Of the nine stations at our new Dining Center (opened Fall 2023), the dessert station is undoubtedly my favorite. An assortment of fresh treats, aptly named “Daily Kneads,” are made by the wonderful dessert chefs each day. I love that the dessert kitchen is located right behind the serving counter; it is cool to see the people and the process behind the desserts being made for an upcoming meal. I enjoy interacting with the chefs who are creating these yummy desserts. Often, when a chef is refilling the trays while I’m picking out my dessert, we’ll have a short conversation — I always leave the dining hall smiling after our chats!
I enjoyed the desserts at our old dining hall (Sharples*) too, but since the new dining hall opened and Swarthmore Dining hired a new dessert chef, there has been so much more variety. For most meals, there are more than five dessert offerings to choose from, ranging from ‘simple’ cookies to some very creative and complex desserts. For people with dietary restrictions, there are options that are gluten free, vegan, and dairy free.
*For those of you that are curious, our previous dining hall was recently reimagined and opened this semester as our campus student center, Sharples Commons.
To give a glimpse into just a few of the dessert station’s yummy creations, here are my five favorite Dining Center desserts:
(1) Anything involving “Chocolate Fudge”
As a chocolate fanatic, any type of fudgy chocolate dessert has a special place in my heart. The dining center’s flourless chocolate cake and vegan chocolate fudge are extra special treats which I wish were offered more often. Another delicious fudgy chocolate dessert is the more commonly offered s’mores tart. It’s basically chocolate fudge with a graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow on top. The blow-torched marshmallow atop each tart is a great example of the level of detail and care these chefs put into their desserts!
(2) Edible Cookie Dough
This is a new addition to the menu since the new dining hall opened. The chefs make it in every cookie flavor you can imagine: Chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, gingerbread, red velvet, etc. My favorite (no surprise) is the double chocolate flavor!
(3) Cannolis
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I ate a cannoli as a kid, so I always get very excited when I see these on the menu. They are so, so yummy and they’re another great example of the high level of effort the chefs put into their desserts… seeing them behind the counter piping cream into each cannoli shell makes the final product taste even better!
(4) Ice Cream Bar
If you’re an ice cream lover, you will never feel deprived of ice cream at Swat. Four Hershey’s ice cream flavors are offered most days at lunch and dinner and there is a rotation of many different flavors. Some of my favorites are: cappuccino crunch, mint chocolate chip with fudge swirls and Andes pieces, chocolate peanut butter, and Moose Tracks. There is also usually one tub of dairy-free ice cream (oat milk based or sorbet).
(5) Assorted Cheesecake Bars
These were a staple in the Sharples-Era dessert menu as well. They offer Oreo cheesecake squares (my favorite), various fruity cheesecake squares, and fun hybrid desserts like layered cookie-brownie-cheesecake bars. All are very rich, but very delicious.
Honorable Mention #1 Fall Seasonal Desserts!
These are only offered seasonally, but they deserve an honorable mention. The apple crisp is my favorite. As an upstate New Yorker, warm apple crisp with a dollop of vanilla ice cream just tastes like home. But for all the pumpkin spice lovers out there, there’s something for you too! This fall, the dessert chefs came up with so many creative pumpkin dessert ideas: pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin snickerdoodles, pumpkin cookie dough, spiced oatmeal pumpkin bars … the list goes on and on!
Honorable Mention #2: The Hot Cocoa at the Last-Day-of-Fall-Semester-Classes Celebration
I couldn’t justify putting this on my regular list because it is only offered once a year, but it is definitely the most decadent and highly anticipated thing I have consumed from the dining hall! In addition to offering a wide variety of cakes for this special day, the dessert station sets up the most delicious hot cocoa station. I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the richest and most flavorful hot cocoa I’ve ever had — it’s like melted chocolate! Add some crushed up candy canes and it is simply divine!!!
These are some of my favorites, but each Swattie has their own desserts that they get excited about! As you can see, if you have a sweet tooth, there is always something yummy to discover at the Dining Center Dessert Bar.
