When Tatte Fine Cookies & Cakes took over the former Savoy French Bakery spot on Beacon Street this spring, neighbors had to wonder about the void left by beloved baguettes. Turns out, it’s a void best filled with nuts—pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, and cashews, to be precise.

They’re the backbone of owner Tzurit Or’s upscale butter cookies, biscotti, brioches, and tarts, a lineup inspired by her mother Tatte’s family recipes. If only we’d grown up eating sweets like this. (more…)

As the intrepid Amy Traverso reported back in April, Boston’s got a new ice-cream bigwig. And it’s not just any ice cream—it’s vegan ice cream. Adventurous flavors like dragonfruit and Mexican chocolate are Wheeler del Torro’s trademark, and he churns out new recipes faster than local chefs can dish out beet salads. (more…)

On Saturday morning, I’m going to wake up at the crack of dawn, pack a bag with a brunch-appropriate get-up, and jump on the 8:15 Acela train from Back Bay to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Then hitch a ride back to Boston Sunday night. All for—you guessed it—my mom.

Because, in case you’ve forgotten, Sunday is Mother’s Day. And even living 300 miles away doesn’t excuse you from the responsibilities that come with the ultimate of Gold Crown holidays.

But, if for some reason you can’t make it home, there is a more convenient alternative: sending sugary wishes via the Harvard Sweet Boutique. Created by Harvard resident Sue George, this e-bakery will craft mom the melt-in-your-mouth cookies, brownies, and toffee you wish you had time to make yourself—then wrap them in adorable packaging and ship them off in less time than it will take you to travel home and back. (more…)

It’s no secret that Chowder bloggers are a little nutso about chocolate, whether it’s in bar, cookie, or even vegan cupcake form. So we all said a little “hallelujah!” when pastry chef Lee Napoli opened Chocolee in the South End. I shed more than a few tears of joy, and probably drooled a little, too.

And then Aroa opened. And then I kind of lost it. (more…)

By now, you’ve probably caught on to Chowder’s undying passion for all things sweet. Chocolate shop openings, cake batter ice cream, the ultimate vegan bakery treats—if it involves anything containing even a drop of vanilla extract, a dash of cocoa powder, or a dollop of whipped cream, we’re there faster than you can say “sugar rush.” And did we mention we’re pretty good in the kitchen, too?

But there is-for me at least-one confectionery road left untraveled until very recently: gooey homemade cinnamon buns, baked on a lazy late-winter Sunday morning. (more…)

During a recent brainstorming session on reasons to love Boston, amid all the waxing rhapsodic about our culture, architecture, and sports heroes, there was a shout-out to the Chocolate Bomb cupcake at Fiore’s Bakery in Jamaica Plain. The vegan Chocolate Bomb cupcake. I admit: As a longtime devotee of all things milk, butter, and eggs, I scoffed. Then I stopped by the South Street bakery this weekend for a taste. And I smartened up fast. (more…)

Even as it sat virtually empty last week, the new South End chocolate shop ChocoLee was drawing undisguised lustful glances from passers-by. And no wonder: In the front windows of the Pembroke Street storefront sat two enormous silver bowls, complete with dripping whisks and brimming with what looked like enough chocolate to feed the whole neighborhood.

And though the luscious goo in those bowls is—alas!—just a bit of window-design wizardry, ChocoLee owner Lee Napoli will do her best to satisfy local sweet tooths starting tomorrow, as her shop opens for business. (more…)

I’m a purist when it comes to baking. High quality cocoa, pure vanilla extract, and European-style butter all take their place in my shopping cart. So I haven’t had much use for cake mix. Until now.

When I received this Cuisinart automatic ice cream maker for the holidays, I was ecstatic with visions of freshly churned ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt (and even frozen margaritas, as the machine’s fairly extensive recipe insert points out). But for all that unhatched imagination, my boyfriend and I could only think of one thing when it came time to whip up a frozen treat: Coldstone’s Cake Batter ice cream. (more…)

Ice cream fans are one step closer to rejoicing. Toscanini’s is getting closer to reopening. After launching a blog to solicit donations for its $167,000 tax bill, the owners report that they’ve received enough money to make a down payment to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and will hopefully start scooping soon.

But the owners are still accepting donations if you want to help them out.

(more…)

The Toscanini’s saga continues to unfold, four days after its surprise shuttering for unpaid taxes. On Friday, owner Gus Rancantore informed us that he and sister/partner Mimi were working to set up a payment plan with the state, and hoped to reopen on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Rancantoris launched Save Tosci’s, a PayPal-enabled blog aimed at raising $25,000 for a down payment on their bill. They also sent out a public statement. (more…)