7 most underrated Shanghai desserts

1. True egg tarts

Lillian's egg tarts have the city’s Portuguese egg tart lovers covered. But for old-school Shanghai dessert lovers and cookie-crust egg tart purists, Jing'an Bakery's Huashan Lu branch is the place to go, with its own industrial ovens on site. They do a killer deal on egg tarts, so if you've ever wondered why people line up at this otherwise mediocre bakery, now you know: get a dozen little egg tarts, hot out of the oven, for a measly RMB 10 between noon and 6 p.m.
Jing'an Bakery, Huashan Lu store (静安面包房, 华山路店), 370 Huashan Lu, near Wulumuqi Lu 华山路370号, 近乌鲁木齐北路, +86 21 6248 7537

2. Qibaogao

Qibao, one of Shanghai's classic water towns, has a reputation for its varieties of colorful glutinous rice cakes (known collectively as qibaogao, 七宝糕), and Shanghainese flock here to buy sheets of them (yes, they come in sheets) for a breakfast no decent dentist would approve of. 

The most iconic of the qibaogao is the haitanggao, which are hand-sized individual-baked caramel-topped rice cakes with a red bean filling (RMB 2 each) that you eat piping hot. You'll probably burn your tongue but they're well worth it and so much better than a baozi for breakfast.
The best qibaogao from a tiny, no-name shop closest to the central bridge on the side nearest to the Metro Line 9 subway.

3. Tossed cream 

A Shanghai dessert favorite, tossed cream (掼奶油) is more like a sweetened, whipped light butter than whipped cream. It comes in small, lidded paper cup and lurks in the refrigerators of many Chinese Western-style bakeries.

The best tossed cream Shanghai desserts are from Kaisiling (RMB 10), who has been churning out these little cups of heaven since the 1980s (back then they cost a week's salary) for lines of dairy-curious young Chinese. These cups are simple and decadent, and one is more than enough for two people.
KSL Cake (凯司令西点房), 1001 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Maoming Bei Lu 南京西路1001号, 茂名北路口, +86 21 6267 5692 

4. Eight treasure rice

This isn't a Shanghainese invention, but you'd have thought it was with the quantities we consume. While the rest of China reserves eight treasure rice (八宝饭) for special occasions like Chinese New Years, we consider dessert occasion enough.

Ideally, you should make your own by packing bowls full of glutinous rice, sugar, lard, lotus seeds, dates, longan, kumquat and red bean paste. When you are done, try to forget the amount of lard involved and eat it blissfully.

Try Xiao Nan Guo's version. Or grab one to go at Wang Jia Sha's (they've been making them for decades) and steam it up at home.
Xiao Nan Guo (小南国), multiple locations, 9/F Super Brand Mall, 168 Lujiazui Xi Lu, near Fucheng Lu 陆家嘴西路168号正大广场9楼, 近富城路, +86 400 820 9777, www.xnggroup.com; Wang Jia Sha (王家沙点心 ) 805 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Shimen yi Lu 南京西路805号, 近石门一路, +86 21 6253 0404, +86 21 6217 0625

5. Cream cake 

This is the simplest cake you'd find on the face of the earth: a layer of sponge cake, a layer of sweet whipped cream, more sponge cake, more whipped cream, all topped with a sliver of maraschino cherry. For us, it's a throwback, but for many Shanghainese, it's the original Shanghai dessert cake, and the cake they choose for comfort when they don't need to impress a dinner party with a creation from a trendy bakery.
Ruby's (红宝石), 198-1 Wuzhong Lu, near Nanjing Xi Lu 吴江路198-1号, 近南京西路, +86 21 6267 3725

6. Angel wings

Did you know that the historic Park Hotel has a bakery? It does, scout's honor, and it turns out cookies almost as famous as it's historic architecture -- almost.

This prestigious-by-association bake shop has been making pastries for more than 30 years, and their “Angel Wings” (hudiesu, 蝴蝶酥) are well known among older Shanghainese. Buttery and sugar-sprinkled, the whole day's batch is made in the morning, so when they are out, they are really out. That's usually by early afternoon. These pastries are divine with coffee. RMB 16 for five. The bakery can be hard to find: the entrance is on the right side of the building about 20 meters from the “Lie Fallow street” sign.
Park Hotel, 国际饭店西饼屋, 28 Huanghe Lu, near Nanjing Xi Lu 黄河路28号, 近南京西路, +86 21 6327 5225

7. Cookies and bars

We tend to naturally distrust bakeries that sell their goods by weight (cookies deserve more respect than that), but Harbin Food Co. is a Shanghai institution that sticks to all old-school Shanghai cooking ways.

Besides, their mostly shortbread-based cookies and their famous “pai” (排, almond caramel brittle over shortbread,) are loved across the city. For a delicious Shanghai dessert, we recommend the almond “pai” sesame seed tulle cookies and meat mooncakes when you can get them fresh out of the oven.
Harbin Food Co., multiple locations, 613 Huaihai Lu, near Sinan Lu 淮海中路613号, 近思南路, +86 21 5383 2451, +86 21 6437 0832