It’s the year of Instagram-worthy food, the year that we hashtagged unknown but promising brands, the time that we helped small business get their names out there through social media.

Here are 8 of the best desserts that people went crazy for in 2014. You may lose yourself for a while if you go too deep into the chocolates and cream and sugar, but hey, it’s Christmas, and in Christmas you stop worrying about the calories. These aren’t all new (some have been around for a few years already), but we’ll focus on the ones that were big hits this year.

Tip: pair the desserts with these and you’re all set.

Your Personal Baker | By order only

0917899 3160

This one’s for those who prefer the non-chocolate end of the dessert spectrum. Jen de Guzman, aka Your Personal Baker’s Lemon Torte is carefully crafted layers of chewy meringue, layered with sweet and tangy lemon, filled with a generous serving of walnuts, and topped with light whipped cream. She makes her cakes at home, so customers need to contact her directly for orders.

Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza | 2F 341 Katipunan Ave. Loyola Heights QC

225 7462 | Facebook

Gino’s is famous of its brick oven pizza, a variety Burrata dishes, and the its special chili honey, but this humble restaurant also has a something great to offer in the sweets department. Their Nutella Soup is a thick liquid version of your favorite hazelnut spread, served in a pizza crust bowl. If you’ve ever felt like your life lacks chocolate, better take on this one. You can literally eat and drink your dessert at the same time.

Gigi’s Custaroons | St. Pio Chapel Compound 188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave, Quezon City

0918 828 2929 | Facebook | Website

Gigi Gaerlan’s custaroons were a big hit this year. The business started out in a small shop at St. Pio Chapel compound in Libis (next to Eastwood City), but now it has 8 branches all over the Metro. Basically, a custaroon is a custard-macaroon hybrid—described by Gaerlan as “ deliciously unique combination of smooth and creamy flan topped with a chewy, buttery crust.” Take a bite and feel how this melts in your mouth. You might get lost in there somewhere, because the two go so well together that it could get confusing at times–but in the best, most delicious way.

Custaroons, by the way, is a trademark of Gaerlan, so you can only get them in Gigi’s Custaroons branches.

Baby Yulo | 19 Kawayan Street, North Forbes, Makati

810 8078 . 632 812 4961

The homemade strawberry shortcake to end all homemade strawberry shortcakes. This cake by Mrs. Baby Yulo is a moist confection layered with icing that’s lined with mashed strawberries and (then topped with huge imported strawberries). It’s not too sweet, but is isn’t bland either–you can eat a lot without it being cloying. If you’re not a big fan of strawberries, you can also try her Turtle Pie. If you want to order these cakes, you have to pick them up, as Mrs Yulo does not have a shop (but we all hope she decides to open one soon!).

Dessert du Jour by Mara de la Rama-Poblete

0917 811 6272 or 0918 803 6272 . 4052580 | Facebook

Les Petits Vanilla Gateau de Crepes:

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte

This isn’t exactly new, but the Gateau de Crepes created by Mara de la Rama-Poblete deserves to be on this list because it’s never lost its popularity since it started a few years back. The 12″ round cake is made up of many layers of carefully-placed paper-thin crepes. They’re so thin that you’ll probably feel a little bit guilty for destroying something so nice and delicate. Flavors include Vanilla (there’s a low-sugar option available), nutella, chocolate, pistachio, and chestnut.

If you’re looking for something sweeter, also check out her Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte, which is equally divine.

Sweetleaf Soft Batch Cookies

0917 625 7149 / Facebook / Instagram

Sweetleaf is artist Celina de Guzman who clearly used some of that insane creativity (check out her work here), in making her cookies. She has the basic flavors such as the Chocolate Chip and Red Velvet, but she also has brave flavors such as Black Sesame (white chocolate, ground sesame seeds), White/Black Chip Matcha (dark/white chocolate and matcha dough) and Wasabi White (wasabi white chocolate, wasabi powder).

Biting into these huge cookies could easily put a smile on your face, and you’ll most likely want to have more. It’s chewy without being too dense or cakey, and you’re sure that there’s no cookie dupery going on, as there are generous servings of chunky chocolates and whatever magic it is that she puts in there. All this goodness are wrapped in creative packaging that obviously reflects Celina’s creativity.

Dark Chocolate Macadamia:

Pepita’s Kitchen | Magallanes Ave. Legazpi Village, Makati City

09178660662 or 425 4605 | Facebook

Chef Dedet de la Fuente of Pepita’s Lechon is not only famous for her Degustacion lechon dinners. She also makes insanely delicious desserts. One of her most popular sweet creations include the Pinoy Mango Trifle, which is deliciously Pinoy! It’s otap and pilipit with fresh mangoes, leche flan, cream puff, and a generous serving of cream.

Cakes by Miriam | By order only

09178737378 or (02) 330-5950 | Facebook

Search Instagram for post hashtagged #cakesbymiriam and you’ll see why everyone’s going gaga over these cakes. Miriam’s bestseller is the Merry Berry cake, which is made of moist chiffon, icing, and topped with the biggest strawberries you can ever find (it also has heaps of blueberries, cherries, grapes, and kiwis). If you’re a strawberry purist, check out Miriam’s 2-tier Merry Berry cake, which could instantly be every strawberry lover’s best friend forever.

For those who are not to fond of pure fruit and cream, Miriam also makes delectable Ferrero Rocher and Kahlua Mocha cakes.Ferrero Rocher cake:

Kahlua Mocha cake:

2-tier Merry Berry cake:

What were your favorite desserts this year? Share them with us in the comments section!