Just Desserts
“Oh no,” you said, looking longingly at this month’s cover, “My New Year’s resolution about eating only celery sticks and rice cakes was going so well!”
Forget the diet, folks, we here at akronlife know that February is the perfect month to celebrate desserts, and we’re diving in face-first to sample locally-made sweet treats.
Akron’s known for its sauerkraut balls but when the end of the meal comes around, our local restaurants and bakeries know how to hit the sweet spot. It was a tough decision, narrowing the treats down to just four (we gladly took one for the team), and we’re sure you’re going to love these desserts and the stories of how they came to appear in local menus and display cases.
Sharp Stick in the Eye
Circle L Steakhouse at The Galaxy, Wadsworth
Chef Angus O’Hara was in The Galaxy’s Café Market one afternoon, when he overheard a patron say, “That’s better than a sharp stick in the eye.”
The mental image inspired by that phrase reminded him of the chocolate-peanut butter buckeyes he makes for the restaurant and, he says, ‘the dessert took shape in about 15 seconds.’
This concoction starts with a tuile cup (a wafer with a fortune-cookie type texture) that is frosted with chocolate on the inside. O’Hara pipes peanut butter mousse into the cup and then places in the center a cylinder of sour cream chocolate cake filled with Butterfinger ganache. Now looking like a bulls-eye, he finishes it with a skewer topped with a buckeye.
O’Hara says it was a “no brainer” adding this sculptural dessert to Circle L’s menu, due to Ohio State’s local Buckeye fanbase and the decadent flavor profile.
“There’s nothing like coming up with something new and original,” he says. “Especially when it’s received as well as this.”— $6.99
French Macaroons
Bittersweet’s, Stow
Bittersweet’s has recently added French macaroons to its repertoire of freshly made desserts. Not to be confused with coconut macaroons (although they’re pretty yummy too), French macaroons are much different in taste and appearance.
“French macaroons, or macarons as some French purists might say, can be debated as either cookie or pastry,” says Executive Chef Todd Horvath. “A macaroon is made with a meringue with finely ground almonds added into the base.”
Next, two of these pastel-hued cookies are sandwiched together using buttercream, ganache or jam. The result is a light, crispy and chewy dessert that food trend analysts say may become “the next cupcake.”
Horvath tested several recipes, and when he and general manager Gwyneddh Jones offered samples at their shop, the positive response from customers encouraged the couple to add the cookies to their menu.
Bittersweet’s macaroons are available in salted caramel, vanilla bean and pistachio flavors, as well as seasonal flavors.— 99 cents each, $9.99 for a dozen
Friday Night at the Movies Cupcake
Cupcake Binge!, Munroe Falls
For Cupcake Binge! owner Greg Stricker, his wife Lynn and their four children, Friday nights meant one thing: movie night, and their snack of choice was caramel popcorn, buttered popcorn, mini M&Ms and chocolate chips, tossed together in a large bowl.
That idea has since morphed into Friday Night at the Movies, a cupcake that’s only available at the shop on Fridays.
“My wife thought of the name for this dessert,” Stricker says. “She’s the creative one in the family.”
The cupcake starts with a Valrhona chocolate cake drizzled in chocolate with salted buttercream frosting, topped with colorful mini candy-coated chocolate pieces and a piece of caramel popcorn, and then lightly drizzled with chocolate ganache and caramel.
“I thought it would be a fun, playful cupcake especially for children, but adults love it too,” Stricker says. “The whole concept, name and flavor combination is unique. You won’t find anything else out there like it, or at least we haven’t!”— $2.50 each, $13 for a half-dozen, $25 for a dozen
Giant Donut
North Hill Donuts, Akron
North Hill Donuts has changed names several times over the years, but since 1974, this Tallmadge Avenue landmark has been family-owned and operated by Linda and Ilias “Louie” Tsakalis.
Years ago, Louie’s friend asked him to make an extra large donut for his grandson’s birthday. After much trial and error, he created a Giant Donut, and when other customers saw the 1-1/2 pound, 16-inch diameter pastry, it became a popular item at the shop.
This handmade raised-ring donut is made fresh on the premises, along with all of the shop’s items. Specially ordered with 24 hours’ notice, the Giant Donuts can be made glazed or iced with chocolate, vanilla, maple, pink or blue icing. Seasonal colored sprinkles can be added to the iced donuts, as well as “Happy Birthday” or other special occasion sayings.
“We believe we’re the only donut shop in the area that makes them,” Linda says. “They’re packaged in a large pizza box and can be cut into serving pieces of any size. And, there are those daring people who have been known to eat the whole thing themselves!”— $9.99
/Managing editor Abby Cymerman loves baking but she’s convinced that any attempt to make the desserts in this article would drive her insane.
Comments? Email them to managingeditor Abby Cymerman atacymerman@bakermediagroup.com.