Playful deconstruction: Michael Mina
If the flavors in many of Bill Corbett’s desserts are familiar, the way he constructs them is anything but. It’s as if he takes conventional combinations, chucks them at a brick wall, and reassembles the jumbled fragments like a cubist. Consider his peanut butter–banana sandwich: It has ice cream that tastes like sourdough; peanut butter transformed into a rich gan­ache; bananas vacuum-sealed in brandied caramel; and honey that appears in a wiggly gelée. In keeping with the restaurant’s trio conceit, half of Corbett’s dishes are three variations on a single theme. His chocolate dessert is tied together by floral elements and features white chocolate–rosewater panna cotta, layered saffron-pistachio–milk chocolate ganache, and bittersweet chocolate ice cream with lavender caramel. Complicated? Sure—but it’s a thrilling ride. 335 Powell St., S.F., 415-397-9222

Pure execution: Jojo
At most, there are only four desserts on the menu at Oakland’s nine-year-old Jojo, and it’s impossible to go wrong with any of them. Mary Jo Thoresen, who runs the restaurant with her partner, Curt Clingman, worked in the pastry department at Chez Panisse for 12 years, so she knows a thing or two about the right way to leave well enough alone. On a recent night, she made a plum and raspberry sorbet, humming with intense flavor and as smooth as a baby’s cheek, a soft custard flavored with nocino, a spiced black-walnut liqueur, and chocolate soufflé cake with black currant tea crème anglaise. The latter, which never leaves the menu, is the apotheosis of chocolate cake: intense but delicate, and plenty capable of producing a cacao-induced head rush. 3859 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, 510-985-3003

Quiet subversion: Range
Pink-peppercorn ice cream atop chocolate crêpes scattered with segments of ruby and Rio Star grapefruit. Butterscotch pudding with homemade vanilla wafers speckled with real-deal vanilla seeds. Apple-and-quince tarte tatin with rosemary ice cream and drizzles of quince syrup. In knowing circles, the name of Range’s pastry chef, Michelle Polzine, is spoken in the awed tones of the devout. For good reason. Her desserts are familiar enough that they echo those of a doting grandmother with a sweet thumb—assuming that said octogenarian cut no corners whatsoever, was bosom buddies with the best produce purveyors, and regularly embraced unconventional flavor combinations. 842 Valencia St., S.F., 415-282-8283

Culture melding: Bong Su
Dennis and Eloise Leung sure know their way around the flavors of Vietnam, considering they were born in Hong Kong and the Philippines, respectively. The duo’s signature dish at Bong Su is a sophisticated reinvention of four classic Vietnamese desserts—all on one plate. A recent version included a shot glass of coconut-tapioca soup with mung beans (a nuanced riff on the sweet treat che), a cake with long-cooked bananas, Vietnamese-coffee flan, and a triangle of sesame seed–topped cassava cake. Another of their desserts proves that even the funky king of fruits, durian, can be rendered accessible. The subtle muskiness of the durian parfait is walled in by white chocolate and offset by grapefruit granita and lime zest. If anyone ’round these parts bridges the dessert traditions of East and West as well as the Leungs, we’ve yet to meet them. 311 3rd St., S.F., 415-536-5800

Envelope flushing: Orson
Freewheeling as they are, there is nothing frivolous about Luis Villavelazquez’s desserts at Orson. Dehydrated shards of carrot jut from a pumpkin custard that has been strewn with brown-butter streusel and encircled by squiggles of root-beer maple syrup. Startling, yes—but it whispers of late autumn. The sweet, chewy carrot reinforces the earthy, creamy custard, and the streusel and syrup provide clever richness. Villavelazquez is unafraid to dabble at the cutting edge, whether by dehydrating Niçoise olives to add them to a chocolate-chip ice cream sandwich or by combining walnuts, flour, and sugar in a cream charger to form the base of a 30-second microwave cake. As his creations tastily demonstrate, this is all in the interest—not at the expense—of flavor, texture, and surprise. 508 4th St., S.F., 415-777-1508

Sublime simplicity: Chez Panisse
All hail the grand progenitor! From the reign of its original pastry chef, Lindsey Shere, to that of its current team under co–pastry chefs Mia Ponce and Stacie Pierce, Chez Panisse has been the mecca for perfectly executed simple desserts. To wit: On any given night, either upstairs or down, there’s certain to be some type of stunning, fruit-based classic on the menu. This time of year, it might be a Jonathan apple–and–huckleberry tart. The crust will inevitably be one of the flakiest you’ve encountered, and the fruit will be fresher and more fully itself than any you’ve ever had. 1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, Chez Panisse: 510-548-5525, Chez Panisse Café: 510-548-5049