No shade to the two-note schoolyard frozen treat, but lately, ice cream sandwiches have grown up. In New York City, cool-kid scoopshops, pop-ups, restaurants, and even wine bars have peppered their menus with vibrant frozen sandos redolent with spiced, floral, herbal, and savory notes to tempt those of us inclined to eat the world—brain freeze be damned. Here’s how to make a few of our favorites.

Coconut-Taro Ice Cream Sandwiches with Ritz Crackers

The vibrant, violet-colored ice cream in this sweet-and-salty recipe from SAVEUR contributing editor Jessie YuChen is dairy-free and comes together easily—no ice-cream machine required. Get the recipe >

Sweet Fried Milk Buns with Ice Cream, Peanuts, and Cilantro

Peanuts and cilantro may be surprising toppings for many ice cream lovers, but the flavor combination is popular in Taiwan’s coastal Yilan County, where night market vendors roll the ingredients in thin wheat-flour wrappers for a beloved snack called hua shen juan bing qi. At Win Son in Brooklyn, pastry chef Danielle Spencer pays homage to the famous street food with this ice cream sandwich. Get the recipe >

Ginger Matcha Ice Cream Sandwiches

The secret ingredient in these bracing, eye-catchingly green sandwiches from Noona’s owner Hannah Bae is dextrose, a grape sugar that keeps the ice cream soft and scoopable. Get the recipe >

Vanilla-Rose Ice Cream Sandwiches with Cardamom Toast

In this fork-and-knife-optional sandwich from Malai’s Pooja Bavishi, buttery cardamom toast encases a heady rose-scented cream filling that requires no churning whatsoever. Get the recipe >

Brown Butter Sugar Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

At Bad Habit Ice Cream, chef Javier Zuniga often sandwiches chewy sugar cookies with fruit-based ice creams such as roasted banana or sweet milk with a swirl of fig jam. Fake it at home by softening a quart of store-bought vanilla and folding in a ripple of your favorite preserves. Get the recipe >

Bastani Sonnati Ice Cream Sandwiches

At Eyval in Brooklyn, chef Ali Saboor’s artful hand and Persian influence shine through in this elegant sandwich that’s perfumed with saffron, rosewater, and citrus and studded with raisins. Get the recipe >

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The SAVEUR test kitchen’s version of the classic New England boiled dinner (and St. Patrick’s Day favorite) both honors the flavors of the original and elevates the dish at the same time. Japanese turnips, golden beets, parsnips, and a handful of briny, bright-green olives complement the tender, salted meat, and add color and variety to the traditional potato-carrots-cabbage formula.

Featured in “Giving Corned Beef and Cabbage a Much-Needed Update.”

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Visitors to Switzerland’s Fribourg region who ride the swinging funicular to the tippity top of Mount Moléson can soak in dazzling views over a cool glass of chasselas wine and a heaping bowl of macaroni du chalet. Known as Älplermagronen in the German-speaking parts of the country, this simple and comforting one-pot pasta recipe—adapted from the one served at the no-frills Plan-Francey restaurant—is best made with the regional king of cheeses: le Gruyère. (To be sure you’re getting the real deal, look for “AOP” on the label.) Don’t skimp on the scallions and chives—they provide a necessary hit of freshness and draw out the cheese’s herbal and oniony notes.

Featured in: “Our Best Mac and Cheese Recipes Will Satisfy All Your Cravings.”

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Bostock is a sweet and crunchy breakfast pastry with roots in Normandy. Our version honors Calvados country with a schmear of apple butter and a splash of apple brandy added to the traditional frangipane cream. A generous layer of toasty almonds balances the soft and squishy filling.

Bostock can be completely assembled in advance. Raw and tightly wrapped, they keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge or for a month, in the freezer. Be sure to thaw the frozen bostock completely before baking.

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At a Wisconsin-themed winter fondue party, our editor-in-chief Kat Craddock melted down two types of cheddar—an earthy, farmhouse-style version and a classic sharp—for a zippy, beer-spiked riff on the classic dish. 

Featured in “Lessons From a Fondue Fête with Two Wisconsin Cheesemakers.”

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Paula Heimerl and Orphee Paillotin’s Mount Raclette is a smear-ripened cheese, which means it’s been hand-washed in their cellar for several months to give it a uniquely deep flavor. To tease out the ultra-savory notes in the cheese and add an extra oomph to Alpine-style fondue, Paula recommends rubbing the inside of your pot with garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients. 

Featured in “Lessons From a Fondue Fête with Two Wisconsin Cheesemakers.”

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Hello, again!

I’m SAVEUR’s new Editor-in-Chief and CEO, and I have some exciting news.

When the word hit in April that I had acquired this brand and was taking it indie, I was so grateful to be flooded with your well wishes and support. And when many of you followed up with the question, “Does this mean print is coming back?”—we, admittedly, played it a bit coy.

As you may know, SAVEUR’s previous owners stopped publishing our regular print magazine back at the height of the pandemic. For many of us, the loss was heartbreaking. Since the spring, our team has quietly been preparing the groundwork to give you a straight answer to your question, and here it is: Yes, print is coming back.

Today, I’m so delighted to announce the pre-sale of our first new issue, which will drop in March of 2024—just in time for SAVEUR’s 30th anniversary.

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This doesn’t mean we’re diving right back into printing monthlies. In starting from scratch, we had the opportunity to reconsider the old print model and land on one that will allow our publication to be the best possible version of itself, in 2024 and beyond. 

Frankly, the old-school, high-volume print model isn’t sustainable—at least not for SAVEUR. Traditional magazine publishing tended to rely on selling subscriptions for a song, sometimes even giving them away, just to build massive circulation lists. It’s no secret that the pool of potential subscribers isn’t what it used to be, and even huge circ numbers don’t promise the ad revenue they once did. Meanwhile, the parts of our brand that make it special—the ambitious culinary travel writing, first-in-class photography and design, and rigorously tested original recipes—are expensive to produce. We also have a renewed dedication to offer fair and equitable compensation to our contributors. Therefore, the model has to change. 

In short, this means the print issues will cost a little more than they used to, but I guarantee it will be worth it. We’ll publish only two issues next year, and both will receive the care and effort that previously went into a half-dozen slimmer issues. There will be limited print runs, reducing waste. We’re also simplifying our supply chain dramatically, pivoting to focus primarily on direct-to-reader sales through our website. Retail through brick-and-mortar stores will be selective; you probably won’t find the new SAVEUR at the supermarket or pharmacy—but you very well might spot a copy at your local independent bookstore, specialty food shop, or library.  

In adopting these and similar changes, we’re committed to offering you an affordable luxury: a premium print magazine that is more sustainable than ever—environmentally, socially, and financially.

If you want to be sure to get your hands on a copy of the Spring/Summer issue, you can subscribe here. And if you’d like to show SAVEUR some extra love, we’re also offering a variety of supporter-tier subscriptions, which include a one-time bundle of truly excellent swag and pantry goodies from some of our favorite partner brands to accompany the first issue. Each of these will directly support startup costs associated with the relaunch and help us continue printing for years to come. 

To be clear, we’re not abandoning SAVEUR’s digital presence. Under our previous owners, our website underwent a thorough and much-needed redesign and restructuring, and it’s in a far better place now than it was three years ago. In fact, we’ve already started expanding our online content where it makes sense for that medium—including ramped up travel coverage and monthly publication of new culinary destination guides. We’ll continue providing—paywall-free—our archive of 8,000-plus international recipes. And, as always, you can subscribe to our newsletters—also for free—right here.

I hope you enjoy this new iteration of SAVEUR. We appreciate your support, and are investing all of our love and effort to ensure we continue to earn it.

—Kat Craddock, Editor-in-Chief / CEO

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Cheese season is upon us! Ok, who am I kidding, it’s always cheese season in my home—but whether you’re in the market for cheesy gifts for a loved one or a colleague, or you’re stocking the larder for your own festive cheese board, the winter holidays are an excellent excuse for a few trurophile-approved purchases.

One of my first food jobs was working as a cheesemonger, and the busy season that began each November and ran steadily through Valentine’s Day was the stuff of legend. A frenzy of gift basket orders and last-minute holiday party shoppers set the pace and cemented December in my mind as the time to go hard on a cheesy centerpiece. What form, exactly, that centerpiece takes—whether it’s a full wheel of Stilton or a high-drama raclette station—is all up to you

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This fall, artist and Financial Times columnist Laila Gohar opened her much-anticipated lifestyle and entertaining shop on Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Among Gohar’s many surreal flourishes—think lace-embellished silver vinyl bistro aprons, mother of pearl salad servers, and menswear-inspired tablecloths—she’s also selling a playful collection of cheese-shaped candles from Italian candlemaker Cereria Introna. My favorite is this partial wheel of gouda—cheese board mood lighting for the “Is It Cake?” generation.

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When I worked in cheese shops, I loved selling customers on the romantic story behind Gruyère d’Alpage. Swiss dairy farmers, leading their blissful herd gradually up the Alps as the last springtime snow recedes—revealing a bovine feast of fresh young grasses, herbs, and wildflowers. The stuff made for retail gold. It’s said that the cows’ seasonal diet results in a rich and nutrient-dense milk perfumed by the pasture, and that this milk is used to make one of the finest cheeses in the world.

Well, after 20 years of repeating the fairy tale, I can finally confirm its accuracy. Earlier this year, I visited the Alpine town of Gruyères, and got to visit a handful of the farmers and cheesemakers behind the great name-protected wheels (thanks, Cheeses from Switzerland!). There’s no question that I’ll be gift-wrapping a few wedges of Alpage Gruyère this year for all my friends and relatives who enjoy their cheese with a side of storytelling.

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Zingerman’s top-of-the-line customer service and thoughtful selection of curated gift boxes keep me coming back whenever I want to ship a special care package. This epic box of Midwestern delicacies includes plenty of non-cheese items (Smoked whitefish! Beef sticks! Koeze peanut butter!), but it’s the cheesy highlights—a hunk of Marieke Penterman’s exceptional raw milk gouda and Potter’s Cheddar Oyster Crackers—that make it a fine addition to this list. 

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I can’t wait to swap out my usual wooden cheese board for this delicate green and pink stone plate. The finely carved Indian marble is sourced from Agra, Uttar Pradesh—home of the Taj Mahal. At seven inches, it’s the perfect size for serving individual small-format wheels like camembert, robiola, or vacherin Mont d’Or. 

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For the most discriminating cheese fanatic in your orbit, consider ordering a wheel of this rare Portuguese beauty. Coming almost exclusively from Extemadura, Spain and Portugal, thistle-renneted cheeses are an ancient and niche style coagulated with an enzyme derived from an artichoke-like wild plant. Typically made using goat or sheep’s milk, they start out with a bouncy, semi-soft texture which transforms, with age, into a luxurious, pudding-like consistency. Judite and Carlos Pinto make this award-winning and highly limited sheep’s milk version by hand in Lagares da Beira, in Portugal’s Serra de Estrela region. You can order it—as well as many other Portuguese specialty foods—from Portugalia in Fall River, Massachusetts.

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While there are oodles of great new knife companies out there these days, I’m partial to the feel and style of Made In’s sleek French-made options. The brand occasionally partners with chefs and other culinary experts and I was delighted to see this numbered edition collab with the great Nancy Silverton. With the heft needed to cut into a wedge of parm, the blade is yet thin and sharp enough to slice soft and delicate wheels with equal precision. A marble Krion handle, pretty brass rivets, and a full tang lend this highly giftable tool its super-premium look and feel. (Pair it with an engraved Champagne saber if you’re feeling extra-fancy!)

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I threw a raclette and fondue party in my apartment this month, which gave me the much-needed excuse to take one of Boska’s raclette lamps for a spin. The quarter-wheel “Quattro” model is quick and easy to assemble and an excellent size for home use and the heavy concrete base alleviated any of my previously held safety concerns about raclette-ing at home. A great gift for newlyweds, the après-ski set, or really anyone who likes to entertain in the wintertime.

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Whenever I start describing this marvelous and crowd-pleasing cheese—formerly known as GranQueso, and long one of my favorites—someone always bristles at first mention of its cinnamon- and paprika-dusted rind. Please hear me out: this loosely Manchego-inspired cheese is no attempt to jump the pumpkin spice shark. The whiff of smoky spice emanating from its ruddy exterior is ever-so-faint; what really shines through is Canela’s nutty flavor and its delicate butterscotch notes reminiscent of a well-aged gouda. Pairing just as nicely with sweet cider as with single malt, you’ll want to add this one to your holiday party heavy rotation.

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When my friend and fellow cheese obsessive Madison Trapkin came over recently to help me throw a party, she brought along some servingware from her personal collection, including a gorgeous Bordallo Pinheiro cabbageware platter. Since then, I’ve had my eye on the Portuguese ceramicist’s leafy retro line; in particular, this domed cheese tray, ideal for elegantly bringing a cheese course up to room temperature before making the great “reveal.”

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Would that we were all lucky enough to have a spacious, top-of-the-line refrigerator with multiple, precisely controlled temperature and humidity zones for keeping ingredients at their absolute peak for as long as possible. One of these days! In the meantime, I’ve learned to make do with whichever basic models a string of New York City landlords have seen fit to supply me with. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the state of my cheese! 

Former cheesemonger and cheese educator Jessica Sennett invented the Cheese Grotto to replicate the atmosphere of commercial cheese-aging caves. An included clay brick, once soaked in cool, clean water, holds the interior of the Grotto—available in either birch or bamboo—at the steady 70–80% humidity considered optimal for storing aged cheeses. The Grotto can even be used for DIY home ripening. Just place small, uncut wheels like chèvre and camembert right on the shelf, close the plexiglass door, leave the Grotto out on your countertop, and let those happy microorganisms work their magic. A handy tool for cheese-lovers prone to over-shopping (Guilty as charged.), as well as those dabbling in home cheesemaking.

Every product is independently selected and vetted by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.

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This recipe is excerpted from Stirring the Pot, a collection of recipes and wine pairings from the New York chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier. Preorder your copy here; proceeds benefit LDNY’s scholarship fund.

I grew up in Rhode Island, but it wasn’t until I left that I really appreciated just how special my home state’s food culture really is. With a history of fishing, shipping and manufacturing, New England’s coastline has been a cultural melting pot for generations. Today, Rhode Island’s cuisine is still shaped by a wide range of international influences: global foods like French Canadian meat pies, Cape Verdean cachopa, fresh Italian pastas, Portuguese custard tarts, Syrian stuffed grape leaves, and Lao sour sausage abound in restaurants, bakeries, and homes.

Overfishing and other environmental concerns have pushed Rhode Island’s fisheries to operate more sustainably; while certain species are less bountiful, others, like squid and clams, still thrive. Quahogs (large, hard-shelled Atlantic clams) can be found along the coast, from Cape Cod to New Jersey, but Rhode Islanders feel a particular ownership of them. Too tough to eat from the shell, their meat is added to specialties like clamcakes, chowders, and “stuffies.” While similar to dainty clams casino and oysters Rockefeller, the stuffy is less of a pinkies-up affair. Paired with chowder, a single one is a meal. This version is just about as classic as they come. Seek out Portuguese-style chouriço, which is softer than Spanish chorizo. (Michael’s is a reliable, New England–made brand that is available online from Portugalia Marketplace.)

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Snow peas, sugar snap peas, and pea shoots are quick-cooked with a Thai-inspired oyster-fish-soy sauce dressing, along with plenty of garlic and chiles, in this bold and punchy side dish from SAVEUR editor-in-chief Kat Craddock, which she adapted from a Pok Pok recipe by Andy Ricker. Shoots harvested later in the season are tougher in texture—adjust the cook time accordingly.

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Building a great cake is nothing to be afraid of.

I worked as a pastry chef years back and have made more birthday cakes than I can count (and a handful of wedding cakes I’d prefer not to), and when New York pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz’s gorgeous new cookbook, More Than Cake, arrived in the mail, flipping through it reminded me just how low-stress making a really great cake can be. Sure, layer cakes are high-stakes; they’re the centerpieces of some of the most special occasions, an on-display embodiment of the baker’s skill and style. But Pickowicz gets it. While the multi-component cake recipes in her book are involved, an overall sense of chill persists throughout, encouraging and inspiring the reader while alleviating our collective dessert-related anxieties. 

The fastidious home baker will likely find More Than Cake a rewarding exercise in planning and time management; but jazzier readers will enjoy the open invitation to experiment and the lush series of highly-riffable prompts. Sure, you could make her elaborate fennel jam- and mascarpone-filled, pistachio buttercream-wrapped olive oil cake from scratch. You could also go at it a little more relaxed, borrowing an individual component or two from the book, then swapping in store-bought elements or your own creations for the rest. (When I spoke with Pickowicz on the phone, she eagerly encouraged either approach.) In addition to the recipes themselves, Pickowicz also provides a clear photo tutorial for how to assemble a layer cake like a pastry pro. I’ve often wondered why this smart and simple bakery method—which results in sharp edges, a level top, and a stable cake every time—hasn’t been the standard in home layer cake recipes, so I hopped on a call with the cookbook author to talk through the basics.

Check out her pro technique below, then get your hands on your own copy of the book here.

What you need:

• 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet (aka half-sheet pan)
• Round cake pan
• Paring knife
• Plastic wrap
• Pastry brush
• Assorted offset spatulas
• Large serving platter
• Cake turntable (optional)
• Piping bags
• Piping tips

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Just about all layer cake components can be made well ahead of time; most can be stored in the fridge or freezer. But before you begin, be sure that all of your ingredients are at the proper working temperature (cool room temp is ideal). 
Many home cake recipes suggest sawing thick baked rounds crosswise into fragile slices, which are then stacked freeform into teetering, icing-spackled towers. Pickowicz’s pro method is simpler, sturdier, and far more precise. “My whole approach,” she explains “is to build the cake the way you might assemble a lasagna or a tiramisu. You assemble it in a deep dish so that the layers are supported as they rest in the pan.”

STEP 1: Bake the cake in thin sheets and cut to size.

Rather than baking thick layers in a round cake pan, Pickowicz prefers to spread her cake batters into large rimmed baking sheets (aka sheet pans). These thin layers bake more quickly and evenly than thicker rounds, which have a tendency to dome and crack.

Pickowicz then uses a deep, round cake pan as a stencil to cut as many circles as she needs. Be sure to reserve two perfect circles for the cake’s top and bottom layers and use the trimmings to “Frankenstein together” additional circles for the center layers. (Don’t worry: the filling will help fuse any irregular pieces together.)

STEP 2: Line a cake pan with plastic wrap and insert a circle of cake.

Line the inside of the cake pan with 2 or 3 large sheets of plastic wrap, making sure that the film reaches all the way to the corners of the pan while still leaving plenty of overhang along the edges. Carefully lower an intact circle of cake into the pan. If using a “soak,” brush the layer generously. While Pickowicz acknowledges that soaks are not always strictly necessary, she likes the added moisture and flavor that comes from adding a syrup or creamy liquid. “Soaks are another opportunity to build flavor into a layer cake,” she explains.

STEP 3: Add a layer of filling, another circle of cake, and repeat.

Old-fashioned American-style cakes often sandwich thick cake layers around modest swipes of the same frosting used to decorate the outside of the cake. Pickowicz prefers to play with more surprising textures, and a more balanced cake-to-filling ratio inspired by intricate mousse cakes popular in Korea and China. Spoon a generous layer of filling evenly over the cake layer: Try a layer of homemade or store bought jam, a curd, or even a nut butter or praline paste.

If you like, top with another layer of filling—variation in texture is key—then repeat the process, adding another cake layer, a bit of soak (if using), and another layer of filling. Repeat this process four or five times, or until the cake pan is nearly filled, reserving one unbroken circle for the final layer.

Top the final layer of filling with the unbroken cake circle, brush generously with your soak (if using), then fold the edges of the plastic up and around to cover. Press down gently to level the cake as needed. Wrap tightly with another layer of plastic wrap, then transfer the cake to the fridge for at least 8 and up to 72 hours, or to the freezer for up to a month.

STEP 4: Unmold the cake onto a platter or cake stand.

The day you plan to serve the cake, unmold and frost it. (If the cake is frozen, thaw it overnight in the fridge before unmolding.) Unwrap the top of the cake, then invert the pan over a cake platter, cardboard cake round, or cake stand. Lift the pan up and away so that the perfectly flat bottom layer is now the top. Discard the plastic wrap.

STEP 5: Using an offset spatula, coat the cake generously with buttercream.

Ice the cake: Some folks like to use a rotating cake stand at this stage and you may certainly do so if you like, but Pickowicz shrugs off the added equipment as unnecessary. “You can frost the cake right on the platter, right on your cake stand, right on your whatever!” If using buttercream you have made ahead of time, be sure it is at room temperature and beat it well until very smooth. Using an offset metal spatula, she explains, scoop half of your icing onto the top of the cake. Spread the buttercream all the way to the edges, then dollop the remaining buttercream evenly along the sides, smoothing gently to avoid scraping the edges of the cake and the filling, until the sides of the cake are thoroughly coated. (Remember: A well-chilled cake will hold together far better at this stage than a warm or room temperature one.) Run the spatula once more along the surfaces to smooth, scraping away any excess buttercream from the edges.

STEP 6: Decorate the cake with a piping bag fitted with a pastry tip.

Once the cake is coated, you can consider it a blank canvas: Pickowicz’s decorating style is elegant, organic, and a bit freeform, but you can feel free to experiment with the many intricate cake decorating tools available online and in your local bakery supply shop. A pastry bag with or without a piping tip is an easy way to create sculptural designs with buttercream and other icings. Alleviate any pressure by making a bit more frosting than you need; that way, you can always scrape away any mistakes and start afresh.

STEP 7: Experiment with unconventional decor.

If piping bags and buttercream rosettes aren’t your style, that’s fine too! Some of Pickowicz’s most striking cakes are only very simply iced—then crowned with a few choice beauties from the farmers market. “When I’m decorating cake, I’m always looking at my pantry and fridge and wondering, ‘What do I have in here that I could use?’” she explains. “Maybe it’s this beautiful bunch of basil or some tomatoes on a vine. Maybe it’s whole nutmeg pods and cinnamon sticks. I like thinking beyond what we think ‘should’ be on a layer cake and instead just saying, ‘Well, what’s around me? How can I make this personal?’”

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