Snapshot: Baby Cakes Grow Up

Retro sweets are being fine-tuned for the sophisticated sweet tooth.

Astaria, San Mateo, California
Astaria’s HO-HO moist chocolate sponge cake is filled with whipped cream piped in that signature Ho-Ho swirl, then it’s dipped in premium melted chocolate ($6).

That Takes the Cake, San Francisco, California
Chocolamento Cupcakes are baked from double chocolate devil’s food cake batter and topped with mint buttercream frosting and an Andes chocolate mint ($2.95).

The Chip Shop, Brooklyn, New York
The Fried Twinkies in this fish ’n chips spot start with the packaged cakes, then are served with four-berry coulis ($3).

Bandera, Scottsdale, Arizona
House-made Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches begin with homemade Oreo cookies that enclose creamy vanilla ice cream dotted with Oreo chips. They float in bittersweet fudge syrup and are topped with fresh whipped cream ($8).

OM, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The PB & J Hazelnut Ice Cream Mille Feuille layers the classic sandwich combo between the thinnest crisp pastry. It’s plated with pickled red grapes, moscato gastrique and Concord grape jelly ($9).

Saint Cupcakes, Portland, Oregon
The Fat Elvis Cupcake consists of a sweet banana chocolate chip cupcake smeared with peanut butter fudge and crowned with a banana chip ($1.50 for dot cupcakes; $2.50 for regular size).             

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Financing

For Papa Johns, the CEO departure came at the wrong time

The Bottom Line: The pizza chain worked to convince franchisees to buy into a massive marketing shift. And then the brand’s CEO left.

Trending

More from our partners