You’ll smack your forehead for not ordering at least one (or two, or three…) of these treats when you visit The Dessertist in Croton-on-Hudson, which opened January 16. These are owner and Executive Pastry Chef Samantha Eichenberg’s top picks.
Before opening this Croton shop, she created artistic desserts for about seven years for private events, clients, and charities. Eichenberg’s sweets have seen the sets of Food Network’s The Rachael Ray Show and CBS’s The Good Wife. On February 23, she’ll work alongside pastry chef biggies—such as Momofuku Milk Bar founder/Chef/owner Christina Tosi and Pastry Chef mogul Dominique Ansel of Cronut fame—as an invited participant in the Chefs for Kids’ Cancer gala to raise money for childhood cancer research.
So if you find yourself salivating and wavering with indecision at the bakery cases within The Dessertist, use our cheat sheet for help.
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Cake Pops
You know that thing called portion control? Well, forget it. With cake pops, you don’t need any will-power. Barely more than two bites, cake pops have been trending the last several years, in no small part due to the oversized lollipop ball of moist, intense cake covered in rich frosting, decorated with creative whimsy. The small, fun, and still decadent pops relieve you from that internal cake battle. A favorite for kids and adults, they’re big sellers at The Dessertist.
Maple Bacon Cupcakes
To make this delicious play on breakfast, Eichenberg uses high-quality bacon from local artisanal butcher Matt Campbell, owner of Campbell Meats in Westchester. The cake is flavored with cinnamon spice, and it’s topped with a maple cream frosting infused with “tons” of bacon, she says.
Soon to Be Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eichenberg spent four years working on her chocolate chip cookie recipe. “When I became a mom, I knew I wanted to be the mom that made the best chocolate chip cookies,” she says. “They are the ultimate perfection of crunchy, chewy, sweet, and salty.”
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Barnyard Bars
Inspired by her Ohio roots, Eichenberg created a sweet-corn-infused, brown-butter bar slathered in malted-milk cream and topped with sweetened, toasted corn flakes.
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“The Munchies”
Remember those? (Wink, wink). To satisfy your cravings, Eichenberg makes this recipe in multiple forms: truffle, parfait, bar, cake pop, and cookie. It always has a cookies-and-cream crunch, salted caramel, milk chocolate-covered pretzels, and potato chips. “People go crazy over the sweet and salty with tons of texture concoction,” she says. “It’s pretty crazy and insanely delicious.”
Boozey Balls
This chef has found the sweetest pairing of all: She found a way to make desserts taste like cocktails. Eichenberg goes beyond the traditional “bake it out” technique, giving you the real deal. Your happy hour could include her Moonshine Apple Pie, Chocolate Martini, Beer, or Margarita.
