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Pumpkin cake rolls, available at Janssen’s Market in Greenville and Brûlé Bakery in Dewey Beach, deliver anticipated autumnal flavor in a new form. Photograph courtesy of Brûlé Bakery
Break with holiday tradition without leaving fall flavors behind.
Let’s face it, many Thanksgiving dishes are more traditional than exceptional. Take canned cranberry sauce, for instance. Dumping it into a crystal bowl is like putting lipstick on a pig. Green-bean casserole is a can of green beans mixed with a can of mushroom soup and topped with a can of fried onions. And dessert? The anticipated pumpkin pie, of course.
But the holiday meal’s grand finale presents the perfect time to stray from the norm. Thankfully, Delaware pastry chefs and bakers have plenty of ideas for ending it on a more memorable note—and you don’t need to omit the pumpkin flavor altogether. Here are their suggestions.
Think small
After turkey and all the trimmings, a fat wedge of pie or cake can feel more like a dare than dessert. Moreover, we now live in a GLP-1 world. The answer: small sweets.
When Michele Mitchell was the executive pastry chef at the Hotel Du Pont, the Green Room served a trio of tiny desserts so that guests could sample more than one. She’s currently the pastry chef at Janssen’s Market in Greenville, where you can purchase her creations—of all sizes—straight from the case or by special order.
A diminutive dessert is elegant, says Jimme Matthews, a pastry chef at Harry’s Savoy Grill in Wilmington. “It makes the perfect little ending to the meal.”
Amanda Nichols, the pastry chef at Wilmington-based Bardea Restaurant Group, recommends pecan bars for Thanksgiving. “They’re portioned out and on the smaller side, so they allow guests to grab more than one without feeling like they are overindulging,” she says.
In addition to pecan, Dru Tevis of Brûlé Bakery in Dewey Beach suggests apple crumb or pumpkin cheesecake bars. And chocolate chip cookies are always a crowd-pleaser, he adds.
Make fruit the star
An apple or a fruit crisp is another practical choice because it is easy to both make and serve, Nichols says.
Along with apples and pumpkins, pears bring a festive note to the table, and the flavor pairs well with other Thanksgiving dishes.
Mitchell makes a pear-almond tart with short-crust pastry, apricot jam, and almond frangipane. The dessert has a personal connection: Mitchell’s mother is from England, and the pastry chef grew up with frangipane.
Spark’d Creative Pastry + Coffee traces its roots to the Hotel Du Pont Bake Shop, so it stands to reason that a similar pear tart, complete with frangipane, is also a hit in the shop. It’s designed for diners who are “all pumpkin-ed out,” says Leah Ferrara, the executive pastry chef.
Anita Wheeler-Bezy of La Baguette recommends pear Alsacienne, an 8-inch French tart made with pears, almond custard, pastry crust, and slivered almonds. It can be ordered in-store in the Lewes and Dover locations; it’s also sold by the slice.
Consider fall flavors
Along with pear, pumpkin, and apples, cranberry suits the season. Cranberry-rosemary oatmeal cookies will join the Spark’d menu closer to Thanksgiving.
Other flavorful choices include desserts made with maple, cinnamon, and caramel, Matthews says. “They work beautifully because they remind us of fall and complement the traditional Thanksgiving dishes,” he says.
Keep the pumpkin, lose the pie
You don’t need to ditch pumpkin altogether. Pastry chef Austin Markland of In Jest Events & Catering combines pumpkin, mascarpone, espresso-soaked ladyfingers, and fall spices to make a tiramisu. “You still get that nostalgic Thanksgiving flavor, but it feels a little more unexpected and special,” Markland says.
In Jest plans to offer the dessert as part of its Thanksgiving dinner packages, along with pumpkin-cream cupcakes filled and topped with salted caramel.
Spark’d will feature pumpkin s’mores gâteau—layers of graham-cracker cake, pumpkin-spice mousse, and flame-torched meringue icing. Individual slices will also be available. Another option is a rich pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bar with dulce de leche.
Janssen’s Market offers two pumpkin alternatives: pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin cake roll. The roll pairs light pumpkin cake with cream-cheese icing, while the cheesecake combines pumpkin, spices, and brown sugar. Both are available through Janssen’s holiday preorder program.
Or just change the filling
When it comes to pie, pecan is another popular choice on Thanksgiving. Sleeping Bird Coffee in Wilmington sells miso-maple pecan pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas. “It’s by far my favorite pie,” says co-owner Leigh Ann Tona.
Nearby, Cajun Kate’s offers chocolate chip pecan pies, says Don Applebaum, who owns the Philadelphia Pike restaurant with his wife, Kate.
If you visit Irish Eyes in Lewes for the Thanksgiving buffet, you’ll likely spot white-potato pie, “mostly because I’m the manager—and I’m from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and love it,” says Jenny Brown. The custardy dessert starts with mashed potatoes and includes lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and eggs.
Patsy’s in Bethany Beach augments its pie sales with an apple-cranberry pie with crumb topping—owner Patsy Rankin’s first choice. But given that the restaurant has a Key West vibe, key lime and coconut-cream pies are also on the menu.
Or dress up the original
If you do serve plain pumpkin pie, dress it up with salted caramel sauce, cream-cheese whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or a crunchy streusel, Tevis says. “If you’re making room for dessert, it needs to be good.”
Remember the chocolate
Finally, you can never go wrong with chocolate. “It always belongs in dessert,” Nichols says. Mitchell agrees. One of her longtime favorites is a bittersweet chocolate-ganache heart paired with tart cherry compote, a combination that offers richness and acidity after a heavy meal.
Whether it’s a chocolate treat or a pear tart, serving a new sweet gives guests something to talk about and, perhaps, a new tradition for next year.
Where to Order
Brûlé Bakery: 2000 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach; 208-2253
Cajun Kate’s: 722 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington; 416-5108
In Jest Events & Catering: 212 Murray Road, Newark; 562-2406
Janssen’s Market: 3801 Kennett Pike, Greenville; 654-9941
La Baguette: 323 S. Governors Ave., Dover; 741-0180; and 33323 E. Chesapeake St., Suite 33, Lewes; 200-7946
Patsy’s Restaurant: 121 Campbell Place, Bethany Beach; 537-2433
Sleeping Bird Coffee: 3111 Miller Road, Wilmington; 570-7358
Spark’d Creative Pastry + Coffee: I.M. Pei Building, 1105 N. Market St., Wilmington; and Hotel Du Pont, 42 W. 11th St., Wilmington; 594-3966
