Lay It On! Nine Great Classic Tall Cakes in Boston

BROWN BUTTER BAKERY (COMING SOON) ARLINGTON • Six-layer coconut cake with coconut buttercream, $120 (by custom order), 910-777-8769, brownbutterbakers.com. (Photographs by Bruce Peterson)

There’s a current vogue in pastry craft for the deconstructed dessert-scape, miniaturist tableaux decorated with exquisite blobs of ice cream, shreds of sponge cake, swooshes of berry compote, bits of brittles, and airy foams, often requiring nimble forkwork to land a single balanced bite. Not to knock those visual masterpieces, but this winter we’re craving classic tall cakes—the kinds with buttery layers of carbohydrate sandwiched between fat swaths of rich frosting. Here’s where to find them at restaurants by the hulking wedge and, in some cases, by custom order for your next sugary spread.

AVAILABLE FOR DINING IN

Hamersley’s Bistro
South End

“Marjolaine” cake (chocolate, meringue, hazelnut, and buttercream) with strawberry coulis and whipped cream, $11.

Bristol Lounge
Back Bay

Chocolate devil’s food cake with truffle ganache and vanilla buttercream, $24 (serves two to four).

Forum
Back Bay

Peanut butter–banana crêpe cake with mango butterscotch and rum “pop rocks,” $10.

Myers + Chang
South End

Chocolate–peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache, $8.

AVAILABLE TO TAKE HOME

Grill 23
Back Bay

Coconut cake with coconut dulce de leche and pineapple sorbet, $13 per slice, $90 for a 10-inch cake (call in advance to order).

Sportello
Fort Point

Salty chocolate-caramel cake,$3.50 per slice, $32 for an 8-inch cake.

Veggie Galaxy
Central Square

Vegan Taza triple-layer chocolate cake, $5.25 per slice, $46 fora 9-inch cake.

Great Taste Bakery
Chinatown

Mixed-fruit cake with peaches, strawberries, and melon, $1.50 per slice, $23 for a 10-inch cake.