The best pumpkin desserts to indulge in this fall

Step away from the pie. These pumpkin desserts take a sinfully delicious detour from your average autumn treat.

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It may not feel like it, but fall has officially arrived in Los Angeles. Here in the land of perpetual summer, the simple luxury of layering is almost non-existent, but that doesn’t stop us from celebrating the subtle change of seasons the only way we know how—with pumpkin everything. Before you go rushing off to Starbucks to quench your PSL addiction, consider your other options. We’ve tasted and compiled some of the best treats in town for your seasonal pumpkin fix—and no, we’re still not sick of pumpkin.

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8 pumpkin desserts to celebrate the season

  • Diners
  • Downtown Historic Core
Those foil-wrapped, artificially-flavored Pop Tarts from your childhood may have a special place in your heart, but it’s time to grow up. Never fear—Nickel Diner’s homemade pumpkin pop tart is a flaky pie crust filled with rich, spiced pumpkin puree and topped with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, allowing you to indulge both your sweet tooth and your inner child. $4
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  • Shopping
  • Bakeries
  • Melrose

These dainty little cloud cakes are almost too pretty to eat. Of course, that didn’t stop us from chomping our way through the outer layer of meringue to discover the sumptuous pumpkin ginger cream filling inside. A stylish storefront and posh packaging also make this feel like the classiest sugar rush you’ve ever had. $6

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  • West Third Street
The only thing better than Sushi Roku’s pumpkin mousse—a light blend of pumpkin, mascarpone and spice topped with cinnamon shortbread and sautéed pumpkin—is the fact that it’s served in a tiny pumpkin. Poached in cinnamon and sugar, this dessert receptacle is both edible and adorable. $12
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  • Van Nuys
Warm, dense and comforting, Crème Caramel’s seasonal bread pudding ($5.85) marries subtle pumpkin and spice with just the right amount of white chocolate and is finished with a discerning drizzle of caramel. Combined with a Kabocha pumpkin spiced latte ($5.85), made with the real deal, it’s perfect for the cold autumn days we wish we were having.

P.S. It would be sacrilege not to mention Crème Caramel’s pumpkin streusel ($5.35), a rich spiced custard topped with a brown butter crumble that will make you question your allegiance to pumpkin pie.

  • Bakeries
  • Highland Park
The beauty of Donut Friend’s seasonal pumpkin donut is that you can customize it to your pumpkin-loving heart’s content. It starts with a pumpkin spice cake donut with pumpkin spice glaze, to which you can add fillings like local artisan Laura Ann’s maple pumpkin butter, cream cheese, nuts and graham cracker crumbs. Or, if you want to go really wild, make it a donut sundae by adding ice cream. The possibilities are endless. Starts at $2.50, cost varies with toppings
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