A new herd of desserts has recently stampeded into The Mara at Animal Kingdom Lodge. On our snack safari, we spotted an okapi brownie, giraffe éclair, kudu cookie, and flamingo cake. It was pretty wild, so here’s our civilized take:

Giraffe Éclair – $4.79

The most recognizable of these desserts is the giraffe éclair. There’s a giraffe print milk chocolate piece on top of a beautiful puff pastry. The éclair has a thick layer of chocolate buttercream that is similar to donut frosting. There’s also a rim of crisp white chocolate pearls around the edge. The giraffe éclair is filled with a caramel custard that is smooth and creamy. The caramel flavor is light and sweet. It’s definitely good, but there’s a lot more chocolate frosting than necessary. It overpowers the nice pastry and cream underneath. You may want to scrape some off to enjoy the éclair. It’s good, but nothing amazing. It’s also pretty small for the price.

Kudu Cookie – $3.99

The kudu cookie is the most interesting looking of the treats, but probably the most basic. It’s two cashew cookies filled with buttercream icing and dipped in a bit of white chocolate to keep it standing. A milk chocolate curl that looks like a leaf sticks out of the buttercream frosting. The cookie is a little more dry than expected, but the buttercream makes up for it. It could use a little more frosting. The cookies are thick and crunchy with a lot of cashew chunks. You really can’t go wrong with a cookie sandwich, and it’s the least expensive of the four.

Flamingo Cake (Vegan) – $4.79

The flamingo cake was a completely unique experience. It’s a small individual cake topped with what appears to be chocolate. We easily popped the cake from the wrapper to try to identify the base. It looks a little bit like chocolate, but you can smell the spices in the cake. We weren’t able to identify the taste, but we found out it’s actually a plant-based cocoa spice cake. It’s vegan, and very fresh. The top looks like fudge, but it’s actually coconut ganache. The coconut ganache has a very strong taste, so you may want to eat just the cake if you’re not a fan of coconut. We assumed it was chocolate only to find out the hard way. The pink flamingo curls are dark chocolate. The little red pieces could possibly be strawberry, but we couldn’t identify the taste of the other pearl decorative pieces. The portion size is good for the price, so if you’re looking for a vegan dessert, you may want to give this one a chance.

Okapi Brownie – $4.79

The okapi brownie is the winner here, and not just because it’s Mickey-shaped. The brownie is excellent. It’s topped with chocolate frosting, hazelnut, and white chocolate drizzle. It’s chewy, and goes well with the chocolate icing on top. The okapi brownie has a thick layer of fudge and a thin layer of brownie, so this is a sweet one. The crunch of the hazelnut Mickey just makes the whole thing even better. This dessert is very rich and perfect for chocolate lovers.

These four new desserts have now joined the iridescent rhino cupcake at The Mara. We love seeing new and unique desserts around the resorts. Will you be trying any of these new animal themed desserts?