Pumpkin Craving

Your Definitive Guide to Local Pumpkin Treats

From pumpkin beer and coffee to pumpkin pastries, here's a mix of both classic and innovative local pumpkin delights.

By Lana Allen October 26, 2016

Cafe latte sgaqjv

Image: Pixabay

Open your windows, grab a snuggly blanket and sip some squash! It's autumn in Sarasota, and that means we're reveling in mild evenings, binging on horror flicks and consuming all manner of sustenance flavored with the season's most inescapable ingredient: pumpkin. Here's a detailed guide to autumn-inflected local beverages and food. Did we miss one of your favorites? Email us and we'll add it to the mix.

Perq Coffee Bar, 1821 Hillview St., Sarasota

  • Pumpkin Flat White Passionate about showcasing the best coffees from around the world, Perq features a house-made, all natural, off-menu, pumpkin flat white.
  • Pumpkin Loaf and Pumpkin Cake Donuts A personal favorite of the Perq Coffee Bar crew, these pumpkins come in the form of baked goods from Der Dutchman—perfect alongside a hot cuppa.
  • Pumpkin Turnovers Homemade pumpkin turnovers from the Glenn Family Bakery also provide an essential dose of pumpkin deliciousness alongside your coffee.

Kahwa Coffee, 1487 Second St., Sarasota

  • Pumpkin Spice Black Tea From TeBella Tea Company, this hot tea is sure to warm you up thanks to a hint of pumpkin spice.
  • Pumpkin Pound Cake Topped with cream cheese frosting, this spiced pound cake is a delectable, gooey mix of fall sweetness.
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones Made by local bakers, these chocolate chip pumpkin scones hit the perfect balance between pumpkin and chocolate to create an ideal fall treat.

Clever Cup Coffee Shop, 6530 Gateway Ave., Sarasota.

  • Pumpkin Spice Latte Unlike many coffee shops, Clever Cup makes their PSL from scratch, using all-natural ingredients with no artificial flavors.
  • Pumpkin Muffin Featured all month long, this muffin is light and fluffy and brings together all the flavors of fall.
  • Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin This vegan muffin is also gluten-free and combines the warm flavors of pumpkin and spices with bittersweet chocolate chips.

Jim’s Small Batch Bakery, 2336 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota

  • Purely Pumpkin Muffin This muffin has a cinnamon swirl and is topped with crunchy pumpkin seeds.
  • Whole Pumpkin Cheesecake Creamy, pumpkin-y and perfectly spiced to create a rich blend of flavors.
  • Individual Pumpkin Cake This individual serving of pumpkin cake sits on a gingerbread base, is brushed with white chocolate and is decorated with marzipan—basically, a mini pumpkin masterpiece.
  • Pumpkin Pecan Praline Muffin Comprised of pumpkin, pecans and cheesecake, this muffin creates a delicious mix of nutty fall flavors.
  • Pumpkin Crumb Muffin A twist on the classic pumpkin muffin, this muffin features a surprise cheesecake center.
  • Creamy Pumpkin Pie This extraordinarily creamy pumpkin pie features hand-rolled crust and is served with real whipped cream.
  • Sugar Pumpkin Crème Brûlée This combines fresh roasted sugar pumpkin with vanilla crème brûlée, and is topped with maple-candied pumpkin seeds.
  • Pumpkin Almond Croissant Bite A take on the French classic almond croissant but with creamy, perfectly spiced pumpkin pie filling baked in with buttery, flaky dough, almond frangipane, toasted almonds, pumpkin filling and seeds. The whole thing is lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

Der Dutchman, 3713 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota

  • Pumpkin Cake Donuts These come either glazed or with cream cheese icing.
  • Pumpkin Bread Made with the same pumpkin spices as pie, then poured into a loaf pan to make a bread version of everyone's favorite fall dessert.
  • Pumpkin Whoopies A seasonal take on the classic whoopie pie, featuring a pumpkin-flavored soft cookie sandwich that's filled with cream cheese frosting.
  • Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Think of old fashioned cinnamon rolls, then add pumpkin pie filling to the batter and frost them with cream cheese icing.
  • Pumpkin Cake Rolls A delicious moist pumpkin sheet cake frosted with cream cheese icing then rolled into a perfect cylinder. 
  • Pumpkin Cake Bars Moist pumpkin-walnut cake with cream cheese frosting.

Retrobaked, 933 12th St. W., Bradenton (special order only)

  • Pumpkin Caramel Spice Cupcake A gluten-free spiced pumpkin cake topped with vegan cream cheese frosting swirled with homemade vegan spiced maple caramel.
  • Pumpkin S’more Cupcake A twist on the classic s’more, this gluten-free cupcake is comprised of a spiced pumpkin cake with vegan cream cheese frosting rolled in crushed scratch-made gluten-free cinnamon grahams, topped with chocolate ganache and a toasted  vegan marshmallow.

Sift Bakehouse, 1383 McAnsh Square, Sarasota

  • Pumpkin Spice Cake Spiced pumpkin cake layered with cheesecake and finished with a cinnamon-toffee cream cheese frosting.
  • Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Muffins The best of both worlds: a pumpkin muffin combined with pumpkin cheesecake.
  • Bruleed Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie The rich flavors of pumpkin and spice, married with brown butter in a unique twist on the classic pumpkin pie.

Station 400, 400 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota and 8215 Lakewood Ranch Main St., Lakewood Ranch

  • Pumpkin and Pecan Pancakes Spiced pancakes served with vanilla butter and vanilla bean maple syrup. The essence of fall in a breakfast dish.

La Dona Donuts, 4567 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota

  • Pumpkin Cheesecake Donut A pumpkin cake doughnut that's hand-rolled, cut and fried, then piped with cream cheese icing.

CROP Juice, 2320 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota; 160 Main St., Ste. 108, Sarasota; 8211 Tourist Center Drive, Sarasota

  • The Great Pumpkin Smoothie Made of almond milk, pumpkin, pumpkin puree, cashew butter, gluten-free oats and dates, this treat tastes indulgent but is seriously good for you.

Buddy Brew Coffee, 1289 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota.

  • Spiced Pumpkin Latte Spice up your latte with Buddy Brew's house-made pumpkin spice syrup. 

JDub’s Brewing Company, 1215 Mango Ave., Sarasota

  • Sons of Yam A seasonal beer brewed with over 200 pounds of yams, as well as maple syrup and spices.

Motorworks Brewery, 1014 Ninth St. W., Bradenton

  • Pumpkin Ale This seasonal beer achieves its auburn color thanks to more than 35 pounds of pure pumpkin and galangal, as well as notes of mint and spicy cinnamon.
Filed under
Share
Show Comments