Four Warming Winter Desserts to Try in the Twin Cities

Spoon and Stable

Pastry chef Alexandra Motz’s latest seasonal desserts riffs on the rustic nostalgia of apple tarts. Thin curls of apple slices, dyed pink with pomegranate juice, top her warm apple pavé — they look more like rose petals than fruit, and offer a playful color palette in contrast to winter’s bland browns and grays. The pavé comes with a neat cylindrical serving of pistachio ice cream. Later in the season, look for tropical and botanical flavors inspired by Motz’s travels in Bali earlier this year. (Think beach-vibe pavlova.)

The Bungalow Club

Head to the Bungalow Club on Wednesdays for burger night and end the evening with a dreamy off-menu dessert. Don’t balk at the savory connotations of an olive oil cake — the oil gives the cake a remarkable moistness that butter alone can’t achieve, from the crust to the velvety center. The winter rendition is topped with apple caramel, malted hot chocolate ice cream from MN Dairy Lab, and a whorl of marshmallow fluff.

Red Rabbit

After a rich meal of bolognese and spicy salami pizza, a sugary dessert might feel like a bit much — enter Red Rabbit’s sticky toffee cake. This cake balances bright notes of orange with warming spices. It’s served with a dollop of delicately sour whipped cream, then topped with salted caramel sauce and strips of candied orange peel. Put together, these elements make this melt-in-your-mouth cake a satisfying marriage of sweet and tangy.

Borough

Chef William Karon joined Borough in November as chef de cuisine and ushered in a new menu. The pear cake, topped with a juicy compote and slices of poached pear, comes with a sidecar of brown butter ice cream atop a bed of cinnamon crumble. Scrape a little caramel off the plate with each bite.