Being sick, to coin a phrase from the cinematic classic known as Wayne's World, blows goats. It's boring, you feel terrible, and you can't do the stuff you love. But being sick does not mean that you cannot eat dessert.
While I was sick recently, I was able to assemble some sweet findings on the most appropriate sweets to eat to ensure that you stay on the road to recovery in the most delicious way possible. What follows is a highly scientific report*.
* Not Really, Dopey! CakeSpy is not a doctor. If you are very sick, you may need more than just dessert to heal you. Go to the doctor!
Sore Throat / Coughing: Stick with soft stuff. While dairy may irritate some, others find the "coating" effect on the throat soothing. If you're one of the ones that is not irritated by dairy, then lucky you: it's milkshake and popsicle season. The coldness will numb and soothe; the sweetness will be delicious. Personally, I enjoy an Egg Cream when I have a sore throat; the bubbles somehow feel like they're "breaking up" whatever ails me, and, well, I really enjoy Egg Creams, too. Interestingly, salt can help kill bacteria, so if you want candy, a salted caramel or two might actually help. Also highly appropriate: gelato, pudding, panna cotta, sorbet, any soft dessert with lemon (such as pudding or custard or lemon curd). Drizzling honey on top of your treat is highly suggested, too.
Cold / Flu: People are always eating chicken soup when they have colds. But personally, I advocate doughnut soup. It's warm and soothing, and much more satisfying than that savory stuff. Green tea is also proven to up your antioxidants, which help soothe a cold--so why not get yourself some green tea ice cream or shortbread (or both)? Since the high vitamin count in fruits such as strawberries are also good for colds, I would also highly advocate strawberry shortcake. Honey and nuts, both key ingredients in Baklava, can also lessen congestion.
Muscle Cramps: When it comes to tight, achy muscle pains, the key ingredients to relief are Potassium (including bananas, beets, and oranges!), Salt (speaks for itself), and Magnesium (including foods like dark chocolate, almonds, and oats). In DessertSpeak, that means "thou must eat Banana Cream Pie, topped with Salted Caramel and dark chocolate" (it exists!). Of course, you could also make banana pudding and use oatmeal cookies instead of nilla wafers, eat some chocolate-beet cake, enjoy an orange chocolate tart with a little salt added to the crust, or--my favorite potassium-salt-magnesium powerhouse: enjoy a banana split with crushed-up pretzels on top.
Headaches: Hey, I don't care why your head is in pain. If your head is hurting, some get relief from nutmeg, sesame seeds, almonds, and yogurt. Your dessert translation? Spice cake; a yogurt parfait with almonds, broken-up sesame seed candy and some honey (for yumminess); this nutmeg-maple cream pie also strikes me as highly restorative.
Stomach trouble: Ugh, something's rumbly in your tumbly and it's not pleasurable. How do you still get your sweet fix while helping to cure yourself? Ginger is very soothing on an upset stomach--in my opinion, make it candied, because a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. In general though, you want to keep it simple. Many advocate the BRAT (Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) diet; in that spirit of keeping it simple, I suggest banana jumbos, rice pudding, apple pudding, and cinnamon sugar toast.