Eat These Special Dishes for Sweets Week 2016

In honor of Sweets Week, a number of local restaurants have created special desserts that they’re offering exclusively for the week (October 24-28, 2016). The desserts are inspired by classic local favorites, such as Boston cream pie and apple cider doughnuts. Keep an eye out for other New England flavors, too, including Concord grapes and Somerville’s own special confection: Fluff.

Read on for details on where to find each special dessert, how much each costs, and any other pertinent details. Get them while they last.

Apple Cider Beignets With Dolce de Leche Gelato

Chopps

For Sweets Week, Chopps’ food and beverage director Bruno Marini is serving up apple beignets. “Beignets/doughnuts are my dirty secret food obsession,” says Marini. They’re available at dinner service throughout Sweets Week and cost $9.

Chopps’ regular dessert menu currently includes fall-friendly options such as a pumpkin Nutella creme brulee, sour apple & cranberry crisp, cheesecake with boysenberry compote, and a flourless chocolate grand marnier torte.

Chopps American Bar and Grill (Boston Marriott Burlington, 1 Burlington Mall Rd., Burlington)

Apple Cider Doughnut Bread Pudding With Salted Caramel Sauce

Davio’s Lynnfield

Davio’s Lynnfield’s pastry chef Michelle Boland is serving up this special doughnut bread pudding throughout Sweets Week for $11. It’s available at lunch and dinner service in the dining room.

Other dessert options at Davio’s Lynnfield include a dark chocolate-wrapped caramel cheesecake with salted caramel sauce, whipped cream, and caramel corn; brownie sundaes; an apple crisp with vanilla gelato and cinnamon almond brittle; and more.

Davio’s Lynnfield (1250 Market St., Lynnfield)

Apple Cider Doughnut Treats and More

Chill on Park

Dorchester ice cream shop Chill on Park is offering a trio of specials inspired by Boston fall favorites for Sweets Week. There’s an apple cider doughnut sandwich ($4.50 plus tax) with one scoop of your choice of ice cream and two toppings; here, it’s pictured with chocolate ice cream, chocolate drizzle, and nuts.

Keeping along the same theme, there’s an apple cider doughnut sundae ($8.45 plus tax) with two scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, and two toppings. (Hint: Ask for the doughnut to be served warm.) Sample combo: vanilla ice cream, Dutch apple ice cream, caramel drizzle, and nuts.

And there’s a slice of pumpkin spice coffee cake ($7.75 plus tax) with two scoops of ice cream and a topping. (Hint: This one can also be served warm.)

Chill on Park (142 Park St., Dorchester, Boston)

Apple Pie Ice Cream With Salted Caramel Cookies and Brown Sugar Toffee Sauce

Commonwealth

“We are known for our ice cream and cookies, so we thought this was a good marriage,” says Commonwealth pastry chef Kristin Beaupre, who created this dish with her team. It will be available as a verbal special at dinner service throughout Sweets Week, and it will cost $10.

Commonwealth’s typical dessert option is a customizable ice cream sundae, with around 10 ice cream and sorbet options (creamsicle, salted caramel, banana dark chocolate chip, and more), sauces, toppings, and pairings (cookies, brownies, etc.)

Commonwealth (11 Broad Canal Way, Kendall Square, Cambridge)

Boston Cream Pie With Brioche, Hazelnut, and Malted Milk

No.9 Park

No.9 Park’s executive pastry chef Jesse Jackson, III is serving up a contemporary version of the classic Boston cream pie, which was created by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian in 1856 at what is now called the Omni Parker House. Jackson’s version features fried brown butter brioche, milk crumble, Ugandan vanilla bean pastry cream, hazelnut ganache, chocolate glaçage, and malted milk glace.

“Being that No.9 Park is just a stone’s throw away from the Omni Parker House, I thought it would be fitting to do a contemporary version of this Bostonian classic,” says Jackson. The dish costs $15, and it’s available in the bar room at No.9 Park during dinner service hours throughout Sweets Week (5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday. It will be mentioned as a verbal special, or you can request it by name.

No.9 Park (9 Park St., Beacon Hill, Boston)

Caramelized Banana Split

State Street Provisions

State Street Provisions’ pastry chef Amanda Baker is serving up this twist on a classic banana split throughout Sweets Week (available at brunch, lunch, and dinner). It’s a dessert parfait with vanilla ice cream, caramel whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and a pecan praline crunch. $9.

On State Street Provisions’ current regular dessert menu, diners will find options such as a flourless chocolate cake with raspberry mousse and a rosemary-lemon cookie; cream cheese flan with macerated berries and caramel popcorn; Irish coffee & doughnuts; and more.

State Street Provisions (255 State St., Waterfront, Boston)

Concord Grape Cheesecake With Chevre Cremeux and Pomegranate Pearls

Bistro du Midi

Bistro du Midi’s pastry chef Robert Gonzalez is serving a cheesecake featuring Concord grapes, which were originally developed in Concord, Massachusetts. It’s available for $12 throughout Sweets Week.

Bistro du Midi’s standard dessert menu currently includes a couple of soufflés (cherry & amaretto with d’Affinois ice cream or chocolate with vanilla ice cream); a chocolate Kahlua custard with smoked brownies and marshmallow ice cream; a beurre noisette cake with bourbon peaches and butterscotch ice cream; green tea creme brulee with compressed pluots and apricot sorbet; and more.

Bistro du Midi (272 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston)

Crispy Pumpkin Dumplings

Empire

Empire pastry chef Maria Cavaleri is putting a spin on New England’s fall pumpkin obsession with crispy pumpkin dumplings — pumpkin spiced caramel, pumpkin seed brittle, and pumpkin ice cream. The dessert is available for $12 at dinner service throughout Sweets Week.

Empire’s usual dessert menu includes dishes such as ‘campfire’ fried ice cream with torched marshmallows, graham cracker, caramelized milk, and chocolate ice cream; coconut creme brulee with coconut cream custard, coconut ‘crackers,’ pineapple, and mango; and a chocolate macadamia nut tart with brown butter caramel, raspberry, vanilla creme anglaise, and raspberry sorbet.

Empire Asian Restaurant & Lounge (1 Marina Park Dr., Seaport District, Boston)

Fluffernutter Mille Feuille

Catalyst

Catalyst pastry chef Lilah Rogoff is serving a Fluffernutter Mille Feuille for Sweets Week. It includes caramelized puff pastry, peanut butter mousse, torched “Fluff,” chocolate ganache, and Sriracha candied peanuts.

“A childhood favorite!” says Rogoff. “It’s like a more visually appealing, more texturally diverse Fluffernutter.” It’s available for $11 during dinner service throughout Sweets Week; look for it on the Catalyst specials chalkboard (#catalystchalkboard on social media).

Catalyst (300 Technology Sq., Kendall Square, Cambridge)

Ice Cream Sandwich

The Merchant

Executive chef Matt Foley is serving a very Boston ice cream sandwich for Sweets Week. "This ice cream sandwich has serious ties to the region,” says Foley. “It consists of two warm chocolate chip cookies (invented here), stuffed with a molasses/rum/Fluff ice cream. Boston was the #1 producer of molasses in the early 1900s, and Fluff was also invented in Somerville."

The ice cream sandwich is available throughout Sweets Week, at both lunch and dinner service, for $9.

The Merchant (60 Franklin St., Downtown Crossing, Boston)

Peanut Butter and Concord Grape Treats

Saltbox Kitchen

Saltbox Kitchen’s pastry chef Ben Dorn is offering two peanut butter and Concord grape desserts for Sweets Week. “I have chosen to highlight Concord grapes not only because they were developed here in Concord but also because they grow wild on our farm,” says Dorn. “One of the missions of Saltbox Kitchen is to use produce grown on our farm whenever possible, so I wanted to take advantage of its relatively short growing season. The combination of peanut butter and grape jelly probably brings back a feeling of childhood nostalgia in most of us, so that is what inspired me.”

Dorn’s peanut butter and Concord grape ice cream sandwiches will be available for $4 each during regular business hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday) — Concord grape swirled vanilla ice cream sandwiched between classic peanut butter cookies. During dinner hours (5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday and Friday), he’ll be serving a plated dessert, peanut butter and Concord grape pain perdu, for $7 — Japanese milk bread topped with Concord grape sorbet and peanut butter sauce.

Saltbox Kitchen (84 Commonwealth Ave., Concord)

Peanut Butter and Toasted Fluff Napoleon

Alta Strada

Alta Strada Wellesley’s executive pastry chef Hannah Lurier has created a Sweets Week dessert that includes puff pastry, whipped peanut butter, house-made toasted Fluff meringue, fudge sauce, and toasted house-made marshmallows. It’s available for $12 at lunch and dinner throughout Sweets Week.

“My Inspiration for the dish is that when I was 13, I had to choose something that was made in New England for a class project, and by that age I knew I wanted to be a pastry chef,” says Lurier. “I decided to make a cake in the shape of Massachusetts and fill it in with a Fluff frosting. (Fluff was my choice of ‘made in New England.’) My mom always packed me a peanut butter and Fluff sandwich for lunch, and I was so proud to know that it originated on my own home grounds. Now that I'm a pastry chef, it’s fun to bring back childhood memories and make our guests feel like kids again — the way I felt when I was able to bake it and bring it back to life.”

Alta Strada Wellesley (92 Central St., Wellesley)

Pumpkin Churros With Mexican Chocolate Sauce and Pumpkin Anglaise

Loco’s executive chef Matt Drummond is serving up pumpkin churros with Mexican chocolate sauce and pumpkin anglaise, available for $7 at dinner service throughout Sweets Week.

Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar (412 W. Broadway, South Boston, Boston)

Pumpkin Cinnamon S’mores Doughnuts With a Walnut Graham Cracker Crumble

Topped with marshmallow. Granary Tavern chef Chris Mendonca is serving up this treat throughout Sweets Week.

Granary Tavern (170 Milk St., Waterfront, Boston)

Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Icing, Apple Butter, and Candied Walnut

This fall-inspired dish is available at Trade throughout Sweets Week for $9.

Trade’s standard dessert menu includes options such as baked Alaska with mango and coconut sorbet; torched lemon cake with frozen yogurt, lemon curd, and meringue; and a brownie with ginger ice cream, chili-chocolate sauce, candied ginger, and dukkah.

Trade (540 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic Wharf, Boston)

Vanilla Rum Boston Cream Pie

Rosebud

Rosebud’s pastry chef Rachel Gibeley will be serving up her version of this Boston classic throughout Sweets Week (including at daily dinner, Friday lunch, and weekend brunch). Conveniently, October 23 is National Boston Cream Pie Day. Gibeley’s version is made with chiffon cake, vanilla rum mousse, and chocolate ganache. $7 a slice.

Rosebud’s standard dessert menu centers around pies — key lime, blueberry crumble, peanut butter fudge, and more — plus Oreo cheesecake and chocolate mousse. The restaurant also serves bourbon milkshakes in a variety of flavors.

Rosebud American Kitchen and Bar (381 Summer St., Davis Square, Somerville)