Salt Lake sweets

Folks who live in Salt Lake City have always had a sweet tooth. In the 1850s, Mormon Brigham Young built a beet-sugar mill in what’s now the Sugarhouse neighborhood, and even now dessert is most residents’ favorite vice.

Cummings Studio Chocolates. In the 1920s, founder Victor Cummings took a candymaking class just to meet a girl, so the story goes. Today, they still do things the founder’s way, marking and dipping the chocolates by hand. Closed Sun. 679 East 900 South; 801/328-4858.

Mrs. Backer’s Pastry Shop. Renee Backer’s cookies and cakes are topped by elaborate flowers ― like sunflowers and forget-me-nots ― in fluffy buttercream frosting. Closed Sun–Mon. 434 E. South Temple; 801/532-2022.

Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage. The sweetest deals at the family-owned bakery are the European-style pastries. Relax by the big picture window with a swan puff, apple streusel, or eclair. Closed Sun. 609 East 2100 South; 801/487-3500.

Vosen’s Bread Paradise. New owner David Porter maintains the bakery’s traditional German specialties, including a buttery, custard-filled pastry called plunderschnecke and the light honey-sweet bienenstich (literally, beesting). Closed Sun–Mon. 249 West 200 South; 801/322-2424.