Seoul Cafe Hopping: The Dessert Guide

The cafe culture in Seoul doesn't just stop at high-quality pour-overs and aesthetic architecture. The competition amongst cafes is so fierce that they must constantly invent and iterate on incredible, photogenic desserts to survive. If you are cafe hopping, you must pace yourself to try these distinctly Korean creations.

1. Bingsu: The Emperor of Summer

To survive the brutal Korean summer, locals turn to Bingsu. It is a massive bowl of shaved ice, but unlike Western snow cones, the ice is made of milk and shaved so finely it resembles powdery fallen snow.

Types: The traditional is Patbingsu, topped with sweet red beans, chewy rice cakes (tteok), and roasted soybean powder (injeolmi). However, modern cafes top their bingsu with fresh whole honeydew melons, mountains of sliced mango, massive chunks of cheesecake, and tiramisu dust.

2. The Croffle Era

A few years ago, a genius decided to take raw croissant dough, cover it in large sugar crystals, and press it in a waffle iron. The Croffle was born, and it completely conquered Seoul. It possesses the shape of a waffle but the buttery, flaky, multi-layered texture of a croissant. It is usually served hot with a massive scoop of vanilla ice cream and brown cheese shaved over the top.

3. Yakgwa Reinvented

Yakgwa is a deeply traditional, flower-shaped cookie made from dough, sesame oil, and ginger, deep-fried, and then soaked in honey. Historically, it was eaten mainly by elders or during ancestral rites. Recently, however, it went massive on social media. Now, the trend is "Yakgwa fusion"—you will find thick Yakgwa cookies stuffed with cream cheese, Yakgwa-topped financiers, and Yakgwa ice cream sandwiches.

4. Macarons (Ddung-caron)

Koreans took the delicate, thin French macaron and aggressively maximized it. They created the "Ddung-caron" (Fat Macaron). The meringue shells are pushed far apart by massive, two-inch-thick blocks of buttercream, often stuffed with whole strawberries, chunks of brownie, or savory crackers. They are terrifyingly sweet, visually stunning, and sold practically everywhere.