You no longer have to miss out on fudgey, flavourful brownies if you’re vegan – Ditto Bakes is creating a selection of to-die-for desserts.
Baked by Emma, a vegan lifestyle influence based in Manchester, these sweet treats are posted to all UK postcodes, so you don’t need to miss out even if you have strayed far from the city.
From party rings, jammy dodgers and lotus biscuits amongst many more, you’ll have a difficult time choosing just one of the delicious flavours!
If you’re looking for a summer’s day treat or a perfect barbecue dessert, The Cheesefake Company’s vibrant cheesecakes are the way forward.
These light and creamy desserts are 100% plant-based and baked in Prestwich, offering authentic-tasting ‘cheesefakes’ that don’t compromise on flavour or texture.
Whether you opt for the healthier fruit toppings or go all-out with their rich and indulgent alternatives, there’s no denying that these cheesecakes are a must-try.
The inventive vegan flavours include Chorlton Crack (salted caramel and peanut butter), Campari & Coconut, and Lemon Treacle Tart – you certainly won’t find ice creams like this elsewhere!
Whatever you fancy, the variety of vegan flavours mean you don’t have to miss out on a delicious and refreshing ice cream during the current heatwave.
Ice Shack
Ice Shack
Ice Shack is the north’s first fully vegan dessert parlour based in Withington, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint!
There’s not just one or two vegan options here – the venue offers every flavour under the sun in the form of ice creams, milkshakes, cakes, truffles and pastries.
This is an essential stop during the summer months, although beware: After one visit you won’t be able to resist returning a handful of times to try every flavour!
Some people assume that a vegan diet is mostly leafy greens but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Indeed, Leafy Creams is proving it: Adding a sprinkle of sweetness with their gourmet artisanal cakes.
This independent bakery is serving delicious plant-based bakes across the Manchester region, focusing on high-quality taste and jaw-dropping designs.
The cakes are astounding and deserve to be a pride of place during a birthday or anniversary celebration, although we won’t judge you if they’re also your sweet-tooth fill on a casual weekday evening.
Food & Drink
A Greater Manchester dessert bar is selling Dubai pistachio Labubu-topped chocolate strawberries
Daisy Jackson
We’re in an era obsessed with novelty – and this dessert bar in Greater Manchester has found a way to cash in on every viral food craze at once.
Presenting… a Dubai pistachio chocolate Labubu, perched atop a mountain of chocolate strawberries with more pistachio kunafa on top.
There’s a sentence that wouldn’t have made sense a year ago…
Sweet Dreams, which has a spot in Whalley Range as well as a new dessert bar in Prestwich, has tapped into three major online trends at once.
If you have a busy life and aren’t as chronically online as the rest of us, allow me to explain.
These viral sensations are a plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to create a character with bunny-like ears, large eyes and big smiles.
They’re swinging off handbags all over the UK at the minute and people are queueing for hours for the latest Labubu drops.
At Sweet Dreams, they’re making edible chocolate Labubus using a special mould flown in from Japan.
Each one has a pistachio kunafa filling and is painstakingly painted by hand.
And that brings us neatly to the next viral craze at play here – Dubai pistachio chocolate.
An army of pistachio chocolate LabubuInside a chocolate pistachio Labubu
Kunafa is a staple in Middle Eastern bakes and pastries but hit the global mainstream last year when thick chocolate pistachio bars stuffed with it went viral online, spawning countless dupes and inspired specials.
And finally, chocolate covered strawberries – hardly a new invention, but this simple dessert has rocketed in popularity especially in food hotspots like Borough Market in London.
Head into Sweet Dreams and you can build your treat from the base up – choose white or milk melted chocolate for your strawberries, layer on pistachio kunafa, then top with either a milk or white chocolate Labubu.
A slightly daft novelty? Yes. But that doesn’t stop them being delicious.
This is the only place in the UK currently selling Dubai pistachio chocolate Labubus.
Beloved Stockport burger joint The Last Stop is closing its doors this month
Danny Jones
Much-loved burger joint and bar The Last Stop has announced it will be closing the doors of its original Stockport restaurant later this month.
The popular burger, gyros and Heaton Chapel hangout spot only just opened back in April 2024, but following the growing pressures throughout the hospitality sector, the team have made the decision to shut down their flagship brick-and-mortar site.
Confirming the news on Tuesday, The Last Stop informed their followers that this weekend will mark the venue’s very last round of service, “firing up the grills for the final time” and hosting one more big blowout on Saturday, 26 July.
They shared a lengthy statement explaining the reasoning behind their decision on Instagram, and fans of their food, drink and atmosphere are understandably gutted.
The post reads: “Despite a fantastic first year for The Last Stop, we’ve decided that the time is right to make a change in the Chapel.
“Over the last year, we’ve been fortunate enough to grow The Last Stop from scratch rapidly: collaborating with The Salmon of Knowledge bars (with a 3rd opening lined up for August), entering into the Egyptian Rooms [Oldham] Produce Hall [Stockport] food halls and having the pleasure of serving you thousands of burgers and gyros in the Heatons!”
“Nonetheless, whilst these ventures prove successful, well-documented cost increases and changes in consumer spending habits, since April in particular, have meant simply that our Heaton Chapel site in its current format is no longer economically viable.”
Bosses Dominic Ingleby and Niall Peters have gone on to assure that existing staff have secured positions at alternative branches, all suppliers have been fully paid up, and that their other locations are thankfully set to remain.
In fact, although one venue will be bidding a bittersweet goodbye, as hinted above, they will be moving into the old Dockyard bar over at MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, which is set to become another Salmon of Knowledge location.
The Last Stop Stockport might be closing but their NQ residence is staying put.As is their neighbouring Produce Hall pop-up stall.Credit: The Manc/The Last Stop (via IG)
We’re relieved to hear that The Last Stop name will be sticking around and it’s going for good, but Stopfordian residents are nevertheless gutted that the Heaton Chapel favourite, which became a regular quiz night, ‘sip and paint’ and late-night stop among locals, will soon be no more.
They sign off by adding: “We’d love to see you all this week for one last smashed cheese in the four walls where it all started, & to toast a pint or 7 on the Saturday!
“Thank you all for being a part of the journey and a pleasure to get to know. We’ll see you soon; maybe sooner than you think… Dom, Dom [Swarbrick] and Niall.”
We’ll leave you guys to try and figure out what that last bit means, but for now, thanks for the memories and the bloody good buns.
Daisy Bradbury -
18th June 2021 
